6 replies to this topic

[Ants Galore]

https://imgur.com/a/JByisWhat are they doing I fed them properly and they were obviously eating the mealworms I gave them bc they were all slupering up the guts. They recently have been doing this a lot but when I put food in they get scared back in. So what's going on and what do I do?

[Antsinmycloset]

What exactly is the problem?

It looks like they found the outworld to be safe and warmer (or the "nest" unsafe/poor hot/too cold/too something) so they moved their pupae somewhere more ideal. I had this happen once when I let the test tube get too warm. Everyone moved back on their own after I corrected the temperature issue.

Also, are they in a fridge? You're not trying to hibernate already, are you?

[Ants Galore]

No I'm not hibernating them. So do I let them just hang out?

[Ants Galore]

I don't know what the issue is

[Antsinmycloset]

I'd try to make their nest more inviting so they move back, since something is likely bothering them, but no, it shouldn't hurt anything. Have you changed anything lately? Overhydrated the nest? Maybe it's warmer up there, so they moved the pupae so they could eclose more quickly?

How big is the ventilation hole on the lid? The only possible problem I forsee is that the outworld could be too dry and harm them, but I doubt you have that much air flow, and carpenter ants are usually pretty content with relatively dry conditions.

[ultraex2]

I've observed this once with one of my C. Pennsylvanicus colonies - there was a shaded spot behind a bottle cap that they temporarily moved to for a day in the outworld, but then they moved back into the formicarium after a day.

 

To be perfectly honest I don't think it's a big issue, it just means that at least temporarily the outworld has better conditions for the brood than the Formicarium does.

 

Is the formicarium custom made or one you ordered from somewhere?

[Ants Galore]

I made it myself, but it's not that great quality.