10 replies to this topic

[CNewton]

I purchased a number of plastic 16mm x 150mm test tubes. I'm currently filling them reliably with queens, but they seem to do so poorly with grip. I'm new and love checking my ants every couple days. I can't help it. They don't hold the plastic well. had anyone looked into some kind of coating for the tubes for queens to grip? Maybe my queens are weak, but they seem to just fall over, unable to hold fast to their temporary homes.

 

Maybe a thin coating of grout-water along the bottom, dried thoroughly, would give them a holdfast without losing the clarity and water retention?  Does anyone have this issue or are my tetramorium just in poor health?

[sgheaton]

Tetramorium? Those things are hearty lil buggers. They will be fine.

 

But to answer your question, why fix what isn't broken? 

[Ameise]

They're ideal in that they're simple and almost all ants tend to accept them, even if they aren't ideal for that species. They're usually 'good enough'.

I have been experimenting with alternative founding formicaria setups that aren't quite as complicated as true founding formicariums, but my success has been mixed. I'm currently tinkering with using oak dowels and test tubes or acrylic tubes.

The biggest stressor that test tubes have for queens is that I've found that the queens of many species have difficulty with glass. Ponerid queens (and workers) cannot climb glass at all, and can barely walk on it. Camponotus queens can climb glass, but not well, and they have difficulty walking. Such things stress them a bit.

Edited by Ameise, July 12 2017 - 5:59 AM.

[Loops117]

test tubes arnt the best option. There are plenty more great ways to found a queen. The standard test tube setup is reliable, efficient, and almost fail safe. If you pack a tube correctly, you will supply your queen with continuous hydration for months without having to add any more. I've had my fair share of test tube replacements, and I even sell my own version of the test tube replacement which is just an attachment to a standard tube.

 

 

You can try different options to the test tube. If i'm not mistaken, people found their queens in a THA Mini Hearth with success.

Edited by Loops117, July 12 2017 - 6:00 AM.

[Serafine]

Tetramorium aren't good climbers, just like Messor. It doesn't hurt them though when they fall from the glass, in fact they could fall from a skyscraper and it wouldn't hurt them.

[sgheaton]

Tetramorium aren't good climbers, just like Messor. It doesn't hurt them though when they fall from the glass, in fact they could fall from a skyscraper and it wouldn't hurt them.

Unless you leave the silicon in a fish tank. Then it's like giving them a latter to the heavens........... 

[cpman]

They're ideal in that they're simple and almost all ants tend to accept them, even if they aren't ideal for that species. They're usually 'good enough'.

I have been experimenting with alternative founding formicaria setups that aren't quite as complicated as true founding formicariums, but my success has been mixed. I'm currently tinkering with using oak dowels and test tubes or acrylic tubes.

The biggest stressor that test tubes have for queens is that I've found that the queens of many species have difficulty with glass. Ponerid queens (and workers) cannot climb glass at all, and can barely walk on it. Camponotus queens can climb glass, but not well, and they have difficulty walking. Such things stress them a bit.

I've had luck with polycarbonate (I think) test tubes for Camponotus. At least the species around here can walk on them perfectly fine.

The downside is they aren't perfectly clear.

[MegaMyrmex]

Currently, I prefer getting a thin plastic, see-through container and filling it with sand(fine grains) and then water it down and carve a nest cavity in it and place the queen there. I put my tetramorium queen and nanitics in it, they love it and burrow like mad! Surprising, since the colony is only 3 or 4 nanitics strong...

[Ameise]

Currently, I prefer getting a thin plastic, see-through container and filling it with sand(fine grains) and then water it down and carve a nest cavity in it and place the queen there. I put my tetramorium queen and nanitics in it, they love it and burrow like mad! Surprising, since the colony is only 3 or 4 nanitics strong...

Hopefully nothing happens that shakes or rattles it though, since I imagine your sand tunnel could collapse. Perhaps mixing in some bonding agent would help? You don't want concrete-strength, but enough that the sand won't just collapse.

[Ameise]

 

They're ideal in that they're simple and almost all ants tend to accept them, even if they aren't ideal for that species. They're usually 'good enough'.

I have been experimenting with alternative founding formicaria setups that aren't quite as complicated as true founding formicariums, but my success has been mixed. I'm currently tinkering with using oak dowels and test tubes or acrylic tubes.

The biggest stressor that test tubes have for queens is that I've found that the queens of many species have difficulty with glass. Ponerid queens (and workers) cannot climb glass at all, and can barely walk on it. Camponotus queens can climb glass, but not well, and they have difficulty walking. Such things stress them a bit.

I've had luck with polycarbonate (I think) test tubes for Camponotus. At least the species around here can walk on them perfectly fine.

The downside is they aren't perfectly clear.

 

I've had difficulty with C. pennsylvanicus and C. chromaiodes with polycarbonate and borosilicate glass. They tend to 'slide' while walking, which I think stresses them. They also end up in really awkward positions when they are trying to lay eggs or turn around, since they need to stabilize themselves. One often ends up vibrating like crazy due to being unstable. A few of them I've superglued sand to the inside of the tube to give a surface, though the sand tends to break free and the queens dislike cleaning it up. Messing with wood dowel inserts right now. Dremels are fun, until it slips and you get a high-speed engraving bit in your pointer finger.

[cpman]

They're ideal in that they're simple and almost all ants tend to accept them, even if they aren't ideal for that species. They're usually 'good enough'.

I have been experimenting with alternative founding formicaria setups that aren't quite as complicated as true founding formicariums, but my success has been mixed. I'm currently tinkering with using oak dowels and test tubes or acrylic tubes.

The biggest stressor that test tubes have for queens is that I've found that the queens of many species have difficulty with glass. Ponerid queens (and workers) cannot climb glass at all, and can barely walk on it. Camponotus queens can climb glass, but not well, and they have difficulty walking. Such things stress them a bit.

I've had luck with polycarbonate (I think) test tubes for Camponotus. At least the species around here can walk on them perfectly fine.

The downside is they aren't perfectly clear.

I've had difficulty with C. pennsylvanicus and C. chromaiodes with polycarbonate and borosilicate glass. They tend to 'slide' while walking, which I think stresses them. They also end up in really awkward positions when they are trying to lay eggs or turn around, since they need to stabilize themselves. One often ends up vibrating like crazy due to being unstable. A few of them I've superglued sand to the inside of the tube to give a surface, though the sand tends to break free and the queens dislike cleaning it up. Messing with wood dowel inserts right now. Dremels are fun, until it slips and you get a high-speed engraving bit in your pointer finger.

They might not have been polycarbonate. They were some sort of plastic -- it scratched pretty easily, and was transluscent.