9 replies to this topic

[NPLT]

Hi, so, I have a small problem, today arrived a package with a lotta stuff for me, but most importantly a Lasius (cthonolasius) sp. and Manica rubida. So, it's all good, both look healthy, Lasius has enough hosts to keep her alive until I figure out how to get more of them or buy the pupae, Manica has 20 larvae at the very least and is very lively. I have an arena ready for the Manica queen ( though will need to buy one for the Lasius ). However there is one problem, the test tubes they arrived in are absolutely tiny, I mean, literally 6 centimeters compared to my test tubes 15, and their water supply is even smaller, so, I figured I should move them, and while I think moving the Lasius will be easy enough due to how those parasitic colonies function, however, I don't know how I will do that with Manica rubida, and unfortunately her water supply is the smallest.

[Swirlysnowflake]

Hi, so, I have a small problem, today arrived a package with a lotta stuff for me, but most importantly a Lasius (cthonolasius) sp. and Manica rubida. So, it's all good, both look healthy, Lasius has enough hosts to keep her alive until I figure out how to get more of them or buy the pupae, Manica has 20 larvae at the very least and is very lively. I have an arena ready for the Manica queen ( though will need to buy one for the Lasius ). However there is one problem, the test tubes they arrived in are absolutely tiny, I mean, literally 6 centimeters compared to my test tubes 15, and their water supply is even smaller, so, I figured I should move them, and while I think moving the Lasius will be easy enough due to how those parasitic colonies function, however, I don't know how I will do that with Manica rubida, and unfortunately her water supply is the smallest.

I attach the tubes for some time and if the queen still won’t move, I let the queen crawl onto a stick or something and then transfer her. Then I pick up the brood with a damp q tip and transfer that too.

Edited by Swirlysnowflake, June 11 2021 - 11:08 AM.

[NPLT]

 

Hi, so, I have a small problem, today arrived a package with a lotta stuff for me, but most importantly a Lasius (cthonolasius) sp. and Manica rubida. So, it's all good, both look healthy, Lasius has enough hosts to keep her alive until I figure out how to get more of them or buy the pupae, Manica has 20 larvae at the very least and is very lively. I have an arena ready for the Manica queen ( though will need to buy one for the Lasius ). However there is one problem, the test tubes they arrived in are absolutely tiny, I mean, literally 6 centimeters compared to my test tubes 15, and their water supply is even smaller, so, I figured I should move them, and while I think moving the Lasius will be easy enough due to how those parasitic colonies function, however, I don't know how I will do that with Manica rubida, and unfortunately her water supply is the smallest.

I attach the tubes for some time and if the queen still won’t move, I let the queen crawl onto a stick or something and then transfer her. Then I pick up the brood with a damp q tip and transfer that too.

 

Alright, how much time do you ussually give the queen? Also, will she move even if her water supply is not exhausted? I mean, it is small, but also basically filled up.

[ANTdrew]

If there is water, I would honestly leave her. She probably likes the smaller space, to be honest.

[NPLT]

If there is water, I would honestly leave her. She probably likes the smaller space, to be honest.

There's 1 or 2 ml of water, if I won't do it now, I'll probably have to do it anyway in a couple days, even the chtonolasius colony has more water.

[NPLT]

For reference, those are their current setups, in which these colonies came in the mail contrasted with a prepared setup I would want to move them into.

 

[mothers_blessing]

This may not be great advice (I am new to this hobby) but what I do is connect the new tube to the old one, cover the one you want them to move into to make it dark, and put a gentle light above the tubes. The darkness will encourage her to move in to the new tube on her own. She won't want to stay in the light. 

 

Feel free to correct me if this is not good advice! It's just something that's worked for me in the past. 

 

Good luck! 

[NPLT]

This may not be great advice (I am new to this hobby) but what I do is connect the new tube to the old one, cover the one you want them to move into to make it dark, and put a gentle light above the tubes. The darkness will encourage her to move in to the new tube on her own. She won't want to stay in the light. 

 

Feel free to correct me if this is not good advice! It's just something that's worked for me in the past. 

 

Good luck! 

Seems like good advice, but I moved the queen with a different method.

[MrPurpleB]

It appears that you already had your issue solved, but I don't think it will hurt mentioning a possible strategy for the future. I had to move a colony with two queens and brood to a new test tube because the test tube broke. Luckily, the crack was only present on the hydration area side of the tube, so the queens were fine. 

 

This method worked fine and surprisingly did queens were not too stressed out. You can thank Nurbs for the video.

Edited by MrPurpleB, June 13 2021 - 12:51 PM.

[NPLT]

It appears that you already had your issue solved, but I don't think it will hurt mentioning a possible strategy for the future. I had to move a colony with two queens and brood to a new test tube because the test tube broke. Luckily, the crack was only present on the hydration area side of the tube, so the queens were fine. 

 

This method worked fine and surprisingly did queens were not too stressed out. You can thank Nurbs for the video.

Funilly enough, that's what I ended up doing for the brood, but the queen was better at gripping, thankfully because they are aggresive some light coaxing with a q-tip was enough to lead her into the new tube.