First Lasius Niger Colony

[philip369]

Hello fellow ant lovers

This is my first post about my first Ant Colony and as the title suggests I am going to be starting with Lasius Niger.
I will be adding photos of the ants and the set ups as I can. The ants should be arriving in the next couple of days as I bought them from Ants unearthed and they have a very quick delivery time.

For the ants to live in I have bought this from Ants Unearthed(or is it called ants UK?):
antsuk.com/ant-starter-set

I really want this colony to go well so I have bought a can 'o crickets (should this be kept in the fridge or freezer?) and a honey solution (should this be kept in the fridge?) as I am not to sure on the honey to water amounts yet so I will have to look for that (any suggestions would be very appreciated) and PTFE Prevention Fluid I don't want them running out.

I have tried to look for the all the useful tips around this forum and online but if there is anything that I need to know about looking after Lasius Niger I would very very grateful if some one could could comment and tell me any need to know information.

Thank you very much for reading and I will upload some pictures of the habitat soon and some more when Her majesty arrives also any good names for queen ants would be a good laugh.

Good bye for now!

[Wood~Ant]

Hi Philip and welcome to Ant Hill World.

I assume you wish to make this thread a journal on your colony seeing as you've posted it here? If you wish you can make a comments thread, or maybe you prefer that other members post on your journal? It is up to you to choose what you're happiest with.

You don't need to keep honey water in the fridge, as honey is a natural antibiotic and antiseptic, so it won't spoil unless exposed to the air for too long and fungus spores get to it.
If the can of crickets are dried, then they too don't need to be refrigerated, as they will stay fine; but you might find if they were freeze dried you should avoid them getting damp.

Lasius niger are probably the most common ant species kept by newbies to ant keeping, so you should find lots of help with your ants here.

[philip369]

Thank you very much for the information and the community here seems very nice and friendly from the posts that I have seen.

Can't wait for the queen to get here should be tomorrow or Tuesday ;D

And yes this will be a journal for the colony.

[Wood~Ant]

Feb 26, 2012 13:03:35 GMT philip369 said:

Thank you very much for the information and the community here seems very nice and friendly from the posts that I have seen.

Can't wait for the queen to get here should be tomorrow or Tuesday ;D

And yes this will be a journal for the colony.

Fair enough then, and this species profile thread may prove of help to you for info about these ants.
queenant.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=identify&action=display&thread=3525

[philip369]

Again Thank you very much for the information !

[Black Ant]

Feb 26, 2012 13:16:11 GMT philip369 said:

Again Thank you very much for the information !

Nice set up you've ordered for your ants, and don't be afraid to ask questions here mate as it is a great place to learn from with some really great guys who know a lot.
You will also see the hidden boards when you get to be a larvae. Just one post away ;D

[philip369]

Brilliant and hello to you to. I am in the process of taking and uploading the pictures of the starter set, hope to have them uploaded in the next hour, also hidden posts here I come

[philip369]

Ok here are some images (links go to deviant art)

A top view of the foraging area (just watered):
browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=philip369#/d4r139m

A full view of the foraging area:
philip369.deviantart.com/gallery/35575453#/d4r13yb

A side view of the nesting area (which I noticed I have over watered I will keep the lid of for a bit I think):
philip369.deviantart.com/gallery/35575453#/d4r14ls

A view of the both the foraging area and the nesting habitat:
philip369.deviantart.com/gallery/35575453#/d4r14zw

The blue tac on the side of the nesting habitat is there as the metal attachment doesn't feel very secure and is there as a precaution. Also does anyone have any ideas for a how the ants are going to get from the foraging area to the nest habitat? As I am going to put the test tube they come in, in the foraging area and let them move out when they feel like it.

I was thinking a stone of some sort but they may nest under that would a piece of twig do for the moment or would it just fall over if there are to many ants on it?

Thank you all for the help up to now and cheerful messages

[TenebrousNova]

That looks good.
It's hard to go wrong with Lasius niger, since a new queen can usually rear her first workers within a few months.
The adults enjoy sweet things such as a tiny drop of honey or jam. When there's enough of them, they become very confident hunters and can be fed dead insects from outside.

[philip369]

Thanks

If I feed them insects from out side is there and chance of mites on the insects infecting the ants?

[TenebrousNova]

Mites can have bad effects on colonies, yes. If you want to be safe, then you can use commercially bred insects (Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, etc.) instead.

[Wood~Ant]

Placing the test tube inside the foraging tank, then wanting the ants to move into the main nest can be tricky, as it depends on whether the ants feel more comfortable in the tube or not.
It may take a month of Sundays before they move out, or it may be just a matter of days or even hours.

Placing the tube in very strong light can often make the ants wish to move home, and you could always try connecting a length of plastic tubing from the test tube mouth to the opening where the foraging tank leads into the main set up.
Make life seem better in the main nest than in the test tube/foraging tank, especially for the queen; as once she decides to move house and enter the main nest, her daughters will eagerly follow after her.

[Wood~Ant]

I keep my Formica lusatica in a very similar set up to the one you have Philip, and you can use some of the tubing to reach down to the floor of the foraging tank as seen here in my photo below. Then the ants can easily come and go as they please. ;D

Attachments:

[Zarbi]

If Wood says it will work connecting tubing from the floor of the foraging tank to the set up entrance, you can be pretty sure he's right.

[philip369]

Brilliant and so simple I would never have though of that. Thanks so much and I was wondering what to do with some spare pipe I had left over. ;D