5 replies to this topic

[Mr.Fish]

Hi there, I'm really new to this hobby and, to keep it shortly, I'm faced with a slight dilemma here:

I've got this extremely youg colony of L.Niger with about 12 nanitics, 6 well fed larvae kept on a cotton "cradle" thingy, and around a dozen of pupae (as of my last "census" 2 days ago) and, from what I've read, I should start to ease them into diapause by putting them in a fridge and basically forget about them from November all the way to February;

the big problem is that the small test tube they're in is running out of it's short water supply (only now the longer, glass test tubes I've ordered arrived) and it'll surely run out before next year or even December.

 

So I don't know what to do, should I leave them in there? attempt a rehousing with this stubborn species? give them already an outworld with some water or what else?

 

Also, about the fridge induced diapause: how should I do that? Do I need to slowly lower the temperature? aren't 5°C too cold? should I worry about consensation and frost forming inside the test tube? Should I wait until all the larvae and pupae turn into workers? And does the first diapause of this colony have to really be so harsh and last that long?

 

 

Down below are some pictures poorly taken with a phone to, hopefully, make the situation clearer.

 

 

Here is the frighteningly shortening water supply

 

 

 

Here are two pictures from a feeding I did 3 weeks ago

 

 

 

Here is last week's feeding

 

 

 

And the cute little cradle full of larvae

[Voidley]

I would tape a second test tube setup to their current one. Once their current test tube dries out they will move over to the new test tube. Note that some ants will take longer than others, so be patient with them. That being said, sometimes ants can grow quite attached to their current setup and will refuse to move even after it dries out. If they don't seem to be moving on their own, cover the new test tube so that it's dark and expose them to sunlight. Leave them like this for a little while, again, be patient! They will try to escape the light and move themselves to the new test tube. If this also doesn't make them move, you can dump them into the new test tube. This can be somewhat stressful for young colonies, so consider it a last resort, but L. niger are pretty hardy so they should be fine. If you do end up dumping them just make sure that get all of their brood. If there is any brood left you can manually move it with a q-tip or a barbecue skewer.

Hope this helps!

[Mr.Fish]

Thank you, but should I be worried about them suffocating if I tape the two test tubes together? I know that insects in general don't consume a lot of oxygen, but should I practice some small holes on the duct tape still?

And about putting them into diapause, if I do really have to put them in a refrigerator, what do you consider to be the best way to do it?

Can I just put them in or do I have to somehow ease them into it and avoid too sudden temperature changes?

[ANTdrew]

Poke small holes in the tape. Honestly, I say just dump them since they won’t move. Taping the other tube raises humidity enough, so they won’t feel motivated to leave the only home they’ve ever known.

[rptraut]

Hello Mr.Fish;

 

I notice in your photos that you are feeding honey and insects on a feeding tray inside the tube.  They should have enough of those by now for diapause, just replace them with a cotton ball or piece of sponge, saturated with water.  Not dripping wet, but moist.  This will provide drinking water as well as humidify the air during diapause.  You can refresh the water or replace the sponge on your winter checkups.  You can see the pieces of sponge I use in this post Feeding Time at the Zoo - General Ant Keeping - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

Don't be so sure that the water left in the tube won't last through diapause.  If you're storing your ants in a cool, humid environment there's less evaporation, and it will last longer.  

RPT

[Mr.Fish]

Thank you all for the nice advice and sorry for the delayed response; in the end I opted to dump them in the new test tube and they seem to have reacted quite nicely (as nicely as one can react from being literally flung from a house to another).

Now I've put them on a shed of sorts outiside, where temperatures oscillate between 9°C (48F)  and 15°C (59F); I know that's too hot for L.Niger to reach a proper diapause but, in my complete inexperience, I prefer to ease them to the lower temperatures before putting them in the fridge. This is very likely to be a waste of time from my part but hey, better to be safe then sorry!

Anyways, from what I've read and watched the consensus seems to be to leave the ants at around 10°C (50F) to 5°C (41F) in a cooler/fridge of sorts until basically February.

 

What do you consider to be the best temperature though? maybe 7°C (45F)?

Also rptraut mentioned winter checkups, how often should I do them?

And should I leave some droplets of honey for them to consume during those months or can their slowed down metabolism handle such a period of fasting?

 

 

Also, sorry for the bad quality, but I simply have to attach a pic of the nanitics and the queen huddled together in their new coldish home (there are around 16 workers hidden there btw).