17 replies to this topic

[DinoH]

I checked my queen Formica subsericea queen but what I saw was the weirdest death scene I have ever seen. Her faster was about five times larger, the cotton blocking the water was far behind where I put it, there was no water besides the cotton blocking the water and exit, and the queen was dead.
What happened to her? There is a hole in the cotton also.

Before:

[attachment=15335:IMG_3556.jpeg]

After:

[attachment=15336:IMG_3700.jpeg]

Edited by DinoH, July 9 2023 - 1:44 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Did the tube get overheated?

[Ernteameise]

Flooding?
She pulled out too much cotton, the water got out and she drowned?

[DinoH]

Did the tube get overheated?

I’m sure it’s not that, my basement never gets hot and there is no possible heat source anywhere.

[DinoH]

Flooding?
She pulled out too much cotton, the water got out and she drowned?

That seems like the most reasonable explanation. She looks like a drowned ant. Is there any way I can prevent that?

[ANTdrew]

Folks use these blue foam pieces instead of cotton. They fit tighter, mold less, and ants can’t dig into them.

[Ants_Dakota]

Folks use these blue foam pieces instead of cotton. They fit tighter, mold less, and ants can’t dig into them.

yes pva sponges could work

[DinoH]

Folks use these blue foam pieces instead of cotton. They fit tighter, mold less, and ants can’t dig into them.

I think I have seen them in Ebay but I did not know they where good. Thank you for the advice. By the way what do you use as a founding chamber to the very small queens?

[ANTdrew]

Test tubes work great for almost any species.

[Ants_Dakota]

Folks use these blue foam pieces instead of cotton. They fit tighter, mold less, and ants can’t dig into them.

I think I have seen them in Ebay but I did not know they where good. Thank you for the advice. By the way what do you use as a founding chamber to the very small queens?

Either 16mmor smaller test tubes or portable amor ants has some cryptic species inserts you could purchase.

[AntObserver]

Bloating like that is common from drowning. 
Sorry for your loss! 
See about the Blue PVA sponges, they are much better and reliable and are synthetic so do not mold unless excessive organic material is placed upon it. 

Happy Anting 

Edited by AntObserver, July 21 2023 - 8:25 AM.

[DinoH]

Bloating like that is common from drowning. 
Sorry for your loss! 
See about the Blue PVA sponges, they are much better and reliable and are synthetic so do not mold unless excessive organic material is placed upon it. 
Happy Anting 

Thank you, fortunately I got 4 more a week after this post.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

This is the stuff i seen used with good reports.

 

I've not done founding test tubes peronsally so can't say from first hand Xp,  but all my prep research for ant keeping showed me this is considered the superior material on rerpots of mold resistacne and standing up to digging way better than cotton.

 

https://theantvault....ucts/pva-sponge

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/373143627935

 

https://www.amazon.c...s/dp/B09CCWGQ8Y

 

https://www.etsy.com...bes-ant-keeping

 

can also buy as blocks and cut your own

https://www.aliexpre...0650276296.html

Edited by Full_Frontal_Yeti, August 1 2023 - 9:29 AM.

[ReignofRage]

Let's not forget that many ants can, will, and do bore into the soft PVA sponge material not uncommonly. 

 

 

For example, this is a Crematogaster queen that had been in this test tube for a mere two minutes. Various other genera gnaw on the sponge and dig into it such as Camponotus, Formica, Lasius, Pheidole, Pogonomyrmex, Veromessor, just to name a few. With cotton, this forms longer strings that are yarn-like. With the sponges, it leaves shredded bits in the tube which can get messy at times. Even queens as small as 4mm can and do chew into the sponges. Additionally, from my experience, founding rates are not different between cotton and PVA sponges, both get 95+% time and time again.

 

Now, that's not to say there are no benefits from PVA sponges. As mentioned, the molding issue is reduced and the sponges only grow harmful mold when organics such as insect bits are placed against them. They also are reusable and easy to clean as well.

Edited by ReignofRage, August 2 2023 - 4:36 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Let's not forget that many ants can, will, and do bore into the soft PVA sponge material not uncommonly.



For example, this is a Crematogaster queen that had been in this test tube for a mere two minutes. Various other genera gnaw on the sponge and dig into it such as Camponotus, Formica, Lasius, Pheidole, Pogonomyrmex, Veromessor, just to name a few. With cotton, this forms longer strings that are yarn-like. With the sponges, it leaves shredded bits in the tube which can get messy at times. Even queens as small as 4mm can and do chew into the sponges. Additionally, from my experience, founding rates are not different between cotton and PVA sponges, both get 95+% time and time again.

Now, that's not to say there are no benefits from PVA sponges. As mentioned, the molding issue is reduced and the sponges only grow harmful mold when organics such as insect bits are placed against them. They also are reusable and easy to clean as well.

Good ol’ Crematogaster! They’ll bore into anything, even THA Type III material.

[DinoH]

PVA sponges will be very helpful for next year’s winter ants. Mold happens so quickly when I put Winter ants on a test tube.

[DinoH]

I got two questions. How do you take the sponge off once your queen does not need it anymore? Can I fill the test tube back with water with a syringe like on cotton ones?

[ANTdrew]

I got two questions. How do you take the sponge off once your queen does not need it anymore? Can I fill the test tube back with water with a syringe like on cotton ones?

They fit a bit tighter, but you can remove them with any thin implement like long tweezers or a hook of some sort. Moving colonies to a new tube is usually better than trying to refill old ones.