6 replies to this topic

[BMM]

So I've been keeping some Tetramorium sp.E. workers in a tube setup with some dirt for them to dig in. I'm still pretty new to ant keeping and I had a couple of questions about their behavior.

 

1. I've yet to see them eat anything so far. I've offered them several different types of food such as sugar water, honey, syrup, bread crumbs, small seeds, etc. So far, everything I've added they've covered in dirt. From what I've read, this means they don't want the food. Any ideas on why they keep doing this? There's somewhere between one and two dozen workers in my setup. How often might I expect them to need food?

 

2. They also seem very excitable. They've dug quite a few tunnels, probably two feet worth in total, and they stay in them most of the time. However, as soon as I expose the setup to light or move it around, they swarm to the surface and begin climbing towards the top, which I have sealed with a plug. It seems more like a reaction than a coordinated escape attempt. Is there any reason why they'd be doing this so consistently?

 

Any advice or explanations would be appreciated.

[MrPurpleB]

Could you post some pictures of your colony?

[sgheaton]

My current Tetramoriums are fairly active within their formicarium with queen and 15+ workers. Mind you I don't watch them all the time, I can't see what all they do.  It appears like they really don't venture out and go exploring by any means though. At least not yet. I've thrown in a piece of catfood and have witness nothing happening - but I've put in a housefly body and....had it appear in the formicarium a day later. The day I put in the liquid feeder I had 5 workers on it. Now I see 1 on it sometimes. I put a feeder cricket in the tank and never saw much happen to it -- So I removed it. I've been told that fruitflys are good/simple/easy for tets and so I'm probably going to try those next. 

[CallMeCraven]

Since they are just workers, I wouldn't expect them to require to much food during the time you have them. When they have a whole colony, with queen and brood, a large portion of their food intake is to share with the rest of the colony through trophallixis. Assuming you caught the workers outside the nest, they are probably older than their sisters you would find inside the nest, and may only live a couple of weeks (~2) total. Eventually they make take some food/sugar source as their activity and tunnel digging continues and they burn ATP, but I wouldn't expect it.

 

Their reaction to you exposing them to light could be a defensive mechanism. In nature, if they where inside the nest or tunnels, like in your case, exposure to light could indicate attack by a predator. They would swarm upwards to defend the colony from the attacker who created the breach and exposed them to the light.

Edited by CallMeCraven, October 21 2016 - 9:25 AM.

[sgheaton]

 In nature, if they where inside the nest or tunnels, like in your case, exposure to light could indicate attack by a predator. They would swarm upwards to defend the colony from the attacker who created the breach and exposed them to the light.

 

That bit made the most sense so far. At least provided me with the 'click' to put the two pieces together.

-When I'd pull the cover away to look into the formicarium....makes perfect sense that in nature the same action would mean "SOMETHING IS INVADING" because their tunnels are in such places that light shouldn't reach it. The queen is the first to react and she always dives into the brood room hole, the others are just panicking. 

[Crystals]

1. Workers don't eat much. They will eat their fill and then bury the rest - sticky things are a safety hazard for them. They also bury things to avoid luring in larger colonies looking for food.

2. Is probably a defensive reaction, although I usually do not see such a reaction with a handful of workers unless they have been in that setup for quite some time and consider it as their nest.

 

What exactly do you mean by a tube setup that allows them to dig about 2 feet worth of tunnels?  Is it just a piece of vinyl tubing filled with dirt?

[BMM]

Here's a picture of my setup. It's just one PETG tube inside another with some dirt. The smaller tube can't be seen because it's completely buried in the dirt. So far they've dug a web of tunnels about 3-4 inches deep all around the tube.

 

 

And thanks for the explanations on their behavior everyone. I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't need much to eat. I assumed protein wouldn't be a big deal since there isn't a queen or brood for them to care for, but I may try giving them a small dead insect just to see if they go for it. And the swarming reaction in response to light also makes more sense. They probably don't realize that their tunnels are against the clear plastic, so the exposure to a bright light probably does make them think their nest has been broken into. At least it's comforting to know that they all aren't continually attempting a breakout.