Journal of the the one M. capitatus queen I kept for myself. Caught in a September 2017 flight.
She hibernated the winter in a test tube setup at 15 C, and was transferred into an AntKit acrylic founding chamber in early spring, prior to her laying any eggs.
She only had two larvae in the founding nest and both have enclosed into nanites. I can't spot any new eggs.
I attached the nest to an outworld of my own making. It used to be a plastic box for Xiaomi Piston earbuds. Pretty interesting looking actually.
It also happens that AntKit sawtooth connector fits perfectly into a test tube plastic stopper, so I hotglued it to the box to make a tube-less connection point.
The box is just tall enough to accomodate byFormica's micro feeder, which is great. The second nanite, which had enclosed two weeks later, keeps burying it in sand.
Messors really don't like liquids. They can't swim for s***
The queen doesn't really like the setup, she often leaves the nest as soon as it gets drier and sets camp in the outworld, under a pine branch.
The 2x4 cm chamber must be too large for her to feel comfortable in. She found her place between a branch and a rock, creating a small enclosure.
She's quite nervous, but so were all of the rest of my Messor queens. They calm down when number of workers increase.
Obviously, this setup is only temporary as it doesn't have any ventilation. I should have drilled some holes in.
![IMG 20180623 205703 IMG 20180623 205703](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_993/gallery_2086_993_738581.jpg)
The queen is chilling in the bottom right corner of the outworld. If you take a look at the photo below, you will catch a sheen of her Kim Kardashian butt
![IMG 20180623 205752 IMG 20180623 205752](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_993/gallery_2086_993_597485.jpg)
Edited by skocko76, July 30 2021 - 12:31 AM.