FEEDING IRIDOMYRMEX ANCEPS WHILE IN THE TEST TUBE

[cosmo1190]

Hello,it's me again..
i have a bit of problem recently,i accidentaly killed two worker ant's cause they are escaping and i grab them with my finger too hard.my ant's escaping while i clean their bug mess that i feed them before i have difficulties of cleaning the tube cause i don't have an outworld..and i'm quite sad about what just happen..so i have some question

-is it ok to feed iridomyrmex anceps founding colony just honey till i move them to formicarium?

-if i really need to feed them bug,do i really need to clean the waste?


thank you for reading and answering...appreciate it

[SYUTEO]

For honey, you just need to be quick and don't let them escape too quickly. For insects, you can use the cotton to 'push' the insect in so the ants won't escape. You can try to clean the waste as fast as you can so that only a few ants escape. I've kept I. anceps before, it was HARD to keep them in.

[cosmo1190]

For honey, you just need to be quick and don't let them escape too quickly. For insects, you can use the cotton to 'push' the insect in so the ants won't escape. You can try to clean the waste as fast as you can so that only a few ants escape. I've kept I. anceps before, it was HARD to keep them in.

is it ok to feed them ONLY HONEY until they have like 30-40 worker's,until they ready to get moved to formicarium?

[SYUTEO]

For honey, you just need to be quick and don't let them escape too quickly. For insects, you can use the cotton to 'push' the insect in so the ants won't escape. You can try to clean the waste as fast as you can so that only a few ants escape. I've kept I. anceps before, it was HARD to keep them in.

is it ok to feed them ONLY HONEY until they have like 30-40 worker's,until they ready to get moved to formicarium?

Most likely not but you can if you add protein powder into the honey.

[cosmo1190]

For honey, you just need to be quick and don't let them escape too quickly. For insects, you can use the cotton to 'push' the insect in so the ants won't escape. You can try to clean the waste as fast as you can so that only a few ants escape. I've kept I. anceps before, it was HARD to keep them in.

is it ok to feed them ONLY HONEY until they have like 30-40 worker's,until they ready to get moved to formicarium?

Most likely not but you can if you add protein powder into the honey.

hmm...i think i will make small outworld...and oh...does baby powder effective to prevent iridomyrmex from climbing,and uh how often do i need to clean the bug waste,and what if i just didn't clean it AT ALL?

[SYUTEO]

is it ok to feed them ONLY HONEY until they have like 30-40 worker's,until they ready to get moved to formicarium?

Most likely not but you can if you add protein powder into the honey.

hmm...i think i will make small outworld...and oh...does baby powder effective to prevent iridomyrmex from climbing,and uh how often do i need to clean the bug waste,and what if i just didn't clean it AT ALL?

I tried baby powder, it didn't work. You can use vaseline but it may be hard to clean. Or you can also place it onto a tray or something filled with water, if they still end up escaping, add a little soap into the water to break the surface tension. You NEED to clean the leftover insect parts otherwise it will mold, if they place their garbage in their nest them you can add springtails in to clean it for you.

[cosmo1190]

Most likely not but you can if you add protein powder into the honey.

hmm...i think i will make small outworld...and oh...does baby powder effective to prevent iridomyrmex from climbing,and uh how often do i need to clean the bug waste,and what if i just didn't clean it AT ALL?

I tried baby powder, it didn't work. You can use vaseline but it may be hard to clean. Or you can also place it onto a tray or something filled with water, if they still end up escaping, add a little soap into the water to break the surface tension. You NEED to clean the leftover insect parts otherwise it will mold, if they place their garbage in their nest them you can add springtails in to clean it for you.

Ah...okay,it's real hard isn't it....i will try...thank you...truly for those information,thank you!

[cosmo1190]

Most likely not but you can if you add protein powder into the honey.

hmm...i think i will make small outworld...and oh...does baby powder effective to prevent iridomyrmex from climbing,and uh how often do i need to clean the bug waste,and what if i just didn't clean it AT ALL?

I tried baby powder, it didn't work. You can use vaseline but it may be hard to clean. Or you can also place it onto a tray or something filled with water, if they still end up escaping, add a little soap into the water to break the surface tension. You NEED to clean the leftover insect parts otherwise it will mold, if they place their garbage in their nest them you can add springtails in to clean it for you.

Wait,i was just browsing about ant barrier in the forum and....i found that vaseline is the weakest? and infact i find that baby powder+alcohol is stronger...is that true?

[SYUTEO]

hmm...i think i will make small outworld...and oh...does baby powder effective to prevent iridomyrmex from climbing,and uh how often do i need to clean the bug waste,and what if i just didn't clean it AT ALL?

I tried baby powder, it didn't work. You can use vaseline but it may be hard to clean. Or you can also place it onto a tray or something filled with water, if they still end up escaping, add a little soap into the water to break the surface tension. You NEED to clean the leftover insect parts otherwise it will mold, if they place their garbage in their nest them you can add springtails in to clean it for you.

Wait,i was just browsing about ant barrier in the forum and....i found that vaseline is the weakest? and infact i find that baby powder+alcohol is stronger...is that true?

I suppose that it depends on the brand. For me, baby powder + alcohol didn't really work (probably because I didn't add enough baby powder) and I didn't like the smell. Vaseline worked for stopping my Lepisiota rothneyi (5-10% of the workers still made it through), Pheidole parva (8-15% made it out), Iridomyrmex anceps (now deseaced ) (5-12% made it out), Camponotus parius (3-8% made it out).

[cosmo1190]

I tried baby powder, it didn't work. You can use vaseline but it may be hard to clean. Or you can also place it onto a tray or something filled with water, if they still end up escaping, add a little soap into the water to break the surface tension. You NEED to clean the leftover insect parts otherwise it will mold, if they place their garbage in their nest them you can add springtails in to clean it for you.

Wait,i was just browsing about ant barrier in the forum and....i found that vaseline is the weakest? and infact i find that baby powder+alcohol is stronger...is that true?

I suppose that it depends on the brand. For me, baby powder + alcohol didn't really work (probably because I didn't add enough baby powder) and I didn't like the smell. Vaseline worked for stopping my Lepisiota rothneyi (5-10% of the workers still made it through), Pheidole parva (8-15% made it out), Iridomyrmex anceps (now deseaced ) (5-12% made it out), Camponotus parius (3-8% made it out).

I see,maybe i will try vaseline...big respect for your Iridomyrmex anceps though.you are truly an experienced ant keeper,i'm lucky to met you and other amazing people here.

and also,do i need to clean my test tube before i connected it to outworld? or do they going to take their junk out after i connected it to outworld by themselve's?