5 replies to this topic

[oldman]

Once you have a mature colony how do you go about desensitizing the ants to the to the light so we can observe them? It appears to me that when you film these ants in their formicarium for it takes a long time and they do not appear to be stressed out. I do not like covering them and uncover them to observe them I believe this would stress them out more then if we just left the formicarium open I would appreciate your opinions thank you

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

How I would do it would be to slowly let them adjust to the light in fractions (such as 20'ths of the nest if it's big enough) and let them adjust to the 1/20 for a week or two and then another 1/20 for the same duration of time. They would realize the light is not a threat and then not be as weary as it as a result.

[oldman]

I am 79 years old not sure how to chat.  Thank you that sounds like a good idea

[ANTdrew]

This will vary depending on species. Camponotus hardly care, while Formica tend to freak out more. One thing some people do is put red film over the ants because they can’t see red light.

[RushmoreAnts]

Lasius seem to stress the least, in my experience, along with Tetramorium.

[quote name="ANTdrew" post="139576" timestamp="1584834523One thing some people do is put red film over the ants because they can’t see red light.[/quote] I don’t trust this. I’ve tried it, and it never seems to work. They still freak out, just not quite as much.

[ANTdrew]

Crematogaster don’t care about light either. What species are you keeping, oldman?