8 replies to this topic

[Works4TheGood]

Colonies will naturally jump at any opportunity to abandon their test tube and move into a tunnel that they've dug themselves.  But are ants more highly stressed when they're not allowed to dig?  Let's suppose that we have the following 30 hypothetical colonies recently founded and under close observation:

• 10 in nature.
• 10 indoors and allowed to dig their own nests.
• 10 in formicariums (plural is "formicaria" or "formicariums"?) that they cannot change.

Which set of colonies would have the most workers?

 

Extra credit questions:  When a colony gets smaller, do the ants stop tunneling?  Do they begin to seal off superfluous tunnels?  

[dspdrew]

I have ants sealing off tunnels all the time. They will just fill them with dirt when they no longer want them.

[Works4TheGood]

Hi folks. I feel like this topic remains mostly unanswered. The original question was, "... are ants more highly stressed when they're not allowed to dig?"

[Batspiderfish]

There's not much of a way to test this. While stressed ants are less likely to raise their brood successfully, the number of workers is a somewhat poor metric for stress. A study like that would only really have value to ant keepers, so we would need an enthusiast  to collect hundreds of queens from the same species and raise them all to make up the necessary sample size. Scientists have only ever managed to conduct studies like this by using hundreds of unmated queens collected from mature colonies.

[Works4TheGood]

There's not much of a way to test this. While stressed ants are less likely to raise their brood successfully, the number of workers is a somewhat poor metric for stress. A study like that would only really have value to ant keepers, so we would need an enthusiast  to collect hundreds of queens from the same species and raise them all to make up the necessary sample size. Scientists have only ever managed to conduct studies like this by using hundreds of unmated queens collected from mature colonies.

 

I agree that it's a "somewhat poor metric for success".  I wish we had something better.  Wouldn't it be awesome if there were a rule like, "the more often the queen cleans her antennae, the healthier she is"?  LOL!  But really, I think that most of the advice on this forum stems from using that as the metric, however inaccurate it might be, because it's the only metric I think we have, isn't it?

[Batspiderfish]

Conjecture is abound on the ant forums.

 

My favorite assumption is that if a queen doesn't lay eggs, it means that she hasn't mated; this has been proven by...?

Edited by Batspiderfish, August 8 2016 - 1:35 PM.

[Works4TheGood]

Ok Bat, how about using longevity as the metric?  Do queens survive longer when they're in formicariums where they can dig vs. not.

[Batspiderfish]

Ok Bat, how about using longevity as the metric?  Do queens survive longer when they're in formicariums where they can dig vs. not.

 

That could take between 5 and 29 years to figure out, depending on species. 

[sgheaton]

I'm not going to be fancy about this or even discuss valid & verification methods towards testing but this has been my findings of the year.....

 

-I had tetra queens in dirt and tetras in containers-test tubes. 
-Those in the dirt appeared to be healthier - I'm basing this off their movement. They would do stuff while those in the tubes just kinda set there. 
-I had workers in the test tubes before in the dirt boxes. TRUE I didn't look in as extensively on the dirts as the cleans as it was easier to see the workers in the cleans. I'm assuming I got workers all within the same day of eachother...though ALL in test tube containers have eclosed workers. I still think there are 2 dirt queens that have big egg piles. Mind you I'm not keeping them in ideal environments as I use the upstairs of my Colorado house for heating only. 

 

-I have 2 Pogonomyrmex queens. One in a container and one in PTs vase. 
-PT vase queen has dug and dug and hasn't stopped. she's plasters the sides, she has mounds up top, currently down in a chamber I'm guessing.
-Its the other queen that performed the critical act of the experiment - Her container is just a flatter tupperware container. Hearing that Pogonomyrmex are semi-claustal to give them some roaming room and dirt to play in. She took the sand and moved it to the front of the foil/test tube container I made for her. Its completely covered and blocked from light - except the tiny hole that faces forward. She blocked almost all of this though continues to go in and out. I keep them in a closet and I think the brief exposure she would get inside her "chamber" was upsetting her that she tried to block it the best she could. 

 

While I(we) could speculate different hypothesis and reasons as to why they do what they do - my first year of anting has taught me I'm wrong. I originally thought that "dirt queens" were going to perform better than "test tube queens". I was doubting my water cotton ball set up technique though after practice got the hang of it. Doing a small test - like I said the test tubes have workers. This disproved what I thought.. Those in the dirt have bigger egg piles though. I wasn't really viewing this 'test' as which would produce more eggs. More of "who would have workers eclose first?" 

Final notes are thus
(Plastic) Test tubes are easier in all regards. Can easily clean, exchange water+cotton, and view everything no problem. Simply cover if needed. Use them if you've got 'em.

Dirt containers provide safety. The queens that dug were more or less sheltered/covered compared to those exposed freely in the tubes or containers. They also allow for a more distributed hydration early on which is why I think they have had bigger egg piles.