3 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

Okay so as I was getting up from my ant desk, my foot snagged on the heat cable and took one of my colonies with it. It was my 5 worker Formica subsericea colony. The outworld disconnected and the setup landed upside-down. No ants escaped, and I plugged the exit. One of the workers was crushed by a mealworm they had dragged into the nest, and the brood is scattered, but I think the queen and 4 workers are okay. A bit dazed, but okay.

 

What is the best course of action here? HELP!!

 

EDIT: The fifth worker is actually okay. It was just more dazed than the others. They've collected one or two of the scattered brood. Hopefully they collect more. I've attached a test tube setup and am trying to get them to move into that.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, February 1 2018 - 6:16 AM.

[Hunter]

i would just reconnect everything and keep an eye on the queen

[dermy]

Sounds like a colony of 5 workers and a queen shouldn't be out of a test-tube setup anyway. I think it probably scared them more than anything and if you keep them undisturbed for awhile they should be back to normal and get the brood all re-organized again.

[StopSpazzing]

Depending on the species, normally you would go to about 20-50+ workers before moving to an outworld. Not sure why you are forcing it so soon?