2124 replies to this topic

[fleetingyouth]

I'm struggling to keep a humid environment in the room I have my ants in. Its still pretty dry in my place and one of the colonies I took out seems to be drying out because of the open outworld. I was thinking of getting a heating pad to help raise the temps and I know that will help with humidity. I have water test tubes in all the boxes the colonies are in. I started testing a few tubes and tubs setups for my tetras so they could expand and it would be easier to maintain them. But the humidity in the tubs is really low even with the water tubes. I'm assuming its a combination of low temps and humidity in the room. 

 

What do you guys do to keep the humidity high where your ants are? Will heating them be enough?

[akaant]

keeping the nest humid should be enough. A heat source will help with brood growth and increase the humidity levels. If you plan to heat the test tubes avoid heating near the water reservoir.

[ConcordAntman]

fleetingyouth, the picture of your formicarium shows that it has a lid. Just closing the outworld might bump up the humidity a bit. Make sure there’s adequate ventilation though.

[ConcordAntman]

Thanks Noebl1. Sounds like it won’t be as simple as stumbling over C. pennsylvanicus in my yard. We’ve got a reasonably wooded area that backs onto a pond so the habitat fits. Besides, those foraging workers I found had to come from somewhere nearby! I’ll gear up for looking starting next month. Hopefully, I’ll get lucky by May.

[Aquaexploder]

Hi everyone. Life had me busy for a while so I haven't been able to dedicate much time for ant keeping. I will definitely start up again this summer.

[fleetingyouth]

Thanks guys. I'm not really worried about the closed off test tubes and like concord said The formicariums I have I'll keep sealed which will keep the humidity high enough. The problem is with the test tubes connected to small little outworlds. Because they are open to the outworld and the humidity in the room is like10% I think its drying out the tube. I pulled one out for testing to see how active the colony was and had a huge die off over night and the bodies look like it was dehydration. 

 

Maybe i'll keep it plugged up a little longer. 

[fleetingyouth]

Also, I'm about to pull out my Lasius and Formica queens out and put them into new tubes. I caught them all in sept and they didn't lay eggs before going into hibernation. So I don't know how many if any are fertile. Should I feed them some protein to encourage egg laying? Or will they be fine without? 

 

If they're not fertile how long after coming out of hibernation should I wait to see eggs?

[mallonje]

I have a similar humidity problem with my hermit crabs. You could make a hermit crab humidifier if you wanted to try that.

[ConcordAntman]

The problem is with the test tubes connected to small little outworlds. Because they are open to the outworld and the humidity in the room is like10% I think its drying out the tube. I pulled one out for testing to see how active the colony was and had a huge die off over night and the bodies look like it was dehydration. 
 
Maybe i'll keep it plugged up a little longer.

While mindful of ventilation, can you put a lid on the outworlds?

[fleetingyouth]

All mine are sealed with some sort of ventilation but that does bring up a decent question of how much ventilation do ants need? 

 

If I tape 2 test tubes together how long can you leave them like that untill they need air? How about taking a small Tupperware tub and poking a couple pencil sized holes filled with cotton? Will that be enough?

[ConcordAntman]

All mine are sealed with some sort of ventilation but that does bring up a decent question of how much ventilation do ants need? 

 

If I tape 2 test tubes together how long can you leave them like that untill they need air? How about taking a small Tupperware tub and poking a couple pencil sized holes filled with cotton? Will that be enough?

On the 2 taped test tubes, don't know. The tupperware tub should be good to go. Depending on your species size you might want to consider using ant-safe glue to place a fine gauge mesh over the holes.

 

On a different note. I'm making plans for C. americanus, C. chromaiodes hunting next month. Noebl1 had mentioned flashlight hunting. I was thinking about blacklight hunting on the cheap. This

 

This

 

and a white sheet. About 20 bucks from Home Depot. What do you think?

 

 

Edited by ConcordAntman, March 26 2019 - 12:21 PM.

[fmoreira60]

Last year in September I caught a crematogaster queen. I read that they usually lay eggs after hibernation. I ended up taking her out of hibernation in the beginning of March and she hasn't laid any eggs yet. Do you guys think there is still a chance she is fertile.

[ANTdrew]

Make sure your Crematogaster is warm enough and not stressed at all. They will eat all their eggs if they get stressed. I had one do this already this year.

[TennesseeAnts]

That is so weird. Mine never get stressed and I check mine at least twice a day.

[ANTdrew]

Well, you are the CrematoMaster, after all! Lol

[ConcordAntman]

I caught my three C. pennsylvanicus queens within 48 hours in the same area of my yard last May. By November they had between 10-20 workers. I’m noticing different foraging behaviors between the three colonies. Two of the colonies are active foragers, sending out 3-4 workers at a time. Their queens are also producing sizable brood piles. These colonies had ~20 workers each. The third colony has 12 workers and seems to be more timid with only 1-2 foragers. Their queen also has the smallest brood pile. The three colonies are in the same environment and similarly fed. I have a carbohydrate (Maple syrup or honey) and protein (rehydrated mealworms, fruit, raw chicken) available. Does anyone else see this variability in foraging?

[TennesseeAnts]

It has to do with colony size.

Well, you are the CrematoMaster, after all! Lol

That is my new nickname!

[mallonje]

Concord,

I'm not but I'm interested in hearing more of your analysis and observation. Keep us posted please.

[ConcordAntman]

I haven’t quite found a paper that describes what I’m seeing. I did come across this article that expands on foraging recruitment in C. pennsylvanicus
https://www.research...-Formicidae.pdf
My smallest colony has the fewest larvae and is the most “timid” foraging colony. Is that because they have lower energy demands than the larger colonies or are they conserving energy to nurture the larvae? I’ll keep looking until I get a better understanding.

[ConcordAntman]

For what it’s worth, this might have the answer. https://www.research...ies-Of-Ants.pdf
It’s another paper by Traniello and gives an overview of the factors driving colony foraging strategy. In short, it’s multifactorial. Quoting Traniello, the distribu­tion of food resources in size, time, space, and quality; competition with sympatric ant species; the risk of predation; all coupled with the energy demands of the colony. For the hobbyist or scientific investigator in the lab, competition and risk of predation are negated while the food source parameters are relatively well controlled and (usually) generous when compared to conditions in the wild. After reading this I’ve come away with the impression that whatever subtle physiologic differences exist between my particular queens drives the difference in colony energy demands resulting in differing foraging strategies.