My ant acting strange

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notinuse
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 1:33 pm
Location: Bulgaria

My ant acting strange

Post: # 97095Post notinuse
Mon Oct 24, 2022 2:06 pm

Hello guys, just started ant keeping a few weeks ago. I am really enjoying watching my small Messor structor colony which came with queen, 4 ants and no brood at all (hope it is because of hibernation time coming soon). Also there were a few dead ants in the tube which were wrapped in cotton strips. After I placed my ants in their new home they all seemed pretty good and moved out of the tube in about 10 days. Today after work I saw one of the ants(the biggest one) to crawl on the sides of the arena like she was in a haste looking for something. After a few hours I went to watch my ants again and I saw the same ant looking like she was berserk, she is flipping and stretching her legs in a strange manner and she looks like agonizing. She is staying out of the nest and walking only in the arena and I read that this behavior is typical for terminally ill ants. I removed the cover from my ants nest and the queen and the other 3 ants looks fine and moving normally. What do you think is happening to this ant? And should I remove her now or I should wait and see what happens with her and hope it wont spread among the other ants?

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antperson24
Posts: 1226
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:01 pm
Location: North East Iowa

Re: My ant acting strange

Post: # 97096Post antperson24
Mon Oct 24, 2022 2:58 pm

notinuse wrote:
Mon Oct 24, 2022 2:06 pm
Hello guys, just started ant keeping a few weeks ago. I am really enjoying watching my small Messor structor colony which came with queen, 4 ants and no brood at all (hope it is because of hibernation time coming soon). Also there were a few dead ants in the tube which were wrapped in cotton strips. After I placed my ants in their new home they all seemed pretty good and moved out of the tube in about 10 days. Today after work I saw one of the ants(the biggest one) to crawl on the sides of the arena like she was in a haste looking for something. After a few hours I went to watch my ants again and I saw the same ant looking like she was berserk, she is flipping and stretching her legs in a strange manner and she looks like agonizing. She is staying out of the nest and walking only in the arena and I read that this behavior is typical for terminally ill ants. I removed the cover from my ants nest and the queen and the other 3 ants looks fine and moving normally. What do you think is happening to this ant? And should I remove her now or I should wait and see what happens with her and hope it wont spread among the other ants?
It sounds like there was something in the out world that is toxic to ants. I would take her out, and see what happens to her. Also to prevent this from happening to other ants, I would clean out the outworld REALLY well.
Why keep ants that aren't found in your yard?
There are so many fascinating ants right where you live!
I disagree with the keeping/buying of ants that aren't in your area.

Join Ants, Plants, and Myrmecology: https://discord.gg/BeQuNf8yTN

notinuse
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 1:33 pm
Location: Bulgaria

Re: My ant acting strange

Post: # 97097Post notinuse
Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:48 pm

I just cleaned the arena, it wasn't too much polluted as the colony is really small and lives there for less than a month. Also throw away all the grains that was scattered around and put a few new grains. About a week ago I killed a fly and put it in the arena. The ants doesn't seem interested in it at all, but I decided to leave it there anyway thinking that it will just dry and my pets will snack from the jerky when they desire. Could this fly be the reason for the toxic environment? The ant that is acting strange is now lying down almost motionless in the nest near the queen. Not sure if she went there on her own or was dragged by the others. And now I can't reach to her and quarantine her. This is such a sad experience I really like my ants and hope they will be fine. Thanks for the fast response!!!

SYUTEO
Posts: 1395
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2019 8:58 am
Location: Malaysia

Re: My ant acting strange

Post: # 97100Post SYUTEO
Mon Oct 24, 2022 9:48 pm

notinuse wrote:
Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:48 pm
I just cleaned the arena, it wasn't too much polluted as the colony is really small and lives there for less than a month. Also throw away all the grains that was scattered around and put a few new grains. About a week ago I killed a fly and put it in the arena. The ants doesn't seem interested in it at all, but I decided to leave it there anyway thinking that it will just dry and my pets will snack from the jerky when they desire. Could this fly be the reason for the toxic environment? The ant that is acting strange is now lying down almost motionless in the nest near the queen. Not sure if she went there on her own or was dragged by the others. And now I can't reach to her and quarantine her. This is such a sad experience I really like my ants and hope they will be fine. Thanks for the fast response!!!
Possibly, flies can carry all sorts of things from bacteria to mites to pesticides, it is also a common thing in the hobby to NEVER feed wild caught flies to your ants. The only flies (Diptera) that are safe to feed your ants are fruit flies, you can buy them at a pet store if you're lucky enough. The ones you can usually find are Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila hydei. Fruit flies can be quite hard to find in local pet stores but can be commonly found in exotic pet stores or online. Although Messor structor need to eat seeds.

