7 replies to this topic

[futurebird]

When I started to get into antkeeping might have described the hobby as: educational, curious, creative, dynamic... but one word I would not have used is: emotionally taxing. 

 

But ants are pets, so of course you get attached to them. And they are so fragile and easy to harm. And even more than with a larger animal you control their world so much, it's mostly on you. (ants also die for no apparent reason, as insects. )

 

Anyway... I'm in a minor funk because I knocked my lasius colony over, killed like 20 out of about 150 workers, freaked them out, and just was a general monster. 

 

I feel the way I did when I accidentally kicked my dog or stepped on the cat's tail by mistake. 

 

I hope they are OK. 

[AntsMaryland]

I completely understand what you're feeling. When I started on Formiculture, I was rather young (not little, but immature to say the least) and I made a lot of mistakes with ant keeping. In fact, I still do!

 

I accidentally killed my Lasius colonies, made a DIY nest with a terrible hydration system, my Camponotus queens wrapped their cocoons in cotton ball thread so that the workers were unable to eclose, AND my most successful colony (Tetramorium), the queen mysteriously died; whether that was my fault or just nature, I don't know. That all happened in my first year, and I continued to make more mistakes as I went on.

 

BUT, I learned so much about it all. I would fail one year with a species, do a ton more research, and succeed the next year (or just fail less). I know ant keeping can be an emotional rollercoaster and it is certainly much easier to kill your colonies than you would think going into it. But I always remind myself: I have my entire life to get this right! Besides, if everything went perfect, how fun would this hobby actually be...? Looking back, all of my failures (and current ones) have led me to know more about ants and forced me to do my research – a discipline that doesn't always come naturally; it certainly didn't for me.

 

So I get that you're frustrated, but stick with it! You'll look back at anything you may deem as mistakes and frustrating, but it will only make the times you succeed more rewarding! Hopefully this helps... and sorry for sounding rather cliche lol.

Edited by AntsMaryland, July 25 2021 - 9:47 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Common sense. Common sense; it ain’t that common. Keep ants very warm, hydrated and pumped full of protein, and you’ll be fine. Be very vigilant, without meddling. That’s the golden rule! Ants will thrive if you let them….

[ConcordAntman]

I turned 69 yesterday and have been interested in ants since I was a kid. After some abortive attempts, it wasn’t until I retired 4 years ago that I had the time and bandwidth to successfully manage keeping colonies. I obsess and worry about my charges with their inexplicable ups and downs. We get it because we’ve all been there. It’s painful when they die but such a joy when they flourish. Hang in there!

[KadinB]

I turned 69 yesterday and have been interested in ants since I was a kid. After some abortive attempts, it wasn’t until I retired 4 years ago that I had the time and bandwidth to successfully manage keeping colonies. I obsess and worry about my charges with their inexplicable ups and downs. We get it because we’ve all been there. It’s painful when they die but such a joy when they flourish. Hang in there!

happy late birth day! Mine was on the 21st so very close birthdays


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[ConcordAntman]

Thanks friend!

[ANTS_KL]

No worries. I failed countless times. (Mostly with really rare sp that have little research on em). My 1 year old nylanderia colony has sadly passed away randomly just last month. But antkeeping is just trial and error, and so you should never give up!

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[futurebird]

My lasius colony is doing fine again! The queen has a new pile of eggs even after being herded around with a spoon after the enclosure broke.

 

Thank god for aspirators. 

 

I think they will bounce back... but they remain jittery.