20 replies to this topic

[Works4TheGood]

I have my S. molesta queen and her first four tiny nanitics in a test tube setup.  Her water is getting dangerously low and her cotton is beginning to get moldy.  It's a bit early, but I figured that I need to transfer her because I'm running out of time.  So, yesterday I made a new test tube setup, and taped the old one to the new one while covering the new test tube instead of the old one to make it that much more attractive (see the attached picture).  The colony is taking longer than I expected it to to move into the new tube and the nanitics don't appear to be venturing into the new tube.  To complicate things, I cannot feed them in this setup, and since there's no ventilation, the test tube that is low on water will not completely drain and thus give them less incentive to move.  Also, since they're all exposed in the light now, I wouldn't be surprised if the uncomfortable queen is busy devouring her young even as I type.  Are the tiny nanitics even capable of transferring the eggs/larva/pupae?  I suspect so, but these nanitics are SO TINY!  So, I'm really just looking for suggestions on how to proceed.  Should I just wait it out?  Should I change strategies?  What do you folks think?

 

~Dan

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[Crystals]

I covered some options here: http://www.formicult...nts/#entry14571

But most apply to larger colonies.

 

If you have feather weight forceps, you can move them one by one without harm.  If you do not, try using a regular pair of tweezers to carefully pull the wet cotton very close to the opening.  Their scent will be less strong there, and they are more inclinded to move.

 

The nanitics can move the brood if they have enough incentive.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[dspdrew]

I would just put both test tubes in a container the ants can't get out of. This way they can move between tubes when they want, and you will be able to feed them. They'll probably end up living in both tubes (that's how mine are right now), but they will leave the old one once it's completely dry.

[Works4TheGood]

I would just put both test tubes in a container the ants can't get out of. This way they can move between tubes when they want, and you will be able to feed them. They'll probably end up living in both tubes (that's how mine are right now), but they will leave the old one once it's completely dry.

Hey Drew.  That's a very interesting suggestion.  Is there a reason why folks tend to keep their colonies in a test tube setup as long as possible until they actually need more space?  It seems easier in some respects to always do what you've suggested and just provide two tubes and an outworld a few days after there are nanitics.

[Crystals]

I like to put test tubes in foraging areas to allow for easier feeding and cleaning.

 

I like using test tubes for small colonies as long as possible for several reasons:

1. Young colonies have a tendency to get lost if moved to a larger nest, or they fail to forage far enough.

2. I don't need to worry about hyrating the nest.  Young colonies seem more suseptible to low humidity than larger colonies.

3. If something goes wrong, I can get into a test tube a lot easier than into a larger formicarium.  (Mold, queen fell upside down on wings on moisture, etc).

4. I often sell my excess small colonies, and I find they ship in test tubes quite well, as long as the cotton is wet and there is no excess water in the test tube.

[dspdrew]

The only reason I don't do it, is because I either ran out of foraging containers or I ran out of space. It's always better to put the test tube in a foraging container if it's possible. It's easier to move the ants into a new tube when they're in a foraging container. It's also easier to provide them food, like liquid feeders, and it also gives them a place to put their trash. I have lots of ants that love to pile their trash all over the wet cotton. Camponotus is one in particular.

[Works4TheGood]

So, after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to accept certain risks and take a hybrid approach.  That's a test tube inside of another test tube with a scrumdiddlyumptious fly in the one.  So far, the eggs/larvae/pupae remain.

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Edited by Works4TheGood, September 10 2015 - 4:29 AM.

[Works4TheGood]

I covered some options here: http://www.formicult...nts/#entry14571

But most apply to larger colonies.

 

If you have feather weight forceps, you can move them one by one without harm.  If you do not, try using a regular pair of tweezers to carefully pull the wet cotton very close to the opening.  Their scent will be less strong there, and they are more inclinded to move.

 

The nanitics can move the brood if they have enough incentive.

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

Hey Crystals,

 

That's really a great idea - to pull the cotton towards the entrance.  I'm just concerned that the eggs/larvae/pupae will morph into a smear on my test tube by the time I'm done.  I know that you're a veteran at this; so if you're confident that they'll slide instead of smear, I'll do it.

 

~Dan

[Crystals]

Go slowly, if the brood is stuck to the cotton, use the tweezers to pull section to the middle, away from the glass.

If on the glass and they start to roll under the cotton, then stop.