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antperson24
Posts: 1226
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:01 pm
Location: North East Iowa

Re: My ant acting strange

Post: # 97102Post antperson24
Tue Oct 25, 2022 7:45 am

notinuse wrote:
Mon Oct 24, 2022 3:48 pm
I just cleaned the arena, it wasn't too much polluted as the colony is really small and lives there for less than a month. Also throw away all the grains that was scattered around and put a few new grains. About a week ago I killed a fly and put it in the arena. The ants doesn't seem interested in it at all, but I decided to leave it there anyway thinking that it will just dry and my pets will snack from the jerky when they desire. Could this fly be the reason for the toxic environment? The ant that is acting strange is now lying down almost motionless in the nest near the queen. Not sure if she went there on her own or was dragged by the others. And now I can't reach to her and quarantine her. This is such a sad experience I really like my ants and hope they will be fine. Thanks for the fast response!!!
I would also guess it was the fly. Hopefully the worker does not feed the queen any via trophallaxis. Also I would get the fly out of there ASAP.
Why keep ants that aren't found in your yard?
There are so many fascinating ants right where you live!
I disagree with the keeping/buying of ants that aren't in your area.

Join Ants, Plants, and Myrmecology: https://discord.gg/BeQuNf8yTN

notinuse
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 1:33 pm
Location: Bulgaria

Re: My ant acting strange

Post: # 97104Post notinuse
Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:17 am

I removed the fly together with all other food, water and pollution yesterday. Today when I returned home was surprised to see all the 4 ants and the queen to be well and acting normally :) :) :) . I really thought that the ant wont make the night as she looked in very bad condition yesterday. Also when I got closer look at the queen ant chamber I think there are a few eggs, but it might also be some pieces of food. It is hard to say as the floor of the farm is shiny white and I got only simple magnifier. I'm from a small town and don't have too many options for ant keeping shops, actually there is only one legit shop for ants in my whole country and it is selling mostly farms for kids and have really small assortment of foods and tools. I checked the options for shipments from abroad, but the delivery costs are too high, plus we are in the European union and we have some really strict policies for transporting live creatures. Anyway I already asked a guy who is making fish tanks and terrariums and he said that he could make me a custom tank whenever I need it. Hope everything is fine and I will raise big and healthy colony some day. Thanks again for all the attention guys, really appreciate it!

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antperson24
Posts: 1226
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:01 pm
Location: North East Iowa

Re: My ant acting strange

Post: # 97105Post antperson24
Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:47 am

notinuse wrote:
Tue Oct 25, 2022 11:17 am
I removed the fly together with all other food, water and pollution yesterday. Today when I returned home was surprised to see all the 4 ants and the queen to be well and acting normally :) :) :) . I really thought that the ant wont make the night as she looked in very bad condition yesterday. Also when I got closer look at the queen ant chamber I think there are a few eggs, but it might also be some pieces of food. It is hard to say as the floor of the farm is shiny white and I got only simple magnifier. I'm from a small town and don't have too many options for ant keeping shops, actually there is only one legit shop for ants in my whole country and it is selling mostly farms for kids and have really small assortment of foods and tools. I checked the options for shipments from abroad, but the delivery costs are too high, plus we are in the European union and we have some really strict policies for transporting live creatures. Anyway I already asked a guy who is making fish tanks and terrariums and he said that he could make me a custom tank whenever I need it. Hope everything is fine and I will raise big and healthy colony some day. Thanks again for all the attention guys, really appreciate it!
Glad to here this!
Why keep ants that aren't found in your yard?
There are so many fascinating ants right where you live!
I disagree with the keeping/buying of ants that aren't in your area.

Join Ants, Plants, and Myrmecology: https://discord.gg/BeQuNf8yTN

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