HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

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vmorelli
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2018 11:14 am
Location: Munich

HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59126Post vmorelli
Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:47 am

Hi,
I have a colony with 22 workers and loads of eggs. They were till now in the test tube and the hibernation went pretty well.
But, after 10 months, everything is dry!

Yesterday I attached the test tube to a small acrylic formicarium (that I bought from one of those apps to buy things from China) and I put some direct light in the tube, keeping the formicarium dark.

THEY SIMPLY WON'T MOVE!

Any ideas how to move them or at least put some water in the tube?

PS. The cotton is full of black mold (that also concerns me)

This is my first successful colony and I am really afraid of losing them.

Thanks everyone!

Jgibbss
Posts: 35
Joined: Sun May 19, 2019 3:17 pm
Location: united states

Re: HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59139Post Jgibbss
Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:05 pm

2 ways The first will take about 20-40 mins the other should be quick but who knows if the broodwill smell funky First you can get a second test tube have it covered and have the one that's dry exposeit to a bright light or you can mix lemon juice with water and spray small amounts into the test tube avod the workers and queen wen spraying.

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Quizzie
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Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:45 pm

Re: HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59162Post Quizzie
Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:47 pm

There must be still some moisture in the cotton. They will move eventually on their own, though it may take them weeks. My Lasius niger are stubborn like that.
Don't worry, they should move before they die from lack of water. They hopefully know what they're doing.

JDSweetMeat
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat May 25, 2019 1:41 pm
Location: Centralia, Illinois

Re: HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59192Post JDSweetMeat
Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:14 pm

Quizzie wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:47 pm
There must be still some moisture in the cotton. They will move eventually on their own, though it may take them weeks. My Lasius niger are stubborn like that.
Don't worry, they should move before they die from lack of water. They hopefully know what they're doing.
Well, I think OP's biggest worry here is the black mold in their setup. Mold has killed many a new colony.

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Quizzie
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 1:45 pm

Re: HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59200Post Quizzie
Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:39 am

JDSweetMeat wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:14 pm
Well, I think OP's biggest worry here is the black mold in their setup. Mold has killed many a new colony.
I eventually always get black mold in my test tubes. The ants were never harmed and don't seem bothered by it (they refuse to move to a new clean test tube).
Actually my Lasius niger refused to move even when the cotton dried... the just made a satellite nest in the new tube and moved their eggs there. The queen and most brood stayed in the old dry moldy tube. :roll:

vmorelli
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2018 11:14 am
Location: Munich

Re: HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59270Post vmorelli
Sat Jun 08, 2019 5:27 pm

So, it took almost a week but they finally moved!

Here's what I did:
The test tube was exposed to light at all time. Because the tube is a bit long, the ants kept moving to the center of it instead of moving out. So what I did was tilt the tube a little and moved the light spot to where they were. They kept moving to the side and I kept tilting the tube some more degrees. I moved like 10 degrees each day so it would not be so stressful.
I was almost giving up and they were already on the edge of the tube and with a +-45° inclination. So I had the idea to put a bit of earth inside the nest.
It worked perfectly! After less then 10 min the first worker started moving the eggs. Until I finally saw the queen rushing to the nest!

Today they already ate some fruit flies and a drop of honey.

Thanks for all advices and helping me out!

About the black mold, it appeared after the 1st week the queen was in the tube. I didn't know it was mold so I just left her there. The colony looks pretty healthy, I don't think the mold did any harm to them. The first workers even dug holes in it to hide better... Is it really something we have to be worried?

Thanks again!

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: HELP! Lasius Niger colony won't move from dried test tube to acrylic setup

Post: # 59359Post Hunter36o
Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:57 am

Do not buy cheap setups from apps like wish or other cheap sites from China. I have BAD experience with these setups. I prepared and cleaned them exactly the same way I did with my AntsCanada products and after I eventually got the ants to move the whole colony, queen included died within 24 hours. Considering that every other set up I either got from AC or built myself and I put all of them through the same preparation for a few days before introducing the colony I straight out blame the formicarium. I strictly advice not using anything online that is not from a dedicated insect and/or ant store or community as this happened to one Lasius Niger colony and one Myrmica colony. I threw them into the bin immediately and advise you do the same. It is really not worth the risk.
I hope you have a different experience over mine but again it really is not worth the risk. Buy from a trusted ant community/ website or build your own setup.
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

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