4 replies to this topic

[Mende]

Hi,
Now that my Myrmecocystus cf. kennedyi queen got their nanitics and soon her first set of '' normal '' workers, it's time to think about where I will house them.
I have DIY nests that are quite similar to THA's '' mini hearths '' , is it still too soon to move them to a nest like that? If yes, by how many workers should I move them to a nest like that?

They have around 10 workers right now*

[ReignofRage]

I always moved mine when it became hard to feed in a test tube, which was somewhere around 15-25 workers depending on the species. Ten workers should be fine to move into a formicarium if you have one ready.

[BleepingBleepers]

How about connect the tube to the the new nest and let the ants move on their own?

 

Kinda let them decide to see:

 

1. If the new area is safe like if they sense anything is 'off' with the new nest

2. Gives them a chance to move naturally all on their own

3. I had a third point but I forgot

 

I probably wouldn't push it unless there's mold in the test tube or it gets insanely crowded. The test tube or wherever you're keeping them.

[Mushu]

I moved my Myrmecocystus placodops 01 at about 10 workers, unplanned but they should be fine. I made sure I washed the THA mini hearth and let it air out before I did so. 

 

Reason I moved them is, the queen was fairly large for the test tube and they crowded at the pva sponge where the moisture was. I saw the queen in an uncompromising position kinda twisted and head sideways against the top of the test tube glass(was in a tubs and tubes setup doing fine otherwise) the workers crowding her. While I know ants do clump together, they are still insects and may not adjust until something permanent happens. 

 

I wet the chamber a bit and heated beforehand to make it more enticing. I just dumped them into the outworld, took them all of 5 minutes to move into the chamber. One worker went down and a few minutes later went up and dragged the queen by the antennae. 

 

The change in environment did cause a few of the next set of cocoons to fail eclosing, but that was more my setup issue(humidity) as I was playing around with how I wanted to heat the mini hearth(on the front glass) to prevent condensation. They're doing fine and have a good cycle going.

 

To clarify, my humidity was probably not ideal. I suspected it was due to how I created a false floor that had gaps where the mini hearth sits, and the mini hearth bottom is not painted, which means air can escape. Ever since I filled up the gaps, I've not seen any further issues. Note this is what I believe is the cause as they were doing great in the tubs and tubes.

Edited by Mushu, June 14 2024 - 5:47 PM.

[Mende]

Okey, based on what you guys do, I'll wait until they have a little bit more workers until I move them to the nest. Thanks for the quick reply!