I just wanted to introduce myself and my two queens to the forum.
I'm Mike and I'm from the UK and have always had an interest in these intelligent little beings from a young age. It was thanks to the AC videos that finally made me decide I need to try and create my own colony so here I am...
I would now little to introduce my queens Bertha and Betsie(I know... not very creative at all but they've stuck )
Here's my very first Lasius Niger queen, Bertha who was being pestered by a flying male;
And secondly we have Betsie who really didn't want to be caught and actually decided to hide under my little girls paddling pool;
Your notice I'm not using your standard test tubes and wasn't really prepared for my decision to catch queens and raise them. I'm using spice jars but obviously using the same principle as the test tube set up. I thought it could give those who can be a little impatient like myself another idea of how they can get going. Both my ladies have eggs and I'm so excited for them to hatch!
In preparation for the big day and after watching so many videos on Formicariums and out worlds, I've taken the next steps in designing and constructing my own ant homes. The first design is a basic one using the AAC bricks as seen on AC's YouTube channel. It was a really simple but practical design and I'm even considering re-configuring it slightly making it bigger and with multiple viewing sides. I also currently have a section at the back where I can place wet cotton wool for moisture.
Now time to be honest... This next design has really been frustrating me. I'd finally completed it the other day but then realised that because I'd used baking paper on the sides to make it easier to remove the plaster, it has actually made the sides seriously uneven against the Terrarium and would allow the ants to access parts I don't want them to access. I was really proud of how it all turned out and I even created a system using tubing to control humidity but it seems I must go back to the drawing board on this one.
I hope you liked my pictures and I'm open to any advice in any area.
Thanks guys!
Mike, UK - 1st Time Keeper!
Moderator: ooper01
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Re: Mike, UK - 1st Time Keeper!
Nice! Keep up the good work. The queens should be happy in their setups.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25
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