Greeting s from Nova Scotia

[vicmack]

Hello everybody!! Im new to the forum and have a question about my ants. I started this hobby in July and very much still learning.I have had a queen in a test tube set up since the end of July. She's produced 8 workers, one died. She is now tending to a new batch of egg.

Even though the test tube is attached to an ant farm bought from AntsCanada with the sand provided and some sterile material from the area the queen was collected from, (my back yard) the ants have not moved into the farm. I have changed the moldy testube when necessary but still they prefer this to the farm. Now they have blocked off the tube and are tightly packed in next to the cotton blocking the water. The room is warm about 25 c. I have fed meal worms and honey water and fruit flies but its hard to give food now since they blocked of their test tube. I really want to put them in the farm to make it easier but I know this is wrong..Im guessing now they are preparing to hibernate. Please let me know what I should do, Id hate for them to die .
Victoria

[LasiusSapien]

Hello everybody!! Im new to the forum and have a question about my ants. I started this hobby in July and very much still learning.I have had a queen in a test tube set up since the end of July. She's produced 8 workers, one died. She is now tending to a new batch of egg.

Even though the test tube is attached to an ant farm bought from AntsCanada with the sand provided and some sterile material from the area the queen was collected from, (my back yard) the ants have not moved into the farm. I have changed the moldy testube when necessary but still they prefer this to the farm. Now they have blocked off the tube and are tightly packed in next to the cotton blocking the water. The room is warm about 25 c. I have fed meal worms and honey water and fruit flies but its hard to give food now since they blocked of their test tube. I really want to put them in the farm to make it easier but I know this is wrong..Im guessing now they are preparing to hibernate. Please let me know what I should do, Id hate for them to die .
Victoria

yeah sounds like hibernation, also just sound like they find the test tube suitable some ants will wait until they have 20+ workers others only 10 or less

[vicmack]

ok thanks for replying. Do I continue to feed them? anything else I should do? what about temperature

[Hawkeye]

ok thanks for replying. Do I continue to feed them? anything else I should do? what about temperature

Hi there!

Like Lasius said, they're prepping for hibernation. Chances are they have filled their (social) stomachs to the brim at this point, and they won't need any more food. You could always try offering some sugar water of course. You'll probably do best placing the colony in a basement or a 'cold' room with stable temperatures between 5 - 10 degrees Celsius.

As to not moving out, the colony simple isn't big enough to face the unknown dangers the outworld might harbour. If they lose just one ant at this point that's 12,5 % of their entire colony. So they'll huddle up like you said until they can gain strength in numbers before venturing out.