Inactive workers

[Vincex]

Hi all I've just got my first lasius niger queen plus 10 workers in test tube set up and a decided to partially bury in sand in a simple out world as to give the queen some privacy , but now there isn't much happening in the out world and the workers seem to have used the sand to cover the entrance lol , should I let them be ? Or move them into a clear setup so I can keep an eye on them ?

[AGENTSCEPTILE]

If the workers buried the entrance of the test tube, that usually means that even though there are workers present, they are going to wait a bit longer until they reach outside of the test tube.

[Vincex]

They don't seem to be removing dead insect s from test tube either how long would they normally leave waste in the test tube or should I remove it myself regardless of disturbing the queen

[AGENTSCEPTILE]

How much waste is there?

[Vincex]

I've been giving a baby spider every night for the past week and a decent size fly about a week ago but maybe she's still eating on it

[AGENTSCEPTILE]

So, if there is a lot of waste, clean what you can with stressing the queen too much, but I think it should be fine as my friend has had many lasius and they make a huuuuuuuge mess in the test tube and they are fine, but, it is when it gets moldy is when you should probably clean it.
I really hope i'm helping, I'm sorry if i'm not much help.... :O
Ant rule number one( or very close to thee )

Prevent and avoid all stress towards the queen as possible!

[Vincex]

What kind of setup does your friend keep his colony's in ? Does he use sand or does he even bother with all that?

[AGENTSCEPTILE]

The setup was in a test tube, he had a plain old tube and no substrate in it--- The ants were grubs, I tell you- but -
Ants don't waste good food!




usually

[Hunter36o]

The ants will also use substrate to reduce ant drafts in the test tube. This will also reduce activity because it has reduced the small amount of stress in the nest because it was too exposed.

I have several set ups with different substrates and all of the ones in use have done the exact same. It is completely normal.
If your feeding them daily with so little workers that will explain the lack of activity. I have a L. Niger colony with over 60 workers and they get fresh food every 3-4 days. When the ants fill their social stomachs they can store the food for a while so daily feeding of a small colony is not necessary. Also do not manually clean the test tube while ants are living inside. The risk it too great.

If you are catching while insects as food, that is okay if you take the right precautions but I suggest buying feeder insects so you can gut load them before feeding to your pets.

[Vincex]

I'm only really picking up s from around my house and garden ! I can buy cricket or grasshoppers from pet store but they seem quite large for a small colony ! But I have stopped feeding them daily and I'll leave them alone for a while