3 replies to this topic

[UberDuber]

I've heard from a lot of seasoned ant keepers that people will offer a drop of honey in the test tube to queens even if they are fully claustral. My question is, how often do you offer honey and how long do you leave it there? Wouldn't it be counter-productive to disturb her too often?

 

Or do most people who intend on feeding a queen (such as semi-claustral species) go ahead and create an outworld for the test tube? I guess the question would still apply though. How often do you clean and provide food in that outworld so that you don't upset a new queen?

 

 

[CallMeCraven]

I can't speak for fully claustral species, but I keep my Pogonomyrmex occidentalis queen's test tube in a tupperware outworld with some honey water in a Byformica feeder and some chia seeds in a bottle cap for her to get at her leisure. 

 

I can give my opinion on fully claustral feeding, which is do not offer food until the queen has a few niantics to her name. Leave her alone and let her brood .

[ultraex2]

I could be wrong, but I think most of the time (for fully claustral) they only do it once right after they get the queen in the test tube setup.

 

As far as semi claustral species, usually they make a small outworld that it can forage in as that's the closest to what they do in the wild.

[UberDuber]

Thanks guys! That makes sense.