Help me.

[AntLuvForever]

I am planning on getting a pavement ant colony and i have a few problems and questions.
First, when do the pavement ant nuptial flight? Ik this might depend on the weather but is there a general time period in which they have their mating flight?
Second, i got some test tube that are small. I got them cuase I figured the ants are small. Will this affect them?
Third, is there any substitutes for baby powder or something? Will vinegar work? Thx for all your help
— AntLuvForever

[AM1C39]

Pavement ants mostly have their nuptial flights in June and July. Can you tell me what size the test tubes are? some substetutes for baby powder is FLUON or Vaseline. You could also mix baby powder with rubbing alcohol.

[AntLuvForever]

The test tubes are 8mm long with the cap. 7mm without cap.
Also, how many supplies do u have to get for all your ants? If i keep 3 or 4 pavement ant colonies, will i have to buy crickets and mealworms? I have lots of crickets, spiders and small cockroaches in my front and backyard.
I do have lots of honey though.

[AM1C39]

7mm test tubes are considered mini by ant keepers, it would be better if you got bigger ones. Also you should not use caps for your ants you should use cotton. You will not have to buy anything, you can give them some fruits and some leftovers. You could start breeding crickets or meal worms if you can not find enough outside.

[cjerg9]

The test tubes are 8mm long with the cap. 7mm without cap.
Also, how many supplies do u have to get for all your ants? If i keep 3 or 4 pavement ant colonies, will i have to buy crickets and mealworms? I have lots of crickets, spiders and small cockroaches in my front and backyard.
I do have lots of honey though.

Where abouts are you from? In Australia at the moment some pavement ants are having their nuptial flights. I have kept pavement ants is test tubes before and I find they prefer a smaller space but the size of test tubes that you got you may have issues with the water reservoir. You could keep them in there temporarily and then just move them into a bigger one later (mind you this can cause stress) and also to make them feel a bit more cozy you can just restrict the area they will be housed by pushing the cotton ball in more. In regards to food, you may want to buy store insects just incase you are worried about backyard insects having pesticides which will kill you ants.

Meal worms are very easy to keep and breed. I kept them in a container of oat bran and feed them a carrot occasionally for water. You can place a paper towel in with the bran if it gets damp. Once they become pupae move them into a container with just paper towel. Once they hatch into beetles place them in another container with oat bran and then they should breed. I would just have one container for larva, pupae and beetles and sort them as I found odd ones out.

[AntLuvForever]

Thx. Ill see if i can get some mealworms and things. Also, I’m from michigan. It’s colder up here so do u think they will be a bit later?

[cjerg9]

Possibly, usually they have nuptial flights in warmer weather but they are a hardy and successful species so anything is possible.

[Tommygun]

Does anyone knows how long baby powder and rubbing alcohol mixture lasts