13 replies to this topic

[rbarreto]

I absolutely love looking at my ants for extended periods of time, but I hate having to go to the back of the closet every time just to check up on them. I know some species are less affected by this than others. For example my L. claviger queen and her host workers could care less if they are covered up or not (I keep them in the dark just in case) but all My Camponotus queens throw a fit when I expose them to light.

 

Basically, I just want to know If there are any good ways to accustom your ants to not being covered up 24/7 or if forcing them into the light will have any negative effects at all.

[Canadian anter]

I usually use a sheet of white paper just to cover them and eventually just remove it.

[dermy]

I usually first wait till they have first workers, and then a week or so after just leave them in the light. Camponotus sometimes throw a fit but after a week they are usually okay with it, although I find them to just be finicky no matter what, and constantly checking on them would just probably cause more stress than letting them get used to the light by force. (sounds harsh I know but think about it, why bother with them in the dark if you just have to check on them every few days anyway.....)

[rbarreto]

I usually use a sheet of white paper just to cover them and eventually just remove it.

 

Ooh I like that idea. Slowly adjust them to the light.

 

I usually first wait till they have first workers, and then a week or so after just leave them in the light. Camponotus sometimes throw a fit but after a week they are usually okay with it, although I find them to just be finicky no matter what, and constantly checking on them would just probably cause more stress than letting them get used to the light by force. (sounds harsh I know but think about it, why bother with them in the dark if you just have to check on them every few days anyway.....)

 

Makes sense to me, I try to only check on them once a week to minimize the exposure to light. It stresses me out so much watching them freak out in their test tubes when I check on them.

[Scrixx]

That's the opposite of my experience. My Camponotus didn't seem to care at all with light, mostly vibrations. I have Camponotus sansabeanus and Camponotus vicinus and I keep them in a drawer. When I got my heating cable I was checking on them several times a day for the first 2 weeks to make sure they weren't getting cooked and that the temperature is right. They didn't care. I even had the drawer cracked open a bit with ambient sunlight through a window and they still founded fine. 

 

What they're sensitive to are vibrations. For example if you touch two test tubes when stacking them. I can be as careful as I can be but once the test tubes touch, they feel it. Even though I don't hear or feel any vibrations. Then they panic and pick up the eggs or walk up and down the test tubes. 

[CoolColJ]

I expose most of my ants to light after about 5-6 or so workers, so far. None of them care about it after a while.

Now they are exposed to light at all hours other than at night and while I'm sleeping.

At night I shield them from the room light with some paper etc, just to give them a night time feel, after 8-9pm

 

During the day it's dim ambient light though, not sunlight

 

Now I can video them with LED lights, and they don't care

 

Even my Strobe ants who have good eyesight, aren't bothered by light at all

Edited by CoolColJ, June 9 2018 - 1:34 AM.

[Antsinmycloset]

Your mileage may vary, but I noticed my Camponotus queens became increasingly confident in light the larger the colony got.

A queen on her lonesome seems to realize everything is up to her, and will grab her brood and running around looking for an escape. My largest Camponotus has a few hundred workers plus brood at the moment. I can shine my cellphone flashlight directly at her and am lucky to see her antennae twitch. Follow the advice listed here, take it slow, and I'm betting the issue will take care of itself.

I'm also deeply jealous of your L. claviger. How are you liking them so far?

[rbarreto]

Your mileage may vary, but I noticed my Camponotus queens became increasingly confident in light the larger the colony got.

A queen on her lonesome seems to realize everything is up to her, and will grab her brood and running around looking for an escape. My largest Camponotus has a few hundred workers plus brood at the moment. I can shine my cellphone flashlight directly at her and am lucky to see her antennae twitch. Follow the advice listed here, take it slow, and I'm betting the issue will take care of itself.

I'm also deeply jealous of your L. claviger. How are you liking them so far?

This queen is 100% my favourite. She doesn't care about anything and has been perfect. She had laid a bunch of eggs but they have disappeared. They may have hidden them because apparently the L. flavus/nearcticus workers love to create little tunnels into the wet cotton.

[Lazarus]

What others have said. Our Camponotus have been atuned to light conditions since they were past the foundling stages with a few brood. As a matter of fact it was only last week where we gave our largest Camponotus colony a new formicarium that is covered.

[noebl1]

As soon as I get the first worker or two, I expose my ants to light.  Usually takes a couple days of days and they don't seem to care anymore. I do notice some species like my Tetramorium are fine with this, however vibrations (like removing the lid) tend to really upset them, even after 2 years.  My Aphaenogaster seemed to figure out that the vibration of me removing the lid usually means food, so they will often come out and explore very shortly after and not be at all agitated.  Usually the only thing now that annoys pretty all my ants is if I use a flashlight to check on them.

 

At night several of the species get more active, and an abrupt change from dark to light will upset them for a moment, and then they go back to normal.

[rbarreto]

Thanks for all the information guys I really appreciate it.

[drtrmiller]

The queens are most sensitive to visible light because they eclosed in a dark, natural nest, and also they have additional eyes which are used for navigating during nuptial flights.  Workers reared in captivity with some ambient lighting will naturally be less sensitive, because sensitivity is a matter of relative brightness.

 

What do I mean by relative brightness?  The ants know that darkness means safety, but can only compare two brightness levels at once.  By keeping the foraging area vert brightly lit (recommend LED lighting), and the nest just lit enough where you can see the ants, the ants will adjust so that you have no problems going forward.

[KBant]

For example my L. claviger queen and her host workers could care less if they are covered up or not (I keep them in the dark just in case) but all My Camponotus queens throw a fit when I expose them to light.

 

I think you mean, they "couldn't care less." 

[rbarreto]

For example my L. claviger queen and her host workers could care less if they are covered up or not (I keep them in the dark just in case) but all My Camponotus queens throw a fit when I expose them to light.

 
I think you mean, they "couldn't care less."

Yep