167 replies to this topic

[BugFinder]

They moved the brood to a completely different location than where I dropped them in, lol   

[dean_k]

You can also blow your breath onto them. Just do it few times a day and they will find where they are unsafe.

[BugFinder]

There is a larvae and some ants stuck in the tube I can't seem to get them out of there.  Can anyone give me some advice how to get them out of there safely without hurting them?

 

 

It looks like 7 of the 9 larvae and a very small number of eggs have survived the move, which I guess should be considered a success, but it appears the pupae, 2 larvae, and a large number of the eggs are lost, and I feel like I failed at that move.  

 

 

 

My wife said she didn't understand what I was so upset about, that the queen would just lay more eggs, and she's right I suppose, but this colony has already been struggling to produce off spring at a rate equal to how fast the workers have been dying off, I'm worried about it collapsing and dying off.

 

Now that my ants are in the Talus I'm discovering things I don't like about it.  I don't like the color, I think it makes it hard to see my ands, their color doesn't contrast with the color of the outworld and nest, and the nest area is very small, and it will be much harder to see them in there.  I'm really unhappy about my ant situation tonight.

Edited by BugFinder, February 21 2015 - 8:46 PM.

[dean_k]

Use tweezers. If it can't reach it, break the tube.

[BugFinder]

Someone on facebook suggested I use a paint brush to get the larvae and the eggs out of the test tube.  I don't have a paint brush (I will be buying one now for sure, will be good to use for my bed bugs too) but I used a q tip and that worked ok.  I was able to get the larvae and some of the eggs out of the tube and into the Talus.  

 

Now I'm officially in the Talus, like it or not.

 

After this, I don't know if I'll ever move them out of the Talus.  No matter how bad life in there gets for them, lol.

[Etherwulf]

I use a wooden skewer stick to pick them up by rolling it gently across the larvae/eggs/pupae.

Edited by Etherwulf, February 23 2015 - 9:48 PM.

[dspdrew]

Etherwulf said exactly what I was going to say. Use the skewer like he said. roll it the opposite direction that you are moving it. This keeps pulling any eggs or larvae out from underneath the skewer as you swipe it across, keeping it from smashing any brood. Keep doing it until it picks up some of the brood, then carefully stick it in the new tube or nest and roll it the opposite direction as you wipe them off. Always spin it in the opposite direction that you swipe it. Make sure to use a wooden skewer, and get it damp so the brood sticks to it. Wood also absorbs the water, so it doesn't bead up or wipe right off and dry. If you get this technique down, you will be able to move brood with ease. I could move a pile of Brachymyrmex eggs with this method, and not hurt a single one.

[BugFinder]

Thanks alot Drew and Etherwulf.

[Jonathan21700]

I use a needle and it works fine.

[BugFinder]

They seem to have collected all of the brood that I could get out of the test tube and set them all in the outworld between the water tower and the wall of the talus.  It appears they have cleaned up all the garbage I knocked out of the test tube and piled it up on the opposite side of the talus, so I think that's a real good sign, even if they haven't decided to move into the nest yet.  They have all 9 larvae and the pupae with the brood now. 

 

The large pile of eggs is gone, but there are a few eggs there.

 

I think we'll make it past this set back.

[BugFinder]

The colony moved into the nest today.  

[BugFinder]

It looks like I'm down to my last worker.  I do have some brood left.... For now.

[dspdrew]

That sucks. I have a few colonies of these that are doing really good, with well over 50 workers, and if they continue to do this good, I'll eventually be needing to sell one or two of them.

[BugFinder]

well if this one dies I'll try it again....   I just can't imagine why it's not doing well.  They eat well.

Edited by BugFinder, March 3 2015 - 10:20 PM.

[Ra3MaN]

I am sure there are some good lessons that you got out of raising these Ants,  at least you will be better prepared for when you catch your next queen. It seems there is still hope for your colony as long as your queen is making that brood. If she is semi-clausteral l as some people have said she should be able to survive until the next batch of workers.

Edited by Ra3MaN, March 3 2015 - 10:33 PM.

[BugFinder]

I'm not sure what I could learn from this colony if I don't know why they are dying off.  I do hope she successfully raises this new batch of workers....  I guess we'll see.

[dspdrew]

Honestly, I highly doubt you're doing anything wrong. Some queens just don't end up working out. I know this because I have raised TONS of colonies in the last two years, and I can do the exact same thing for a bunch of colonies of the same species, and there will be a percentage of them that just don't thrive. Usually they will continue living for quite a while, but with just a few to no workers, and then eventually the queen dies. There's no telling which ones will be the successful ones or believe me, I would have gotten rid of them the day I found them. You never know, so all you can do is treat them all the same, and see what happens.

 

As many as I have raised (even though I've only been doing this for a couple years now), I still can't help but wonder if it's something I'm doing wrong, and I should have WAY more successful queens, but the fact that some do horribly, and some do extremely well, while all being cared for the same way makes me think not. It is even well known that Pogonomyrmex californicus have a very low success rate relative to other species but really though, I have the same troubles with lots of different species of ants. The only reason I have so many seemingly healthy colonies of so many different species going right now, is because I had hundreds of them to start with. At one point last year I had well over 400 queens/colonies. The only problem with that, is all the work of taking care of all those colonies that will just ultimately die.

[BugFinder]

Thanks Drew.  That helps alot.  I wonder if the last two died because of stress related to the move to the new nest.  Is that possible or probable?

[dean_k]

Possible.

 

I don't think it's probable.

[dspdrew]

I have never noticed ants clearly dying from the stress of being moved. I think persistent stress can probably cause them to eat their brood and the queen to not produce much though.