8 replies to this topic

[Mannomorth]

So I currently three Queens, one that is housed in a formicarium and two that still is in testtubes.

 

Now the testtubes queens only have eggs and larvae and since I used pretty short tettube I have the problem with future watersupply.

 

So my question is, should I take the "late" queens brood and give it to the queen in the formicarium thus dooming them to be alone or should I move them to other testtubes?

 

(I have a feeling that they will hibernate with the brood since they should be hibernating pretty soon, right?

[iXvXi]

A little more detail would help get the answer you're looking for.

What species of ant?

What is your location? Northern ant species should mostly be hibernating by now.

I'm not sure how removing the brood would fix your future water problems. Some species tend to overwinter brood so they could very likely not be eggs but undeveloped larvae waiting for the winter to pass to start development again.

Do you only plan on keeping one colony? If you remove brood from a queen with no nanitics, she could have a really bad start in spring.

[Foogoo]

I would move the family (queen w/ brood) to a new, permanent nest. Aside from the water issue, I've generally had bad experiences keeping colonies in test tubes for long. 

[Huch]

I would move to a new test tube. If you have a container with sand, you can just put the openings of the test tubes together.

To coax them into moving, try to make the old test tube cool maybe with a ice pack, or keep the other one warm with a heat pad under the area with the new test tube.

[Mannomorth]

A little more detail would help get the answer you're looking for.

What species of ant?

What is your location? Northern ant species should mostly be hibernating by now.

I'm not sure how removing the brood would fix your future water problems. Some species tend to overwinter brood so they could very likely not be eggs but undeveloped larvae waiting for the winter to pass to start development again.

Do you only plan on keeping one colony? If you remove brood from a queen with no nanitics, she could have a really bad start in spring.

 

Sorry.

 

It is  Lasius Niger so very much a hibernating northern ant sp. I don't know how to spot the difference between eggs and underdeveloped larvae, I remember something about a black spot, and if that is correct then yes, it is underdeveloped larvae.

My plan was to have backup B and C but since now I was succesful with my A specimen I don't really know what I should do with the rest.

[Mannomorth]

I was thinking about putting a testtube filled with water right next to the old testtube with just a small piece of cotton in the seam so it won't be airtight and then tape the seam. It will make feeding much harder, but if they need to hibernate then it should be an ok solution?

[iXvXi]

How low is the water in the test tubes?

If there isn't nearly enough water to maintain humidity or for the queen, I would probably go with something like what huch said. If you cut two holes in a container the diameter of the test tubes, you could put the two together. This would give the queen plenty of air and would lower the chances of her drowning if something were to leak.

You could even put a divider and connect 4 given you have that many test tubes. You could leave a small source of sugar in the connection container in case of a wake-up.

You wouldn't have to worry much about forcing a move either.

I normally would always aside with keeping a backup sp. You could even potentially mess around with reverse hibernation if you'd be interested in having something all year; given you already have an established colony.

[Mannomorth]

How low is the water in the test tubes?

If there isn't nearly enough water to maintain humidity or for the queen, I would probably go with something like what huch said. If you cut two holes in a container the diameter of the test tubes, you could put the two together. This would give the queen plenty of air and would lower the chances of her drowning if something were to leak.

You could even put a divider and connect 4 given you have that many test tubes. You could leave a small source of sugar in the connection container in case of a wake-up.

You wouldn't have to worry much about forcing a move either.

I normally would always aside with keeping a backup sp. You could even potentially mess around with reverse hibernation if you'd be interested in having something all year; given you already have an established colony.

 

Really nice ideas. Right now I've just taped them together with another testtubes front to front, but that is a better idea.

But I wonder, they won't be disturbed due to the nest being "open"? I guess i should place some cups of water in the container with cotton to keep it humid? First hibernation so I don't want to mess it up.

[iXvXi]

You could take it a step further, and drill a hole in a cork and plug up the test tube. This way the opening would be smaller but I really don't see it being an issue without one.

Depending on how big the container is; size will determine whether you need more water sources or not. Definitely use cotton if you're adding a small dish.