Yellow water!?

[Zayltek]

I recently gave my two hibernating Camponotus Pennsylvanicus colonies (still in tubes) fresh tubes. One of the tubes is as it should be. White cotton, clear water. The other however has gone yellow and I have no idea why or what could have caused it. Help??

[DontSquishTheAnt]

It is probably ant waste buildup as well as bacterium buildup. I wouldn't worry unless the cotton or test tube starts to mold, darken, or the ants start dying. One question to ask is "is any of the ants' food touching the cotton?" Stagnant water in contact with decaying matter turns yellowish in color. Honey also does this to water, even though it doesn't decay. So if the answer to that question is "yes," then you want to remove the food from the cotton. I wouldn't bother replacing the ants' water until it starts getting low anyways.

I hope that helped and made sense.

[joyjoy22]

Usually, the water turn yellow when I feed my ants honey, you have to check it out.