39 replies to this topic

[Tanks]

I have a colony of honey pots for about a year now and for a while they were doing good but after I moved them into a new nest they started dying rapidly. At first it was a couple workers then one of their repletes then the other one and then a bunch more workers. They don't have to many workers left and I'm trying to save them. Should I move them back into a test tube? What should I do?

[IdioticMouse26]

Could you include the picture of the current & previous nest? I think that would help determining what the problem is.

[Tanks]

Could you include the picture of the current & previous nest? I think that would help determining what the problem is.

I don't have one of either. But the previous one was a standard THA mini hearth. And the current one is a nest made by Utah Ants which was modeled after the mini hearth. I'll try and get you a pic of the current one.

Edited by Tanks, June 12 2024 - 3:01 PM.

[Tanks]

 

 

Any idea what could be wrong?

[IdioticMouse26]

It could be that your nest is too big for your ants. Are your ants not using less than 2/3 of the nest?

 

Edit: this is a link to another discussion about why ants are dying: https://www.formicul...randomly-dying/

maybe you'll find something there.

Edited by IdioticMouse26, June 12 2024 - 3:56 PM.

[BleepingBleepers]

I just want to add that after reading some posts, a note that comes to my mind is:

 

If I ever want to move the ants, perhaps the best way is to connect the old nest and the new nest together with a connection tube and let the ants decide on their own. Perhaps with this method, they can choose (as in investigate the new area and see if it's good and safe). Maybe the new nest somehow had something in it that we can't sense but they can and something is wrong.

 

Not knocking on the quality of the nest, I hear honeypots are the more fragile of the bunch and have heard some fails after the first year.

 

One of the things I heard is people running them a bit too hot. I keep two ants and I try to run them on the lower side of the range. Like if my ants live in a range of 75-86F, I'd always go somewhere closer to the low end around 76-77F.

 

Make sure the food that you're giving them is free of pesticides or contamination, such as questionable fruits or honey. Hope you also keep them in a dark, quiet place. Vibrations and light will bother them.

 

Was the mini hearth way too small for them? A bit crowded is fine, you should've seen my nest, they were packed and when I opened a new nest on the side, they kinda stayed in that one nest all packed up and tight.

[Tanks]

I just want to add that after reading some posts, a note that comes to my mind is:

 

If I ever want to move the ants, perhaps the best way is to connect the old nest and the new nest together with a connection tube and let the ants decide on their own. Perhaps with this method, they can choose (as in investigate the new area and see if it's good and safe). Maybe the new nest somehow had something in it that we can't sense but they can and something is wrong.

 

Not knocking on the quality of the nest, I hear honeypots are the more fragile of the bunch and have heard some fails after the first year.

 

One of the things I heard is people running them a bit too hot. I keep two ants and I try to run them on the lower side of the range. Like if my ants live in a range of 75-86F, I'd always go somewhere closer to the low end around 76-77F.

 

Make sure the food that you're giving them is free of pesticides or contamination, such as questionable fruits or honey. Hope you also keep them in a dark, quiet place. Vibrations and light will bother them.

 

Was the mini hearth way too small for them? A bit crowded is fine, you should've seen my nest, they were packed and when I opened a new nest on the side, they kinda stayed in that one nest all packed up and tight.

I'll make sure to keep track of the temp. Also their old ant farm was a good size for them they took up more than half. The reason I moved them was because of a mold out break. Now that there numbers are much smaller and probably to small for the nest they are currently in should I move them back to a test tube? They have like 12 workers left and a bit of brood. 

Edited by Tanks, June 12 2024 - 4:35 PM.

[IdioticMouse26]

I think moving them back to a test tube would be a good idea. Or you could try moving them back to their previous nest if you got rid of the mold and it's not too big for the colony. If you are going to move them back to their previous nest, make sure to waft out or rinse out whatever chemical you used to treat the mold infection.

[Tanks]

I think moving them back to a test tube would be a good idea. Or you could try moving them back to their previous nest if you got rid of the mold and it's not too big for the colony. If you are going to move them back to their previous nest, make sure to waft out or rinse out whatever chemical you used to treat the mold infection.

I was thinking about moving them back so I'll probably do that, thanks.

[BleepingBleepers]

 

I just want to add that after reading some posts, a note that comes to my mind is:

 

If I ever want to move the ants, perhaps the best way is to connect the old nest and the new nest together with a connection tube and let the ants decide on their own. Perhaps with this method, they can choose (as in investigate the new area and see if it's good and safe). Maybe the new nest somehow had something in it that we can't sense but they can and something is wrong.

 

Not knocking on the quality of the nest, I hear honeypots are the more fragile of the bunch and have heard some fails after the first year.

 

One of the things I heard is people running them a bit too hot. I keep two ants and I try to run them on the lower side of the range. Like if my ants live in a range of 75-86F, I'd always go somewhere closer to the low end around 76-77F.

 

Make sure the food that you're giving them is free of pesticides or contamination, such as questionable fruits or honey. Hope you also keep them in a dark, quiet place. Vibrations and light will bother them.

 

Was the mini hearth way too small for them? A bit crowded is fine, you should've seen my nest, they were packed and when I opened a new nest on the side, they kinda stayed in that one nest all packed up and tight.

