7 replies to this topic

[AdamL]

I gave my Tetramorium Imagrans colony sand and now I can't move the in to this formicarium I made there is about 25 eggs larva and pupie.
http://imgur.com/a/0SeHTqa

[Zeiss]

The easiest way to move colonies is to just dump them into the nest.  If you aren't comfortable doing that, as it can cause some injury, your best bet is to make the new nest dark, humid, and make the test tube bright, warm, and dry.

[AdamL]

How could I dump them with out them brood sticking the the walls

[Zeiss]

Well, first of all, only dump them in if you are easily able to dump them into the nest.  Second, tapping the sides of the tube should move most of the brood into the nest.  If you're meticulous like I am, I use very fine tweezers and move the remaining brood.  

 

As I said above, only do this if you are comfortable with possibly destroying some brood or injuring the ants.

[AdamL]

I tried to dump them but they didn't fall out the sand was to wet

Edited by AdamL, September 28 2019 - 3:44 PM.

[P0rcelain]

you might have to wait until they decide it is a nice place. keep in mind the typical habitat of ants and that this test tube is technically their home. i am yet to keep ants yet, but i feel like once the brood hatches they might have a new incentive to move in, since the test tube could start to get quite cramped.

 

try to keep the new nest dark and moist

Edited by P0rcelain, September 28 2019 - 5:03 PM.

[dermy]

I tried to dump them but they didn't fall out the sand was to wet

I think you should leave the test-tube out in an outworld/foraging area, allow it to dry and give the ants access to a nice moist nest. It doesn't look from your images that you have a foraging area attached yet. You could just simply use a container that can easily have a hole drilled/cut into it enough to squeeze the tube from the nest you've build to the foraging area, and leave the test-tube in the outworld opened, so it dries a little faster. Leave the test-tube uncovered and maybe cover the nest up so it's more suitable for the colony. Make sure you put some kind of barrier on the outworld so when they eclose, the workers can't just run out of it (I prefer to keep outworlds without a lid simply so moisture doesn't build up and cause mold, or cause the ants to want to nest in it)

 

Edit: the fact the colony doesn't yet have workers, means it might be more worth it to wait till they have eclosed then try incentivizing a move to the new nest, not much point if it's just the queen, as she's very reluctant to leave her home at this fragile stage of the colony.

 

Another method, for such a small colony is to connect another test-tube up to the older one, cover it with something to make it dark and maybe your queen will move the brood from one test-tube to new cleaner one. With hibernation just around the bend, it might be best to wait till after hibernation to give them a nest. Much easier to hibernate a test-tube than a nest with connections all over.

Edited by dermy, September 29 2019 - 9:26 AM.

[AdamL]

Sorry i didn't say but there are workers they were hiding and there is a out world