9 replies to this topic

[Hightlyze]

https://imgur.com/S9rUlcc
Originally gonna use it for selenopsis geminata queen but she died

Edited by Hightlyze, March 17 2019 - 7:00 PM.

[EthanNgo678]

That looks perfect, but may I ask where did you get your susbstrate?

[Hightlyze]

That looks perfect, but may I ask where did you get your susbstrate?

The garden soil? We got it a lot of it for planting and I used some for it

[Leo]

good enough

[Hightlyze]

good enough

What do i do next?

[Leo]

Testube + queen -> place in box.

No offense, please use some common sense/logic or do some research instead of asking every step

[Hightlyze]

Testube + queen -> place in box.
No offense, please use some common sense/logic or do some research instead of asking every step

Right now it's walking around the soil with the test tube open

[Joehostile85]

It’s never going to live in the open test tube placed in a box of dirt. It’s going to dig a hole in the dirt. Especially since it hasn’t started laying eggs in the test tube set up.

Edited by Joehostile85, March 18 2019 - 5:47 AM.

[Hightlyze]

It’s never going to live in the open test tube placed in a box of dirt. It’s going to dig a hole in the dirt. Especially since it hasn’t started laying eggs in the test tube set up.

It hasn't dug since this morning and didn't eat honey

[Joehostile85]

It’s never going to live in the open test tube placed in a box of dirt. It’s going to dig a hole in the dirt. Especially since it hasn’t started laying eggs in the test tube set up.

It hasn't dug since this morning and didn't eat honey

I recommend getting rid the dirt entirely. I don’t know if your plan is to house them in a natural vivarium with dirt and plants, but they don’t need any of that stuff yet. All your doing is making this a lot harder to monitor your queen while she is founding the colony. If she digs a hole in the dirt you might never see her again. Then you have to worry about the dirt being the proper dampness, you won’t ever know if she has larvae, eggs, ect. You might think she’s been dead for 8 months and then all of a sudden see a worker walking around.

I would get rid of the dirt. Put the queen back in the test tube. Attach a short tube to the end of the test tube. Place the test tube with the open tube back in the container without the dirt. And then drop food in the container for your foraging queen to get when she wants it. A year later when you have a bunch of worker ants and your queen is past the founding stage is a good time to put them in a dirt set up.