Should we move our new colony?

[JHGcontent]

My 11-yr-old son and I are new to ant keeping. We bought a camponotus queen last week from a local GAN vendor, and she already had 6 workers in her new colony. Since bringing them home, she's laid a few new eggs and some have turned into larvae.

Our concern is what looks to be mold in the test tube they came in (see attached pics). Upon bringing the ants home, we opened the test tube and connected it to a test tube portal. However, our ants seem to be very stubborn and don't want to move out of the original test tube. In the meantime, mold has started to grow in that original test tube. So we're naturally concerned about their health.

So ... should we try to physically move the ants and the brood out of that test tube? We've tried doing the whole "light trick" by covering everything but the original test tube with a dark sock. That's not really motivating them to move out of that original test tube. They'll go into the tube portal occasionally, but mainly stay in the original test tube.

And, if we DO move them ... should we go ahead and connect the formicarium to the test tube portal? And if so, should we try to move them directly to the formicarium ... or let them find that on their own?

I guess we're just looking for some sound recommendations from seasoned pros.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

My 11-yr-old son and I are new to ant keeping. We bought a camponotus queen last week from a local GAN vendor, and she already had 6 workers in her new colony. Since bringing them home, she's laid a few new eggs and some have turned into larvae.

Our concern is what looks to be mold in the test tube they came in (see attached pics). Upon bringing the ants home, we opened the test tube and connected it to a test tube portal. However, our ants seem to be very stubborn and don't want to move out of the original test tube. In the meantime, mold has started to grow in that original test tube. So we're naturally concerned about their health.

So ... should we try to physically move the ants and the brood out of that test tube? We've tried doing the whole "light trick" by covering everything but the original test tube with a dark sock. That's not really motivating them to move out of that original test tube. They'll go into the tube portal occasionally, but mainly stay in the original test tube.

And, if we DO move them ... should we go ahead and connect the formicarium to the test tube portal? And if so, should we try to move them directly to the formicarium ... or let them find that on their own?

I guess we're just looking for some sound recommendations from seasoned pros.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Camponotus can easily get use to light, none of my founding queens are in light and have some plump larvae. You must slightly heat the tube you want them to move to, a heating pad on low works well. What formicarium do you have/have in mind? Keeping the tube dark(both) helps if they were raised in the dark.