[Works4TheGood]

If only I had a 3/4 inch syringe. Then maybe I could inject some city water behind the molding cotton. The fresh city water could theoretically slow down or even kill the mold while it also completely rehydrated the test tube. My ants don't seem to mind the city water. And yes, there is a separate thread somewhere debating the application of city water vs. tap/bottled water. I wonder if the syringe would actually penetrate the cotton though. If not, maybe I might be able to squeeze it between the cotton and the tube until it reached the water reservoir in the test tube behind the cotton. I'm mostly thinking out loud here ...

[Crystals]

If the cotton is wet, injecting water behind it will cause a higher pressure behind the cotton - causing the water in the cotton to flow out.

 

Try it once on an empty test tube, you will see what I mean.

 

Chlorine doesn't last long, definately not long enough to kill mold on a piece of cotton.

[Mannomorth]

Does these same rules apply if its a lonely queen with eggs? Easier? Harder? More likely to stress her out?

[dspdrew]

If you want to eliminate the mold, the easiest way is to just give the tube a dose of springtails.

[Works4TheGood]

If the cotton is wet, injecting water behind it will cause a higher pressure behind the cotton - causing the water in the cotton to flow out.

 

Try it once on an empty test tube, you will see what I mean.

 

Chlorine doesn't last long, definately not long enough to kill mold on a piece ofotton.

 

That's a good point, Crystals; I hadn't thought of that.  I bet that if I held the tube upright (entrance facing up) and sucked the water and air out from behind/below the cotton, the vacuum/low-pressure that it created would suck the water out of the cotton, down into the reservoir, and then into the syringe.  At that point, I might then be able to inject the replacement water.

 

I agree that chlorine dissipates quickly.  I've noticed that if I fill a container with city water, the chlorine smell vanishes within a day or two depending mostly on the volume-to-surface-area ratio.  However, if the chlorinated water is confined to a very poorly ventilated test tube, it's effect would likely last much longer, right?  Fortunately, I don't think that the water needs to possess antiseptic properties for very long before it would satisfy its intended purpose.  More specifically, I'm hoping that if the chemical concentration of the water is the same as it was at the city's plant, then it's also sufficient to kill the mold and force it to start all over again.  I am probably overlooking something simple once again, aren't I?

[Works4TheGood]

Does these same rules apply if its a lonely queen with eggs? Easier? Harder? More likely to stress her out?

 

Crystals?  Drew?  I'm unqualified to answer this question. 

[Works4TheGood]

So far, my "hybrid" approach has dramatically decreased the water loss from the inner test tube that contains the queen. The mold doesn't seem to overwhelming just yet either. So things seem stable for the moment, and there is no sign that the queen is looking to relocate into the outer tube. I'm comfortable with that for the time being.

Strangley, these guys don't like to venture more than a few cms away from the queen. This doesn't seem like a very good strategy for finding food for your starving queen. Still, they devoured one fruit fly that I placed abou 1 cm from the queen, but showed zero interest in the second one I gave them.

If these ants were larger, I might be able to track their behavior better. Luckily, I have 4 more of these colonies on the way, so this is more of my guiniea pig - poor guys.

[dspdrew]

I try not to bother with all of this, and just forcefully move them.

 

 

 

Does these same rules apply if its a lonely queen with eggs? Easier? Harder? More likely to stress her out?

 

Crystals?  Drew?  I'm unqualified to answer this question. 

 

 

Not exactly sure what he's referring to.

[Works4TheGood]

I try not to bother with all of this, and just forcefully move them.

 

 

 

Does these same rules apply if its a lonely queen with eggs? Easier? Harder? More likely to stress her out?

 

Crystals?  Drew?  I'm unqualified to answer this question. 

 

 

Not exactly sure what he's referring to.

He has the same problem as me, except that his queen doesn't have workers yet.  I think he'd like to know if the techniques/suggestions discussed above in this thread for transferring my colony to the new tube are still applicable in his case where he has no workers just yet.

[dspdrew]

It should all be the same.

[Mannomorth]

 

I try not to bother with all of this, and just forcefully move them.

 

 

 

Does these same rules apply if its a lonely queen with eggs? Easier? Harder? More likely to stress her out?

 

Crystals?  Drew?  I'm unqualified to answer this question. 

 

 

Not exactly sure what he's referring to.

He has the same problem as me, except that his queen doesn't have workers yet.  I think he'd like to know if the techniques/suggestions discussed above in this thread for transferring my colony to the new tube are still applicable in his case where he has no workers just yet.

 

Perfect, almost like you read my mind.

 

It should all be the same.

Okey thanks drew!