5 replies to this topic

[rarankhan]

Hey, guys this is my first post and I'm new to the ant keeping hobby. I bought a large omni nest from AntsCanada and since in NYC ant queen nuptial flights haven't begun yet (lol spring's started yet its still snowing so you can understand why)  I had to order some (300 i think) harvester ant workers from antsalive.com. They haven't come even though its been 3 weeks, and I called them. Apparently they might be coming tomorrow or any day. So now I will keep them in the omni nest and I made a layer of alcohol + baby powder to prevent escapes. I also, ordered some ant food from antsalive. (I know for a colony with a queen and brood, that food isn't suitable since protein, and sugars as well are required but these are just workers so...) I will feed the colony this food and sugar water. I need to know how to put the food in, since the outworld is a bit small to fit anything large into which is the only problem I have with the omni nest. Any other helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

[dspdrew]

You didn't get the vertical nest did you?

[rarankhan]

Well dspdrew I don't mean to sound like a miser but it was kind of out of my budget. 

[Ra3MaN]

300 ants are quite a lot to start with, I bet they will have a veracious appetite for sugary liquids. In the same breath they should be looking for protein to kick off the brood production. My current Myrmicaria natalensis ants number in the fifties  with a about 80 brood and they are finishing off the equivalent of a standard meal worm everyday. I am not sure if that applies to harvester ants though.

[Crystals]

I highly recommend going over this thread: http://www.formicult...of-handy-links/

 

You will find many of the links useful and interesting.

In the above link are other links leading to the Beginner Ant Guide, Pictures of Formicariums, Escape Barriers, Preferred Foods, etc.

 

I see nothing wrong with starting with several hundred workers and learning the ropes of ant keeping before actually getting a queen or young colony.  Besides, it takes a queen quite some time to get more than 50 workers, so you will have something to watch while you wait.

 

As for tips on how to get food into the nest, do you have a foraging area?  Or can you post a picture so we can see what you are working with?

[rarankhan]

I highly recommend going over this thread: http://www.formicult...of-handy-links/

 

You will find many of the links useful and interesting.

In the above link are other links leading to the Beginner Ant Guide, Pictures of Formicariums, Escape Barriers, Preferred Foods, etc.

 

I see nothing wrong with starting with several hundred workers and learning the ropes of ant keeping before actually getting a queen or young colony.  Besides, it takes a queen quite some time to get more than 50 workers, so you will have something to watch while you wait.

 

As for tips on how to get food into the nest, do you have a foraging area?  Or can you post a picture so we can see what you are working with?

Thanks Crystals for the info. I've found a solution and yes I do have an outworld or foraging area. I'm using the caps of some old fish food container since they fit in the omni nest's outworld.