15 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

    I currently have a Tetramorium immigrans colony housed in a small AntsAustralia Acrylic Nest. I am using a small 3" outworld from THA to place food in. I decided to use vegetable oil as a barrier, as it's clear, so I could still have a good view. It's been about a week since the move and everything's been fine until today. 

 

    I woke up and went to check on them, and at first nothing was out of the ordinary. There were about 6-7 workers foraging, yet were ignoring the mealworm and honey I had placed in there. Then I noticed 2 dead workers and 1 dying. I wasn't surprised at this, as they were nanitic workers, and were probably around 4-5 months old at this point. Then I looked closer, and the live workers were acting strange. They were walking strange and a couple were dragging their antennae. I also noticed one was able to cross the barrier (luckily there was a lid to the outworld). I quickly replaced the oil barrier with a baby powder+rubbing alcohol barrier. I managed to get a video of them. The queen, brood, and workers in the nest are still perfectly fine.

 

   What's wrong with them, and how do I fix it? Note: the live workers in the video are still young and shouldn't be dying of old age.

 

   PLEASE HELP!

[Mettcollsuss]

Now all the ant that were in the outworld struggling are now dead. I've disconnected the outworld until this is figured out. Once again, the ants in the formicarium are completely fine.

 

I've never had any sort of die off of this size before and I'm FREAKING OUT!

PLEASE HELP!!!

 

Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 7 2018 - 8:55 AM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Sorry if I'm just being ignorant about something but, shouldn't they be in hibernation?

[T.C.]

Take a picture of your entire setup.

[Ant Broski]

Now all the ant that were in the outworld struggling are now dead. I've disconnected the outworld until this is figured out. Once again, the ants in the formicarium are completely fine.
 
I've never had any sort of die off of this size before and I'm FREAKING OUT!
PLEASE HELP!!!
 

Something almost exactly like this hapenned to my tetramorium caespitum. I am trying to fix it by moving them to a naturalistic setup. Most if not all the workers will die out if nothing is done. It seems the queen is immune to what is happening to all the workers. I wish you the best for your colony.

[Ants_Texas]

Clean the outworld, then attach it back up. Then you should probably start hibernating them, as TennesseeAnts said. 

[Kevin]

I found that THA outworlds may not be fully cured when purchased in the sense of the gypsum cement releasing toxic fumes.

 

Try using another outworld.

Edited by Kevin, January 7 2018 - 2:39 PM.

[FeedTheAnts]

I found that THA outworlds may not be fully cured when purchased in the sense of the gypsum cement releasing toxic fumes.

 

Try using another outworld.

May not be fully cured? they take like a month to get to you!

Edited by TennesseeAnts, January 7 2018 - 2:49 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

I've disconnected the outworld. There's still about 15-20 workers with that queen that all seem healthy.

[Mettcollsuss]

 Most if not all the workers will die out if nothing is done.

 

I've disconnected the outworld, which seems to be the source of the problem, but I'm not sure what else to do. My colony isn't quite big enough to be in a naturalistic setup.

[Connectimyrmex]

This happened with my T. immigrans colony & (now dead) Myrmica americana queen as well. It occurred after I fed them a piece of fruit, and I now think that that specific piece had some pesticide on it.

[Ants_Texas]

 

 Most if not all the workers will die out if nothing is done.

 

I've disconnected the outworld, which seems to be the source of the problem, but I'm not sure what else to do. My colony isn't quite big enough to be in a naturalistic setup.

 

Read what nurbs said: "Slightly OT, but when you get it, sniff it. If it has any kind of paint, aerosol, or gas-like alcoholic fume, soak the entire thing in water for a few hours. Then let it air dry for a few days. Rinse and repeat until the scent is gone. You should be OK since you are starting a colony next year.

 

Tar Heel makes decent stuff, but many of his formicariums out of the box have an odor that can quickly kill an entire colony. You must let it air out. I've had this happen to myself as well as a number of buyers."

 

Do what he explains here to get the scent out, if there isn't a scent do it anyways. This could be what is killing your ants.

[Mettcollsuss]

There are now a few dead bodies in the nest. The colony is down to half the original size.

[Hunter]

where did you get the meal/superworms they can carry mites and if feed food with pesticides on it, common on unwashed fruits and veggies from the stores it will be transferred to the worm

Edited by Hunter, January 8 2018 - 10:56 AM.

[Ant Broski]

There are now a few dead bodies in the nest. The colony is down to half the original size.

Try to move them into a temporary test tube setup.

[Mettcollsuss]

Okay, the crisis is over. They are now in a test tube setup. I'm going to leave them there for a few days to let them recuperate; they've been under a lot of stress lately.

 

The total death count is ~16.