14 replies to this topic

[Vataes]

Hello everyone,

I hope i'm on the correct section of the forum.

I have a small issue with my half a year old Lasius colony (around 30 workers). I have tried to move them in an improvised Ytong home made nest using some light. They did move for a while but after a few weeks the whole colony moved back in the test tube attached to the colony. Probably cause the higher humidity in the test tube. In both cases, staying for a few weeks in the ytong nest and now back in the test tube, the colony is very dormant, all clustered around the queen and eggs, not even 1 worker ant moving. I'm tapping a little bit on the surface of the tube to check if they are still moving. Do you know what could cause this issue? What's wrong with them and what can i do to get them out of this state?

The setup is the following: Test tube connected to ytong. Ytong connected to arena.

The only place where i can place water / food now is the arena but i did not see any of the workers wonder outside yet which concerns me. It's full summer here so the temperature in the room is between 24 and 28 Celsius (goes higher than this but trying to regulate it with an AC in the other room.

Please help!

Thank you,
Vlad

 

 

[Kaelwizard]

Are the workers very physogastric or fat? If so they may not be hungry so that could be why they aren’t foraging. Otherwise I don’t know why they would do this.

[Vataes]

As the workers are very very tiny, i don't think i could make a difference between a normal one and a fat one. I fed them quite a lot of honey before they were doing this. Should i simply wait? 

 

Could it also be the amount of baby powder lotion volume i've put on the arenas outskirts? Make them this way? 

[TechAnt]

Perhaps the colony does not consider the Ytong formicarium is not preferred over the test tube. How big is the formicarium because it could have been too large. Also, have you been watering it every few days? Maybe it got too dry in there, so they moved back into the test tube.

[Vataes]

I am not concerned about them moving back @TechAnt. I am sure the humidity was the issue there. But I was wondering why they act so passive for more than a month now. Are the workers full so they don't feel the need to prospect?

[NickAnter]

My 40 worker Lasius colony sits around most of the time. Unless I feed them fruit flies, there is no more than one worker in the outworld. I won't see them forage for up to a week at a time.

[TechAnt]

I am not concerned about them moving back @TechAnt. I am sure the humidity was the issue there. But I was wondering why they act so passive for more than a month now. Are the workers full so they don't feel the need to prospect?

Sometimes ants in general may not feel the need to forage. But as I'm not that experienced in Lasius sp. so NickAnter's information probably triumphs mine. 

[Vataes]

I've given them some dead ants in the outworld but they are still not budging. I guess i'll wait them out to see if anything moves. I'm just afraid that the workers will die out faster than then the eggs hatching. Until now i've givem them only honey. I was planning to give them some protein as well with the new setup but as they are not venturing outside the nest i'm a little bit concerned. 

[TechAnt]

If you give dead workers, they'd probably not be inclined to eat dead worker ants as they don't taste good and don't give that much protein. I think you should find a better protein source.

[Antkid12]

If you give dead workers, they'd probably not be inclined to eat dead worker ants as they don't taste good and don't give that much protein. I think you should find a better protein source.

Agreed.

[Vataes]

They were dead queens that did not survive the test tube setup, not workers. Any good protein source? I incline to not give them random insects i catch indoors.

[Antkid12]

You can buy some feeders such as mealworms, feeder roaches, crickets, and fruit flies online.

Edited by Antkid12, July 2 2020 - 11:44 AM.

[TechAnt]

They were dead queens that did not survive the test tube setup, not workers. Any good protein source? I incline to not give them random insects i catch indoors.

Queen elates are full of protein. Also don’t just catch ants from indoors, they can have pesticide and kill them. Ad feeding dead queens that y’know, died naturally could have a disease.

Edited by TechAnt, July 2 2020 - 11:48 AM.

[Vataes]

Both ant queens i gave them were in a test tube for a few months. Even after both died, unfortunately, i did boil them before putting them in the outworld. 

 

Anyway, i'll do my best to feed them some mealworms, or at least half of a mealworm because i think the worm is quite large for the number of workers i have under care . Hopefully the ants will come back from the slumber when they will get hungry. I am concerned they will never find the outworld though. The ytong is not big so this would not be a reason for them not going foraging. Eventually i'll post a picture with the nest. 

[TechAnt]

Sounds good!