18 replies to this topic

[ArdienotheSieno]

Hi.

 

I recently got interested in the world of ant-keeping, and have been looking to capture a queen and start a little colony. I found and caught a queen a few hours ago, but I'm having a couple... issues.

 

Nothing with the queen herself so far, but I've had to majorly improvise my setup. I'm currently in the mountains, and we have no test tubes to set up her royal highness in.

 

I have improvised a set up as best as i can, though it's not the greatest. The best substitute for test tubes I have is empty pill bottles, and i have attaches two of them together with a cotton ball water system thing, and drilled some air holes in the side I'm keeping the queen on. I think i drilled... a bit too many air holes though, so... yeah. she also hasn't driken much water or anything, she just sits there and isn't moving much.

 

I have a picture of my setup here:

 

I just wanted to ask for some opinions and ideas on what to do? this is my first queen i've ever caught, and I'm super excited. i'd also like if anyone know what species she is, i'd love to know. i think she might be a carpenter/camponotus queen, but I'm not sure.

 

but, like, should i block off some of the air holes? i honestly don't know, and would also just love some general advice on what to do.

 

Thanks!!

[Manitobant]

Camponotus sp i think. Location and better pictures would help us get it down to species level.

[ANTdrew]

Nothing wrong with airholes as long as she can’t slip out of them. Just try to get her into a test tube setup as soon as you can, but if she lays eggs in the pill bottle leave her be and roll with it. In the meantime, relax. Ants are earth’s most dominant creatures for a reason. They are tough as heck.

[ArdienotheSieno]

Thank you so much! 

As an answer, I caught her in La Plata County, Colorado, at about 8,000 ft elevation. I'm not able to get the best picture because of the color of the bottle, but here's the best i've got: 

I also noticed that she still wasn't taking any interest in the water, so rotated the setup so its standing up and she's next to the water. i think i might adjust it again later, but if i do i'll probably do it in the morning. i don't THINK i'll be able to get her in a test tube before she starts laying eggs, so i'm glad to hear this little contraption i made will work fine. thanks again!!

[ArdienotheSieno]

also, i was told to feed her about 5 or 6 grains of sugar, but i haven't done that yet, so i just want to ask if i should do that or not. 

sorry for all the questions, I'm brand new to this and i barely have a clue what to do, the youtube tutorials are less informative than i would have hoped for!

[Crazycow]

I would leave it on her side so she doesn’t get to wet, she will drink when she needs too. As for tue sugar it definitely isn’t needed but if you feel like you should you ofc can. Just remember that ants are resilient and can survive tough conditions. My C. Modoc queen was accidentally left in a hot car in 90F for a hour and was completely fine. You should be all good to go, best of luck with her

[ANTdrew]

Camponotus cannot eat dry sugar grains. All sugars you feed will need to be diluted.

[ArdienotheSieno]

Oh, okay. I pushed in a few grains of sugar last night, I couldn't see them this morning so I thought she had eaten them. I looked a little closer earlier, though, and noticed the sugar was just bunched next to the water/cotton ball thing. would, like, a little bit of honey be better?

[azzaaazzzz00]

Yea, if you want to feed her, I would give her just 1-2 drops of honey or sugar water or something that's more on the liquid side ( at least that's what I do, don't know about anyone else tho). Just make sure not to put too much or it could 1. get into a peice of cotton and if the queen doesn't drink it all, a mold out break is possible and 2. I could get on the queen which if she doesn't drown from it, she would probably be pretty stressed. This is all from my expieriences and some other people's, so don't just take only my word for it.

 

Side Note: It's probably just me but I can't see the pics you posted.

Edited by azzaaazzzz00, June 9 2021 - 4:56 AM.

[Antkeeper01]

Yea, if you want to feed her, I would give her just 1-2 drops of honey or sugar water or something that's more on the liquid side ( at least that's what I do, don't know about anyone else tho). Just make sure not to put too much or it could 1. get into a peice of cotton and if the queen doesn't drink it all, a mold out break is possible and 2. I could get on the queen which if she doesn't drown from it, she would probably be pretty stressed. This is all from my expieriences and some other people's, so don't just take only my word for it.

 

Side Note: It's probably just me but I can't see the pics you posted.

i can't either

[ArdienotheSieno]

Does this work? if it doesnt i don't know, i'll try again with a different link maybe?

[azzaaazzzz00]

No it still doesn't work. But, did you try uploadinng to gallery and then uploadig it here with "my media"?

[Kaelwizard]

If you give her honey, make sure to add water in a 1:3 ratio (honey:water). That works best for me. You could probably water it down even further than that.

[ArdienotheSieno]

okay, backup backup plan. link to a document that has all my ant photos.

 

https://docs.google....dit?usp=sharing

 

also no eggs or anything yet

and i gave her a q-tip soaked in sugar water, I'm about 95% sure she drank at least some of it, she stood next to it for a long time and i think i saw a little thin tongue drinking from it

[ArdienotheSieno]

Okay she was acting really weird while in the little setup I made her this morning, so i managed to run out to the store and get a rain gauge. its the closest to a test tube i could get, so..

She's freaking out a little bit, running around and clawing at the cotton, i think she kinda wants to go back to the old setup, which she was trying to escape from... 

this picture is also in the google doc picture thing i made if it doesn't work here.

[Manitobant]

Camponotus chewing at the cotton is normal. She will settle down over time.

[ArdienotheSieno]

I woke up this morning and checked on her and--

 

 

 

she's dead.

Edited by ArdienotheSieno, June 12 2021 - 3:26 PM.

[ArdienotheSieno]

i don't know what i did wrong, or if i did anything wrong, or what, or, or, or...

 

i should have just left her in the original setup, yeah she was acting weird, but her acting weird would be ten times better then my... current situation.

 

but, like, should i have cleaned the tube more thoroughly, or fed her again before i put her in, or made sure she actually preferred it in there before closing her in, or should i have blocked it off with less cotton so more air could get through, or... what???

 

but this morning she was laying down and she wouldn't move, even when i tapped the glass, even when i got so desperate i shook the tube.

 

of course right when i was confident nothing was going to happen to her and that she would be fine...

 

i accidently kill her.

[Manitobant]

Camponotus queens drop dead quite often in my experience. Its not your fault in any way, you did everything correctly. She was probably just a bad queen.