luketheluke
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: UK
Pets: dogs/ferrets/turtles/tortoise/assasinbugs
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Post by luketheluke on Jun 17, 2014 11:05:09 GMT
I've been meaning to start a journal for my colony for a while now mainly for me to look back on as I'm useless at timekeeping etc ! but feel free to comment and let me know if I'm doing anything wrong I do not mind I got this colony march 27th It was 1 queen and 3 workers and a couple of eggs
the queen seemed stressed so I quickly added her a small plastic box to her test tube filled with a small layer of dirt which the workers quickly closed off the test tube with
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luketheluke
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: UK
Pets: dogs/ferrets/turtles/tortoise/assasinbugs
Likes: 28
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Post by luketheluke on Jun 17, 2014 11:14:00 GMT
June 17thso its around 10 weeks since I got my colony and things are looking good, they have been fed on 90% seeds and 10% protein, in the form of a meal worm. they seem very quiet maybe only really coming out at night as I rarely see them coming out of the test tube but I had a quick nosey yesterday and I could count 7 (I think) workers and a healthy lump of eggs a couple of pupae and some larvae it was hard to count as they REALLY hate being disturbed.
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luketheluke
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: UK
Pets: dogs/ferrets/turtles/tortoise/assasinbugs
Likes: 28
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Post by luketheluke on Aug 27, 2014 19:52:28 GMT
27th augustWow in these last few months population has really grown I never expected them to grow this fast. I just tried to get some pictures but they really panicked but here is a few I think they are at around 80 workers now!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 27, 2014 21:18:59 GMT
Now is the time you might want to think about moving the colony out of that test tube, as the ants are outgrowing it and will need a bigger nest. They will thank you for it by growing in number.
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luketheluke
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: UK
Pets: dogs/ferrets/turtles/tortoise/assasinbugs
Likes: 28
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Post by luketheluke on Aug 27, 2014 23:07:56 GMT
Now is the time you might want to think about moving the colony out of that test tube, as the ants are outgrowing it and will need a bigger nest. They will thank you for it by growing in number. yes it is starting to get a little cramped in there! I've decided on a soil tank like I've seen your messors in what substrate do you use wood? ^^
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Post by James O'Neill on Aug 27, 2014 23:17:29 GMT
You can move them anytime into a soil set up, it's up to you, but I wouldn't quite call that cramped. There's still plenty of space. I had 130 workers in my tube before I moved them out into a ytong and I still think I moved them out too early. If the colony is growing well in the tube, why potentially ruin a good thing? a larger colony is more robust and can tackle change better than a small one. IMO, keep it in the tube until it is much bigger.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 28, 2014 5:47:20 GMT
Now is the time you might want to think about moving the colony out of that test tube, as the ants are outgrowing it and will need a bigger nest. They will thank you for it by growing in number. yes it is starting to get a little cramped in there! I've decided on a soil tank like I've seen your messors in what substrate do you use wood? ^^ I use a mixture of coarse sand and a peat potting compost. Use at a ratio of 2 parts sand to 1 of compost (can be loam based if you can't get a peat one); and I disagree with James here, as the longer you leave the queen in a test tube with her workers and brood, the colony will get very stressed from overcrowding, as I have started newly mated Messor barbarus queens in a small soil set up from day 1 of getting them, and they have made lovely big colonies, my Q2 queen being an excellent example of this. These ants love to dig, and they cannot behave normally in a test tube, as no ants nest in test tubes in the wild do they?
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Post by James O'Neill on Aug 28, 2014 11:42:44 GMT
Like I said, you can move into a soil set up anytime. It will be absolutely fine if you do it now, Luke, because as Wood has pointed out, he has been very successful from a single queen. My point was that larger colonies tackle change better than small ones and I just like to be rather safe than sorry. But that's just me. Your tube is nowhere near overcrowded. What are the signs of being stressed due to 'overcrowding' in a tube? it can't be the lack of eggs as my queen kept chugging out the eggs the whole time she was in the tube. I agree, once it gets to a point where there is clearly no space left, or just before that point, by all means they should be moved. But ants are used to close confines and I seriously doubt they will be unhappy because they are a bit snug. But Wood raises a valid point in the last sentence - they do love to dig in a natural way. It is up to you as to how you look after your ants - give them a more natural but less stable environment, or leave them in an unnatural but very stable environment, at least for a while. They will thrive in either.
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Post by TenebrousNova on Aug 28, 2014 11:47:38 GMT
Brilliant progress Luke! I'm surprised at how clean the wool is in that test tube.
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Post by James O'Neill on Aug 28, 2014 11:56:34 GMT
I suspect that the wool is clean because the ants regularly remove the outer layer in their efforts to dig, including any dirty bits. That's how mine kept it clean anyway.
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Post by Zarbi on Aug 28, 2014 12:08:16 GMT
I think what Wood means about stress in a test tube is the biting and tugging of the cotton wool, as I have found adult ants tending brood get their legs caught up in it; and have found young queens tend to do a lot of wandering about to avoid wrapping themselves in loose cotton wool strands. Test tubes are great to begin with for colony founding, but ants that nest in soil do prefer to have a more natural medium for their nest environment.
I can see the validity of the argument for the test tube which has been advocated, but there is no substitute for a set up in which the ants feel happy and is more natural for them. In my opinion, go with the soil set up a.s.a.p.
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Post by James O'Neill on Aug 28, 2014 12:10:24 GMT
Point taken about the wool chewing. They do of course want to dig. But I wouldn't call it 'stress' as such, more of an instinct to be followed.
As far as I'm concerned, an example of ant stress is continued panic from disturbance, inhibiting colony growth. Luke's colony is clearly not stressed as it is growing very well indeed!
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Post by Jenny on Aug 28, 2014 12:24:52 GMT
@ Luke Seeing as they are doing so well, now is the time to certainly move them on especially before we hit the cold weather. Ants in test tubes are only meant as a temporary rearing situation, once you see them having brood and workers it's time to go for it. The quicker you can move them forward the better for development Luke. You can feed them better, have easier access for you and the colony and they will settle before winter. Digging at cotton wool is a sign that they want to make a proper nest, and are getting frustrated with the tube they are in as all they are is an incubator for brood. This is a journal so keep comments to a limit.
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luketheluke
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: UK
Pets: dogs/ferrets/turtles/tortoise/assasinbugs
Likes: 28
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Post by luketheluke on Aug 28, 2014 14:40:28 GMT
Thanks for the replys you can't really tell from the pictures because as I uncovered them they scattered a lot in the photos you can't really see the full amount but it was looking a bit cramped, they had dug so far into the cotton wool too they where about 2/3rds of the way through and had dragged it into there arena. They are so active lately it's great there's constantly workers foraging in the arena where as before they seemed to only be out at night/early morning.
What sized tank would you recommend? I'd like to go with something that would last a couple of years maybe? :]
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Post by Jenny on Aug 28, 2014 14:50:56 GMT
We have all 3 of ours in fish tanks about 18-24inches wide. They grow fast and need space, at the moment one colony in my room is escaping especially at night! You need a tightish lid whatever you choose. We had to use thermal door sealant inside the lid, because these messing Messors cottoned on they could push the lid up with their numbers and squeeze out. Shane's got his in an upright as you can see on his journal, but it is personal choice. Our last colony we had in a ytong, but they did not do well in that at all, since they have been transferred to a traditional soil set up, they are expanding.
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