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Post by allesclar on Nov 17, 2010 0:23:32 GMT
Hey everyone. I am new to this. I have an Antworks, and yes I have read how bad they are and I want to improvise and make my own. but my major concern is where to get the ants from and how much to pay? I recently got 25 work ants for around £10, after scoping on ebay I saw 2 queen ants and 40 workers being sold for £10. Which is the legit one? Did I get ripped off or could I be ripped off from ebay? I have no idea where the best place is to get them but I need queens too. Any pointers please? Cheers Adam
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Post by Jenny on Nov 17, 2010 9:44:10 GMT
Hi Adam and welcome to the Ant Hill forum Some ebay sellers may be fine to buy ants from, though personally I am wary of this method as a few of my members have had bad deals. So you need to trust the person you are buying from. Several guys here do sell queen ants or colonies, as you will see from the adverts placed in our Market Place board. It depends on what you want, and many mature colonies are not available if the species is entering hibernation here in the UK, but you can still buy ants as small colonies from young queens mated this summer are around. Failing this, by clicking on the moving buttons in the top table under my video, you can buy from ant shop sites which are linked in the appropriately named button. Enjoy exploring and learning about ants here, as everyone is here to help both experienced and novice ant lovers
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Post by Black Ant on Nov 17, 2010 18:46:51 GMT
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Post by allesclar on Nov 18, 2010 20:44:22 GMT
Hey, Thanks for the replies. :-) Well its been two days now, and the ants still are not doing anything. They are only staying in the tube, I was thinking about getting them in the Antworks without the tube. Could there be any other reasons why they are not tunnelling? Could it be too cold for them? They are literally on the side of my bed. Cheers Adam
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Post by Wood~Ant on Nov 19, 2010 9:21:55 GMT
Hello Adam, You didn't say which species of ant you have, so I'm presuming they are a native ant (Lasius or Myrmica) perhaps. Assuming that you have a native British ant species, then their lack of digging is due to the fact that they sense winter is just around the corner. Ants only dig or extend their nests during warmer periods, and from about now onward native Britiish ants are slowing down and becoming more or less dormant, as they are entering the period of hibernation. Does your Antworks still contain the blue gel, or have you replaced it with soil or sand? Personally I hate those things and wish the shops would stop selling them, as there are better ant farms to buy or you can even make your own. You need to decide whether to hibernate your ants, which is best for the queen(s) and colony, or to keep them warmer for another month to see if they will dig out a nest? It is your choice of course, but if I were you I would put the Antworks straight into the bin and buy something better. A better choice would be an Interplay Ant World or an Ant Mine, both of which you can get a 10% discount on by buying direct from the forum link and entering the name WOODANT (capital letters) into the discount code www.interplaydirect.co.uk/ant-mine-underworld-145-p.asp
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Post by odesssus on Nov 19, 2010 12:06:36 GMT
Don't do anything to them, they will move when they are ready to. I was in the same place as you about a year ago. I had just got my ants and moved them into their new home. They stayed in the tube, I thought I would get them moving and so I messed about with them. It was the worst thing I could have done, I got them moving into the nest and they stayed there for 5 months. I never saw one ant during this period, and even months after that they would only come out to eat and then go back in. Don't do what I did, leave them alone: They will sort themselves out.. Just give them the time that they need.
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Post by annie on Mar 5, 2013 20:32:52 GMT
this is helpful to know as my new queen and her sisters arrived today. have left them in their test tube in their foraging box, will let them find their own way out! really looking forward to seeing them flourish!!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Mar 5, 2013 20:55:54 GMT
this is helpful to know as my new queen and her sisters arrived today. have left them in their test tube in their foraging box, will let them find their own way out! really looking forward to seeing them flourish!! Hi Annie and welcome to the Ant Hill. What species of ants did you get, as this can make a slight difference to how you keep them in terms of homing and aspect of care?
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Post by annie on Mar 9, 2013 19:59:37 GMT
hi there, just picked up your question (you`ve already answered so many questions elsewhere on the forum posted by me!!) they are Lasius niger, keeping it simple!
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