A big problem, some people have noticed, is that most ants tend to not quite like test tubes. Why?
Well, there are four kinds of test tubes:
- Glass (be it soda-lime, borosilicate [what I use], crystal, quartz). Glass is very slippery for some ants. I've noticed that small Ponerines (such as Ponera pennsylvanica) cannot climb it at all, whereas some such as the queens of subgenus Camponotus appear to have difficulty walking on glass, particularly curved glass. It also doesn't absorb wastes or anything else in the air whereas their normal environment (be it soil, rock, or wood) most certainly would - thus it can become 'soiled' from their perspective easily, and scents tend to linger for far longer than otherwise.
- Acrylic. Very strong, very clear, but also very easily scratched. I haven't tested acrylic tubes yet on any queens, so I can't comment on this. Acrylic should not leach, but it will warp from heat and moisture differentials, though in a tube configuration it should be self-stabilizing.
- Polycarbonate. Much stronger than acrylic, but less clear - it is also more scratch-prone, frighteningly. Also easily scratched. Some polycarbonates leach chemicals slowly, particularly in humid environments, and may be harmful to ants (which may explain the difficulties some people have had raising Camponotii in polycarbonate). However, ants that have difficulty walking on glass tend to be able to walk on polycarbonate better.
- Plastic. Acrylic and polycarbonate are also plastic, but general plastics (polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride [PVC], etc) are also in existence for test tubes. They are more likely to leach chemicals in the presence of humidity, many of which are likely harmful to arthropods. They also have inferior properties almost all the time compared to acrylic or polycarbonate. However, just as with polycarbonate, ants that have difficulty with glass are often able to move around on plastics better.
One thing I noticed while watching my carpenters - Camponotus pennsylvanicus and chromaiodes (closely-related, similarly sized) queens had a lot of difficulty moving around in 16mm borosilicate test tubes. They tend to 'moonwalk' more - doing halfsteps due to sliding. They often have difficulty turning around due to not being able to get a good grip, and when they are depositing an egg, they tend to shake and have more difficulty due to being unable to find a grippable surface. I suspect that a number of my queens have not laid yet not due to being unmated or infertile, but rather due to simply being uncomfortable with the tubes. Smaller species sometimes are absolutely fine with glass (Tapinoma sessile has no difficulty with borosilicate at all). I also found that my larger Camponotus queens tended to be less comfortable as well in 20mm tubes - while they could 'move' more easily due to the local curve being less, I suspect it was just too large for them.
So, I've been experimenting with making substrated founding formicaria... in test tubes. Why? Because I don't like pouring molds, adhering glass/acrylic/poly, and so forth. Messy and very time consuming. The test tube is already a good shape for storage, already has an opening that is nigh-on perfect for connecting tubes, and we generally have a ton of them and they're cheap.
So, my experiments so far:
Generation 1: Epoxy (JB WaterWeld), Sand (with cyanoacrylate), Sawdust (with cyanoacrylate)
- Epoxy: In generation 1, I made two test tubes with JB WaterWeld which was dyed using food coloring (it doesn't take food coloring well, and it's almost impossible to get a consistent color). This generation had a 50% success rate - the first worked fine, and is current housing a queen (though she has no brood). The second, however, turned out awful, and also had microscopic gaps that let water leak. Thus, I can't effectively use it. It does not appear to be toxic, at least to Tapinoma. The ones I made are in 20mm test tubes to make up for the loss of space - I can't make ones effectively sized for larger Camponotus, and I'm wary of putting my only Subbarbatus into it.
- Sand: Hobby Lobby sand (due to the fact that I had it on hand and was working on it late at night when Home Depot and Menards were closed) and Gorilla Glue-brand Gel-type Super Glue. Super glue was put in using cotton applicators, roughly half of the inside of the test tube - only the 'waterless' part. Then, it was filled with sand. After it was cured, remaining sand was dumped out. Once it finished outgassing... well, none of the ants that are in them seem to mind it. The Crematogaster queen with brood I found seems to not mind it at all. I have another Tapinoma with brood in one, and another Tapinoma with brood in another one. Main downside is that they're ugly, and cyanoacrylate can take a very long time to outgas fully.
- Sawdust: Dark Walnut sawdust and grains, and gel-type superglue. This ended up terrible. I suspect that even carpenters wouldn't enjoy it - the wood pieces absorbed the superglue and became rubbery, and even if the queen tried to smooth it, she'd just remove chunks of it instead and be left with glass and dried CA. Here's a 20mm one, and here's a 16mm one. I also tried with fine sawdust powder, but this turned out worse than sand, and functionally should operate the same way but with more opportunities for mold.
Generation 2: Cork (Superglue), Cork (Epoxy)
- CA Cork: Using rolled cork and superglue to adhere it, it was wrapped along the inside 50% of the tube. This failed badly. Water tends to channel directly, even if the tube is slightly vertical, under the cork and then gets absorbed into the air stopper cotton. Even without the stopper, it still tends to channel and drip out, but only if not vertical. Thus, not really suitable as it will likely mold up and run out of water, and most ants don't like a wet or damp substrate at all times. The superglue also doesn't hold to cork very well - even putting in a cotton stopper broke the superglue bond.
- Epoxy Cork: Attempted to adhere the cork using JB WaterWeld. Worked 'better' than CA Cork. Water still appeared to channel between the epoxy and the cork - it appears that cork's structure lends itself well to a capillary action for water.
Generation 3: Epoxy-tipped Cork
- Epoxy-tipped Cork: The superglue is adhered to the glass using a larger amount of cyanoacrylate which was pressed down firmly and consistently with tools (to make a better bond). The water-side was then capped with JB WaterWeld to try to create a waterproof barrier to prevent capillary action. Some of them worked OK, some did not. I suspect that microscopic gaps in the epoxy sometimes caused capillary action, and I'd often find the air stoppers wet with the water level dropping. This did not happen in all tubes. Also interestingly is that the water level only dropped if a cotton stopper was added, leading me to believe that the action requires an absorbant material at the end. I do not know how to mitigate this so far. Wax?
Generation 4: PerfectCast Plaster
- Plaster: Using Skullduggery PerfectCast plaster from Hobby Lobby. Discussions on boards seem to indicate it is similar in composition to HydroStone, and it most certainly cures much harder. Very difficult to dye - I tried food coloring in this batch, but it leaches (which is perfectly safe but ugly) and was inconsistent and the colors separated. All three, however, are presently in use. The one with the Crematogaster so far is doing fine. However, both the one with C. subbarbatus (tube that is a light tan) and the one with C. chromaiodes are not doing as well - they do not appear to like the surface. When I attached a PVC tube to try to feed them honey, they preferred to sit in the tube instead. I am not sure if it is because it has not finished outgassing yet perhaps, or if they do not like the fact that it likely feels cold/damp.
I will keep updating this as I perform more experiments.
Edited by Ameise, June 29 2017 - 1:42 PM.
