113 replies to this topic

[Monarch]

My solenopsis Invicta decided to leave the formacarium at night and build a nest in the outworld.  The substrate in the outworld is dry course sand.  I'm having trouble finding articles that relate to this.  Any advice as to what to do?  I'm almost thinking to remove the formcarium i set up in there and simply adapt the outworld.  

 

Any advice?

Any articles or forum posts i missed? 

 

 

[Silq]

Be careful with RIFA as they are an invasive species and should not be let out, released back to the wild, or traded. https://www.invasive...ported-fire-ant

 

If you put substrate in the outworld, it should not be deep enough to dig and nest in. You can put a very thin layer of substrate in the outworld and glued down by 2-part epoxy. They no longer would be able to nest there but since they are already there, you could flood them out. Flooding is only an option with RIFA and not local species since they know how to deal with water

[Monarch]

What if i just want to cope with them being in the outworld and simply make that there new home?

[Silq]

What if i just want to cope with them being in the outworld and simply make that there new home?

As long as you make it escape proof. Fluon or escape barrier on the top of the glass, etc.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

Have you ever hydrated or moistened the substrate? It seems a bit weird for them to dig a new nest if their old one was still humid. If you keep hydrating the nest they might move back in due to lack of humidity. In the future I would advise for you to either put a lot less substrate in or use grout and pour a fine layer of sand on top. The sand really shouldn’t be deep enough for them to dig in.

[Monarch]

I'm definitely seeing the mistakes

 

1) Too much substrate

2) the substrate was still kinda moist from when i cleaned it

3) the sand was very coarse, thus easy to move around

4) My ex

 

 

I'm going to try to make due with this and learn how to turn this into a "natural setup"

Edited by Monarch, September 19 2019 - 9:26 AM.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

1) Too much substrate
2) the substrate was still kinda moist from when i cleaned it
3) the sand was very coarse, thus easy to move around

Yeah if you leave any substrate moist ants have a tendency to nest in it. Like I said before if you never water the sand again but always remember to hydrate the nest they might move back in. Also remember to keep the old nest dark.

Edited by Pumpkin_Loves_Ants, September 19 2019 - 11:04 AM.

[Monarch]

I used this as a substrate.  https://www.petco.co...d-5-lbs-2558024

[Mercutia]

 

4) My ex

 

 

Yes, I can see how that had a profound effect on what happened here. xDDD

[ANTdrew]

Ants tend to do the opposite of what we want or expect them to. Rarely do they find all the fancy formicariums as perfect as we do. I would just trust their judgement. You might be on to something with just doing a natural nest. The big downside is that you’ll have way less observation. I’ve had a lot of fun with a big dirt tank I made and documented in my Tetrararium journal, though. I know my girls love it, and it’s an effective way to contain explosively growing species.
http://www.formicult...l/?fromsearch=1

[Monarch]

I will check that out thank you!  I wish this didn't happen to my first ant colony though!  Now I'm trying to figure if i should add a different substrate, live plants, springtails, new lighting, etc

 

Ants tend to do the opposite of what we want or expect them to. Rarely do they find all the fancy formicariums as perfect as we do. I would just trust their judgement. You might be on to something with just doing a natural nest. The big downside is that you’ll have way less observation. I’ve had a lot of fun with a big dirt tank I made and documented in my Tetrararium journal, though. I know my girls love it, and it’s an effective way to contain explosively growing species.
http://www.formicult...l/?fromsearch=1

[ANTdrew]

Definitely the ex’s fault, though.

[Monarch]

Many mistakes were made

[ANTdrew]

So have the ants actually tunneled under the sand or something else? Have you lost sight of the queen?

[Silq]

I had the same thing happen with my S. Xyloni. The colony that decided to live in the sand outworld are doing better than my other xyloni colonies so they must know what is best.

[Roy3]

If you have a port to attach a tube used for a fish tank air hose with a small fish air pump that would make it to windy for them to live in the outworld. And keep the nest moist, that will encourage them to move back into it.

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And ex's always suck!

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[Monarch]

I can't see the queen but when i was making arrangements, i guess i collapsed an entrance and the workers frantically moved things around and she came out for a few seconds before disappearing back under the sand.  I see the entrance to the tunnel too!

<<<<<<<<This is the look i had when i saw this

 

What i plan on doing today is getting some soil from my backyard, baking it, removing any junk, and then take some of the sand from the opposite side of the tank and mixing it with the soil and dumping it back in, add succulents, air plants, twigs, springstails and pill bugs and call it a day.

 

I will post pics when finished

Edited by Monarch, September 20 2019 - 6:40 AM.

[Monarch]

No ports T_T

 

If you have a port to attach a tube used for a fish tank air hose with a small fish air pump that would make it to windy for them to live in the outworld. And keep the nest moist, that will encourage them to move back into it.

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And ex's always suck!

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[ANTdrew]

I would actually recommend not baking the soil if you want to go a bioactive route. Just make sure you're not digging up any unwanted things like a rival ant colony, so just shift through it a bit. Diversity in the soil micro-biome is a good thing in the long run. Adding in springtails would be better than isopods, too. My Tetras just killed and ate all the isopods in their tank (along with every other living thing). Somehow, they coexist with the springtails, though.

[Monarch]

Very smart!  I've been researching this topic on google and found the same conclusion NOT to bake the dirt.  The dirt where i live in dallas though is very much  clay . 

I would actually recommend not baking the soil if you want to go a bioactive route. Just make sure you're not digging up any unwanted things like a rival ant colony, so just shift through it a bit. Diversity in the soil micro-biome is a good thing in the long run. Adding in springtails would be better than isopods, too. My Tetras just killed and ate all the isopods in their tank (along with every other living thing). Somehow, they coexist with the springtails, though.