23 replies to this topic

[Shareallicu]

When I say "Large Nest" I tend to compare a nest to the size of a queen. For example, a Tar Heel Ants Fortress Formicarium is a "large nest". A Tar Heel Ants Atom Formicarium is a "small nest". Sorry if I confused you, though

Okay, thanks for clarifying hehe

[Shareallicu]

 

I can't figure out why people keep referring to my small nest as a large nest

Too many trolls here I guess rofl

 

As tempting as it is, you cannot think of it in human terms. Think of it from the viewpoint of your Formica queen, only about 8 millimeters long, and maybe 1 millimeter wide. Your nest, on the other hand, is huge compared to her, measuring in at a colossal (L) 1219.2 x (W) 1219.2 x (H) 304.8 millimeters. In addition, the company you bought it from discourages doing just this. 

 

Now, take your nest, and, through the eyes of your queen,  look at the high walls and gaping passageways in front of you. 

 

Still so small? I think not.

 

Now I don't understand why AntsCanada would call that nest a small nest!     thanks for explaining

[Connectimyrmex]

It's small compared to other nests from Ants Canada.

[Serafine]

I can't figure out why people keep referring to my small nest as a large nest

Too many trolls here I guess rofl

Even a small hybrid nest is a huge place for one single queen. You can pack can entire colony of ~400 Formica ants into an AntKit size 4 nest which is about the same size as a small hybrid (Formica can stack themselves really well).

 

Go and ask AntsCanada, they will tell you that you shouldn't use the Formicarium unless your colony has AT LEAST 20 workers (better 50 unless the test tubes becomes overcrowded). A founding queen needs a stable and humid environment (especially Formica which like it more moist) which cannot be guaranteed in such a big formicarium. There are "founding chamber formicaria" like the THA Atom but even then test tubes are better because you don't have to water them every few days which can disturb the queen a lot.

 

Just be patient, you will get to put them into the hybrid nest soon enough. Formica grows quite fast once the queen started laying eggs, they're not like my Camponotus which take over 2 months from egg to worker.

 

 

What you can is you can put the test tube with the queen into an outworld and put a small drop of honey on a plastic cocktail stick or tin foil into the tube (honey because it doesn't spoil, on the plastic/tinfoil medium because you can easily remove it if she doesn't take it), that way your ants are already within the setup and once the first nanitics hatch they can drink some honey or even go outside and forage without you having to move the tube around or disturb them by removing the cotton (note that they will most likely not take food for a week after they have hatched because their internal organs are still developing).

 

With such a setup they can also store food (like dead fruit flies) at the dry end of the tube (where it doesn't mold) which works very well for my Camponotus* and has been reported to work well for a lot of people with Formica.

Just remember to offer them a new tube when the one they're in is about to run out of water.

 

And once the colony is big enough you just need to attach the nest to the outworld and the ants can move in whenever they want (give them some time though, moving the colony is a very exhausting (and in the wild a very risky) task so they may not immediately feel confident to do so and rather wait a few more weeks before they pack things up).

 

 

*My Camponotus tube with a large drinking straw as entrance passage and food storage at the dry end:

 

p.s. If you need your ants to move to a new tube because the current one gets dry or moldy you can use a straw to connect them (just make sure your queen fits though the straw) and darken the new one while exposing the old one to light. That should work very well because Formica queens hate light and will immediately try to hide in a dark place.

Edited by Serafine, January 9 2017 - 2:51 AM.