I'll make sure to keep track of the temp. Also their old ant farm was a good size for them they took up more than half. The reason I moved them was because of a mold out break. Now that there numbers are much smaller and probably to small for the nest they are currently in should I move them back to a test tube? They have like 12 workers left and a bit of brood. 

 

If it was me, I'd clean up the old THA nest (there's posts in this forum about how to clean them, I made a post about it myself couple months back involving either dilute vinegar or peroxide with some very light scrubbing). Since that old nest worked, I'd move back to that and hopefully things settle down. This time around, let them fill out the nest more.

 

One thing I do wonder, you said mold? My astute ants (journal in signature) are pretty messy ants and even they don't have much mold issue. When you feed them, make sure you give them small amounts so that they can eat it within a day or two before you give them more OR anchor it down in the outworld so they don't drag it into their nest and leave it rotting. I also did some of this too btw in order to keep my nest as clean as possible (view picture below). Some might frown upon it but you can kinda see what kinda reaction the ants have (if they totally freak out or if they just think it's a tiny bit of a bother), I've actually used that method to pull out many stuff from their nests. There's actually another 'fixture' that I created and someone mentioned about it in my journal. The fixture helped me with with the issues of ants trashing the area, I'll make a post about it in my CA02 ant journal in another day or two about it. I've also kept my astute ant nest wet but let it dry a bit and my carpenter ants I keep it dry other than the water tower. Try not to run the heat cable below / behind the water tower on the mini hearth if you are, one thing I learned is too much humidity causes me more headaches than not.

 

 

 

 

Best of luck to you and your ants, I know how it feels to worry about ant deaths and whatnot.

[Mushu]

What was your colony population before --> How many died after the move?

 

My buddies Myrmecocystus mexicanus queen died and he gave repletes to his other colony. They took them but after a few days he said 1/3 of them died(out of 15 or so repletes). They spit out nectar to be able to move. Other than just using featherweight forceps to put them in the outworld he did nothing else. 

 

However for them to start dying after moving to a new formicarium, I'd submerge it in warm water, light scrub,wipe it down with some paper towels and let it air dry, clean is as Bleepers mentioned as a precaution. I do that with all products including THA nests. Too many stories of moving into a new formicarium and workers start dying rapidly, although it could be the move that we don't have details(new tools used for moving,vinyl tubing with strong post production smells,etc) of. 

 

The environment(temp/humidity) in the nest can be a factor but seeing as it's a clone of THA it doesn't seem like that would be a strong cause.

[Tanks]

What was your colony population before --> How many died after the move?

 

My buddies Myrmecocystus mexicanus queen died and he gave repletes to his other colony. They took them but after a few days he said 1/3 of them died(out of 15 or so repletes). They spit out nectar to be able to move. Other than just using featherweight forceps to put them in the outworld he did nothing else. 

 

However for them to start dying after moving to a new formicarium, I'd submerge it in warm water, light scrub,wipe it down with some paper towels and let it air dry, clean is as Bleepers mentioned as a precaution. I do that with all products including THA nests. Too many stories of moving into a new formicarium and workers start dying rapidly, although it could be the move that we don't have details(new tools used for moving,vinyl tubing with strong post production smells,etc) of. 

 

The environment(temp/humidity) in the nest can be a factor but seeing as it's a clone of THA it doesn't seem like that would be a strong cause.

At their peak in their old nest they were at about 45 total. But now they are at about 12. Also, I finished cleaning the nest and I will move them back in as soon as the nest is dry.

[UtahAnts]

That is unfortunate to hear. How long ago did you move them? It sounds like this might either be moving stress or residual effects of mold. What kind of brood can you see? Has the queen been laying at all? Have you seen workers feeding?

 

This species is so unpredictable, keep us updated if you do move them over.

[Mushu]

That is unfortunate to hear. How long ago did you move them? It sounds like this might either be moving stress or residual effects of mold. What kind of brood can you see? Has the queen been laying at all? Have you seen workers feeding?

 

This species is so unpredictable, keep us updated if you do move them over.

This is also true regarding residual effects of mold. Another factor we don't know regarding ants dying from a move. That's why it's a good idea to clean out both old and new nests,eqiupment to remove an residual effects. 

[Tanks]

That is unfortunate to hear. How long ago did you move them? It sounds like this might either be moving stress or residual effects of mold. What kind of brood can you see? Has the queen been laying at all? Have you seen workers feeding?

 

This species is so unpredictable, keep us updated if you do move them over.

I moved them about 2 weeks ago. I've seen some small larvae maybe some eggs, but on the bright side the larvae are eating well. Also,  I haven't really seen them drink to much sugar water besides a couple times. This is weird as they have a supply of  it 24/7.

[Locness]

Same water source, protein, and carbs? I had a similar die off, but on a larger scale.

[Tanks]

Same water source, protein, and carbs? I had a similar die off, but on a larger scale.

For the most part. They always have a nest mate full of water and  a feeder filled with sugar water. But I do switch up their protein from time to time. It's either mealworms or fruit fly's, both of which they seem to like. But fruit fly's are their favorites.

[Tanks]

I'm currently moving them back to the old nest. Should I dump move them or cover up the nest I want them to move into and shine a light on the nest I want them out of?

[ReignofRage]

Dumping works just fine. Ants are as volatile as people make them out to be when it comes to dumping them into a new formicarium.

[UtahAnts]

The young larvae are a great sign. As long as the queen continues to lay and some of the repletes survive the new generation should be able to replenish the colony.