Lasius niger and time to move them from their test tube

[cconesa]

Hi everyone,

(1)
I have a colony almost ready for relocation (we are up to 30 workers and lots of brood, etc) and would like to know if the lasius niger takes well to a homemade plaster formicarium (see photo attached). My idea is to keep them there for some time and then move them to a larger "AntsCanada" formicarium that I have. The bottom part of the formicarium is somewhat humid but not extremely humid but before I take the plunge, I would love feedback from all of you, fellow ant keepers as to when I should start to move them and if the container is suitable...



Ignore the black grommet inside, t it is just there so that I do not loose it!.

(2)
I have another (lasius niger) queen with some workers (6) but she has stopped laying eggs (stressed with the traveling, etc) and for the last three months, nothing. She's been fed with sugars and proteins regularly and seem to have accepted the food. We are getting close to the hibernation period and thus I wonder what I am supposed to do and whether the queen/workers will survive the winter and finally what I should do to get her started with the egg laying again.

Look forward to your replies. Regards,

Christian.

[antnest8]

Wow that is an awesome formicarium. I would think that it would be the right size. With a good amount of growing room. What is the hydration system?

As for your smaller colony I think that they can make it through the winter just you would have to watch them carefully.

[cconesa]

If you look carefully at the picture you will notice there is a layer of water at the bottom (can be topped up via a small hole on the side), approximately 2cm in height, that does not touch the plaster but keeps the formicarium humid (measured 70% humidity). I am hoping it will suit the lasius and keep them happy.

[Vincex]

I have lasius myself and they really are escape artist s lol they even manage to drown themselves in the water feeder I have so you d really want to make sure the seals are good on bottom where you have the water cos they will get in there and drown

[cconesa]

I have lasius myself and they really are escape artist s lol they even manage to drown themselves in the water feeder I have so you d really want to make sure the seals are good on bottom where you have the water cos they will get in there and drown

Yes, they are pretty nifty but I would be surprised if they could find a gap between the plaster and the plastic as I cast the plaster from one of those recipients and its pretty tight. I suspectthe top lid might be more of a problem.

[cconesa]

An update and a call for advice:

I moved a colony of lasius niger into the formicarium but the ants did not like it and had to rescue them and put them back into a test tube when I started to see some ants dying. I did put a water reservoir up in the foraging area but they did not seem to be interested. Ultimately to stop them from dying I moved them back into the test tube and seem to be doing okay in their hibernation.

Checking videos and reading through the internet, I had read somewhere that the water in the nest (at the bottom) should not be touching the plaster but it would seem that doing that, makes the nest far too dry and, I am guessing, they need a good supply of moisture in order to survive. Is that a fair assessment?.

I have now set the nest (experimenting but no ants inside) in such a way that there is a small piece of absorbent material (almost like a sponge) that makes contact with the water and plaster which as a result, creates plenty of moisture in a part of the formicarium (in the zone where there is contact with this sponge), to the extent that there are very small droplets/condensation on the plastic wall. My question is this: is this a better setup for the ants and more likely to survive in this environment given the moisture/condensation?.

Another system I am considering trying is putting cotton at the bottom of the nest to make contact with the plaster bottom to keep the nest moist. Is that a better idea?.

Let me know what you think before I have a go at moving another colony into this set up in a few months time (after hibernation).

Regards,

Christian.