Help choosing gear pack please!

[CANant]

Thanks Hawkeye! I was putting spaces between the link and the [/img]. I hate that photobucket puts their watermark right on the image.

The test tube set up might be too big. I am worried she won’t go get water but then I’m not sure she’d need it right now anyway. She has small air vent plugs in the square part.

[Hawkeye]

I love big butts and I can not lie... She's a beauty!

You could just set up an imgur account as I did. Quick, Easy, and Free + No watermarks.

[Hawkeye]

about the water, next time you give a tiny drop of water, consider putting it halfway down the water tube? She'll probably notice the water that way too!

[CANant]

Hawkeye- Thanks. She is big and beautiful isn’t she...I’ve had Camponotus Novaeboracensis in the past and was specifically looking for that species but this Queen literally found me. She was just inside our doorway, I suspect looking for a safe place to start laying. Luckily I found her before she got too comfortable and started causing damage to our home.

[Hawkeye]

Hawkeye- Thanks. She is big and beautiful isn’t she...I’ve had Camponotus Novaeboracensis in the past and was specifically looking for that species but this Queen literally found me. She was just inside our doorway, I suspect looking for a safe place to start laying. Luckily I found her before she got too comfortable and started causing damage to our home.

Pretty sure they don't burrow into treated wood, or any wood for that matter unless it has started to decay because of moisture

[CANant]

Yes but it’s a older (100 years +) house so I’m sure there is a spot somewhere.

[Hawkeye]

Yes but it’s a older (100 years +) house so I’m sure there is a spot somewhere.

Oh my Ant Queens arrived today while I was at work, on my way home now. Can't wait to see them. I have ordered 2 queens ( 1 with a couple of workers, and a single queen) because I saw a number of posts of colonies not surviving hibernation.

I have designed a huge natural paludarium for them. I haven't posted my latest changes yet, but you'll get the gist. https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=14842

I have made some changes to incorporate a cooling element in the soil to facilitate hibernation, so I don't have to move the ants in the winter months.

[CANant]

Wow!! That’s an impressive setup! Really great idea adding the cooling element. That’s exciting that your queens came. What species did you order? I’m assuming you live in a colder climate if you need to simulate a winter..
I’m not sure how I will do that once my colony gets bigger. I’ll have to do a little research. Maybe I’ll buy a small fridge and keep it on a low setting?

[Hawkeye]

Wow!! That’s an impressive setup! Really great idea adding the cooling element. That’s exciting that your queens came. What species did you order? I’m assuming you live in a colder climate if you need to simulate a winter..
I’m not sure how I will do that once my colony gets bigger. I’ll have to do a little research. Maybe I’ll buy a small fridge and keep it on a low setting?

Carpenter Ants. Both queens arrived in test tubes stacked between layers of bubble wrap. The solitary queen has already laid brood in transit! She is very jumpy though, and very protective of her brood gave her a little drop of honey on a piece of aluminium foil. She bounced back as soon as her antlers touched it. I've put her back in the dark, to acclimate after the arduous journey.

The queen with 3 workers and a bunch of eggs, was very laid back. Her workers gorged on the honey as soon as they found it and went straight to the queen to feed her too. I also gave them a tiny spider, which they found really interesting. One of the workers started chewing down on it, but then decided the honey was far easier to reach. Obviously this small colony is now back in the dark as well, feasting on the nourishment.

The test tube they came in, already had some mold growing on the cotton holding back the water. So I'll give them the night to settle down, but I'll temporarily have to house them in a Tupperware box I think, to replace the cotton bud.
I haven't got any spare tubes.

I did order the large hybrid nest 2.0 for them, which comes with tubes, but it will take some time to get here as I live in the Netherlands. The nest will only be a temporary solution, until I can build the paludarium and the colony is large enough to enter it.

[Hawkeye]

Wow!! That’s an impressive setup! Really great idea adding the cooling element. That’s exciting that your queens came. What species did you order? I’m assuming you live in a colder climate if you need to simulate a winter..
I’m not sure how I will do that once my colony gets bigger. I’ll have to do a little research. Maybe I’ll buy a small fridge and keep it on a low setting?

I think my ants need a temperature between 5-10 degrees Celsius. So a fridge would be too cold for mine, you might want to check up on yours.