345 replies to this topic

[Rstheant]

My bottled water tastes great. I only drink it when it's been in the fridge.

Quality Drew water! Only $12.99 per gallon. Great for physical activities? Get your water now!!!

[PaxxMantid]

Hello - 

 

I am new antkeeper and pleased to say I have setup my new dirt box (Dirt Box, Natural Ant Farm, Formicarium #4 Size, Black/Natural Desert Sand, Small (2.4x2.4x5 in.) and it's looking very cool. I did the initial hydration and setup and it's waiting for new occupants.

 

Meanwhile, I have a Lasius niger queen that went into diapause with 1 worker and since coming out she's got 7 workers and a pile of brood! But, her test tube is looking a mess. Plenty of water but they keep dragging the food around and there are lots of tiny insect parts, some cotton, and other debris that are getting all over the place. There are some dark 'dots' that are increasing in number that I'm pretty sure it's molding in there, mostly closer to the water side than the ventilation side.

 

I was thinking maybe they could move into the dirt shack. I wanted to ask:

 

1) would L. Niger queen with 7 workers be good candidates to move in there? I don't want to force a young queen to move out but it looks nasty in her test tube.

 

2) what is the best way to move them? there is a tiny port , for expansion, but I didn't see what size it was and it doesn't seem to match any tubing I have around. How to migrate them from test tube into the dirt shack?

 

Any advice much appreciated

thank you!

[dspdrew]

Lasius should be fine in a #4 Dirt Box. I don' have much experience with Lasius, but if they dig in captivity when put in dirt, I would just dump the colony into the formicarium. The workers will find all the brood and pile it up somewhere for the time being. Hopefully then the workers will dig a nest and eventually move the queen in. If you just set the formicarium up, it should all be wet, even on the surface, which is what you want if you do this, that way they stay hydrated while digging their new nest.

[PaxxMantid]

Lasius should be fine in a #4 Dirt Box. I don' have much experience with Lasius, but if they dig in captivity when put in dirt, I would just dump the colony into the formicarium. The workers will find all the brood and pile it up somewhere for the time being. Hopefully then the workers will dig a nest and eventually move the queen in. If you just set the formicarium up, it should all be wet, even on the surface, which is what you want if you do this, that way they stay hydrated while digging their new nest.

 

Thanks for this feedback. I am a little worried to dump the tube in because I tried this once before, and it was very tough to get the eggs out of the tube - they were stuck to the walls and i wound up using a thin wire to get them out. But, I definitely damaged some of them on the way, and I'm pretty sure some were lost in the cotton. There is a ton of brood in there and brand new workers that are so tiny, I don't want to hurt them. Also there is a lot of debris in there so it will be even harder to see and deal with.

 

I am wondering if it would be easier on the ants (and lower mortality rate) if I connected the test tube to the dirt box, then made the dirt box warmer and darker than the test tube and hopefully they'll move over themselves. I'm not in a hurry so hopefully they'll make the move themselves. But, what is intended to connect to the port on the dirt box?

Edited by PaxxMantid, April 29 2019 - 6:45 AM.

[Vegiejack67]

That's awesome, do you have a problem with mold in the hydro tank when you use the moss as the sponge?

[dspdrew]

[Broncos]

Where do you get those awesome sponges?

[dspdrew]

Where do you get those awesome sponges?

 

What sponges?

[RushmoreAnts]

Where do you get those awesome sponges?

 
What sponges?

Perhaps those in your founding formicaria?

[mmcguffi]

Thanks for documenting this design and research so well Drew. Question though — are there any issues with the water being in contact with the hydrostone in the bottoms for long periods of time? I know you demonstrated that erosion/melting/whatever happens with the hydrostone in your fungus-grower set up 

[dspdrew]

Thanks for documenting this design and research so well Drew. Question though — are there any issues with the water being in contact with the hydrostone in the bottoms for long periods of time? I know you demonstrated that erosion/melting/whatever happens with the hydrostone in your fungus-grower set up 

 

I have never had a problem for as long as these last. I'll probably be changing the design slightly, adding ceramic tiles to these as well.

[buglover123]

Old thread but how does the water seep from the smaller inner container to the dirt in the outside? do you drill small holes in the inner container?

[dspdrew]

Old thread but how does the water seep from the smaller inner container to the dirt in the outside? do you drill small holes in the inner container?

 

They are designed with openings. Even if they weren't, water would still flow under it anyway.

[buglover123]

 

Old thread but how does the water seep from the smaller inner container to the dirt in the outside? do you drill small holes in the inner container?

 

They are designed with openings. Even if they weren't, water would still flow under it anyway.

 

That's one thing I didn't understand from the guide, was where exactly the openings are. Are they just small holes in the inner container that let the water seep through? Thanks again.

[ANTdrew]

Old thread but how does the water seep from the smaller inner container to the dirt in the outside? do you drill small holes in the inner container?

Look up capillary action. It’s how your towel works and how trees take water up from the soil high into their canopies. Butterfly mouthparts work via the same principle.

[buglover123]

 

Old thread but how does the water seep from the smaller inner container to the dirt in the outside? do you drill small holes in the inner container?

Look up capillary action. It’s how your towel works and how trees take water up from the soil high into their canopies. Butterfly mouthparts work via the same principle.

 

Yes but for capillary action to work, there needs to be some kind of opening/connection for liquid to flow. I am wondering where exactly that opening or connection is in this setup for water to go from the inner container out into the dirt/ant colony.

[ANTdrew]

It seeps through the hydrostone and on up.

[dspdrew]

Old thread but how does the water seep from the smaller inner container to the dirt in the outside? do you drill small holes in the inner container?

Look up capillary action. It’s how your towel works and how trees take water up from the soil high into their canopies. Butterfly mouthparts work via the same principle.

Yes but for capillary action to work, there needs to be some kind of opening/connection for liquid to flow. I am wondering where exactly that opening or connection is in this setup for water to go from the inner container out into the dirt/ant colony.

All the information is in this topic.
 
https://www.formicul...9-2017/?p=54355
 

[buglover123]

I gave this a shot myself but the hydration doesn't seem to be working properly, I am clearly fumbling something.

 

Before:

 

After 48 hours (most of the water is still in the inner cube if you can't tell by the dirt):

 

I am using unsanded grout instead of hydrostone since I already have a bunch I use for my formicariums. I wanted to test this design before filling everything up so I put about an inch of water in the inner cube and filled a little it of dirt on the outside. It seems like after the first 24 hours some water did seep through the bottom which is great, but the water has either stopped seeping or become obscenely slow to move. Do you think the problem is using grout instead of hydrostone? The only other thing I can think is maybe I put too much grout, I put close to an inch of it. Thanks again, for all your help.

Edited by buglover123, April 26 2022 - 11:00 AM.

[dspdrew]

Sounds like grout doesn't absorb water very well.