7 replies to this topic

[William. T]

As of now, I have a lot of one queen 20-50 worker T. Sessile colonies. I am thinking of combining them, as T. Sessile are polygyne and will accept other workers, and due to the fact these ants do better as a large group. But the problem is space. I have 250 mm test tubes, and am getting by feeding them my propping a dead spider or Camponotus worker, which they like, into the test tube along with sugary foods. Twice the ants mean an even harder attempt to feed them without escapees, which are very common. Which should I do?

[Chromerust]

Put the test tube into a container and let them forage

[Crystals]

Put two workers together to ensure they won't fight.

But putting the test tubes into a foraging area makes it much easier.

 

You can use several test tubes if needed.

[Ants4fun]

Mine don't get along...

[Forestflamboyant]

Howdy! I have T. Sessile also and if they are not from the same super colony they will fight. They can recognize the difference very quickly so I also suggest trying one worker with another colony first.

 

An idea, maybe you could just try the queens together with just a few workers. Then there would be no dominant smell and maybe they would combine. It's risky and would be a very good experiment that would answer a lot of questions. I do have a few colonies with the largest having 30 queens. I have never tried it and just thought of the idea to help. Good Luck!!  

[William. T]

There is a supercolony..... I have done some experiments. Some of these T. Sessile have had mass die offs after capture.

[Forestflamboyant]

Howdy! Well, I just recently acquired my T. Sessiles  and it took me two weeks to finally get them all out of the wood nest. I would dissect a little at a time until I had all of them. Over 200 + workers and 30 queens with very little die off. I kept them well fed and move them into a nice environment. One of the ways I used to move them without damage is Q-tips. Then I use just regular water and a tooth pick to move the eggs. Very effective and causes little damage.

 

Question, did all your T, Sessile come from the same general location??

 

For example, I have a super colony that goes all the way around my home their territory. But out in the rest of the backyard is wild territory and has multiple different colonies. 

[William. T]

Yup. They come from my backyard. B.T.W, what do you use to keep them in? I currently do not have fluon.

Edited by William. T, April 30 2015 - 3:40 AM.