5 replies to this topic

[CatLord]

My lasius niger colony recently has been in living in a test tube placed in an outerworld and recently I've noticed them picking sand and putting it in the entrance of their test tube and when i went to check up on them today i show they had completely sealed off the test tube entrance i show a litle hole in the bottom maybe they build a sort of tunnel(the colony is small aproximetaly 20 workers i show a lot of eggs today so is this normal behaviour?(i have also covered they're test tube with leaf)thanks guys its my first colony and i want to learn as much as i can about it!

[Serafine]

It is normal for young colonies. When the storage depots (social stomachs) are full they often close the nest entrance so other colonies cannot find and kill them.

[CatLord]

oh nice so that means they're fed i will put worms for them if they ever want to come out worms will always be offered is that a good idea?to have fresh insects for them all the time even if they don't eat them?

[T.C.]

I've noticed a lot of colonies can appear to have completely closed off an entrance but have a small hole in that pile of whatever they used to build it. Even in my Camponotus sp. nests, they have a small hole that's hardly noticeable and even majors are going in and out of it overnight.

[AntsMaryland]

oh nice so that means they're fed i will put worms for them if they ever want to come out worms will always be offered is that a good idea?to have fresh insects for them all the time even if they don't eat them?

I would not recommend you feed your ants worms (if you are referring to earthworms and not mealworms of course). Try mealworms. Easy to house and breed.

[CatLord]

Good news i show some workers on the worm no its not an earthworm its this fishing bait kind of worm called the acrobat warm and i boiled it cut some of it in pieces and then froze the rest in the freezer i (small colony 20 workers aproximetaly)i show 2-3 workers arround the worm i cut i think they ate some its their first "meal"