jon777
Honey Pot Ant
Outstanding Ant Photographer
Posts: 41
|
Post by jon777 on Feb 4, 2012 23:24:37 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Jenny on Feb 5, 2012 5:48:30 GMT
Wonderful Keep up the good work Jon, you certainly have the talent. You have captured those two tucking into some honey water I take it?
|
|
jon777
Honey Pot Ant
Outstanding Ant Photographer
Posts: 41
|
Post by jon777 on Feb 9, 2012 2:21:45 GMT
Thanks again Yup, I had them on a tiny plant and just dabbed some honey water on the end. Its the only way I can get them to stay still sometimes! I will try and update when I can, hopefully with some wild nests soon!
|
|
|
Post by Valiant on Feb 9, 2012 7:56:56 GMT
I like the photo of your ant set up, and am looking forward to pics of any wild nests you get
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 9, 2012 15:43:04 GMT
I like the idea of using an old pair of tights or a ladies stocking to cover the tank top. It will allow a good air flow while keeping the ants inside, as long as the denier is strong enough for it not to go into holes or be chewed through.
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Feb 9, 2012 17:17:48 GMT
I think you'll find little holes, before long, in the nylons. A nice temporary fix, though. Have you tried talcum?
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 9, 2012 18:19:11 GMT
I think you'll find little holes, before long, in the nylons. A nice temporary fix, though. Have you tried talcum? Talcum powder mixed with spirits or oil doesn't work for the Formica group, as I found out when I used it and all the ants walked across it like it didn't exist at all. Vaseline doesn't work either, so I can't think of anything that will stop Formica in their tracks, even on a vertical glass surface.
|
|
|
Post by IceWhyte on Feb 9, 2012 18:28:57 GMT
Do the Formica group have more sticky feet than most? I have never actually thought about how ants are able to walk upside down and up glass.
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 9, 2012 18:43:15 GMT
Do the Formica group have more sticky feet than most? I have never actually thought about how ants are able to walk upside down and up glass. The same applies to other ant species/genera, as ants feet are like mini sucker pads and have tiny hairs among these pads. The pads act like suction cups while the tiny hairs grips the minutest imperfections in glass or plastic. The surface may feel perfectly smooth to us, but many insects can still get a grip. Not all ants are good climbers, but most are; and ants such as Formica or Camponotus species have such long legs they can easily climb over almost any barrier, so walking on glass is a simple task for them.
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Feb 9, 2012 22:37:20 GMT
I think you'll find little holes, before long, in the nylons. A nice temporary fix, though. Have you tried talcum? Talcum powder mixed with spirits or oil doesn't work for the Formica group, as I found out when I used it and all the ants walked across it like it didn't exist at all. Vaseline doesn't work either, so I can't think of anything that will stop Formica in their tracks, even on a vertical glass surface. Talcum obviously does not work with oil, since the slurry can only be applied in a substance that evaporates quickly and leaves little to no residue (water or isopropyl alcohol). Oil containment and talcum containment work on entirely different principles. I'm not sure how your ants managed to escape, since my Formica and Camponotus colonies have never crossed the barriers of their setups. ;D
|
|
jon777
Honey Pot Ant
Outstanding Ant Photographer
Posts: 41
|
Post by jon777 on Feb 10, 2012 0:12:00 GMT
The ants escaped when I was altering their home around, they ran up the side to attack me! The lid was off at the time and one climbed over the vasaline. However because the lid has loads of air holes in it they can most likley fit through these holes even with the lid on.
I will keep an eye on the tights and see if they do bite it.
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 10, 2012 7:40:28 GMT
Talcum powder mixed with spirits or oil doesn't work for the Formica group, as I found out when I used it and all the ants walked across it like it didn't exist at all. Vaseline doesn't work either, so I can't think of anything that will stop Formica in their tracks, even on a vertical glass surface. Talcum obviously does not work with oil, since the slurry can only be applied in a substance that evaporates quickly and leaves little to no residue (water or isopropyl alcohol). Oil containment and talcum containment work on entirely different principles. I'm not sure how your ants managed to escape, since my Formica and Camponotus colonies have never crossed the barriers of their setups. ;D My apologies, I meant talcum powder mixed with spirits, or oil on its own; and not oil mixed with talc. I have found the talc barrier is quite useless for keeping Formica ants in check, as was oil or vaseline; but I haven't tried the liquid teflon, but have heard it is very good for creating an escape proof barrier around the inside of a tank.
|
|
|
Post by batspiderfish on Feb 10, 2012 17:54:37 GMT
Haha! I was thinking about how talcum mixed with oil would make an even more comfortable climbing surface than the glass! That's still interesting though. When you say spirits, did you use a beverage, or something not for consumption like isopropyl? I wonder if trace amounts of sediment or impurities could bind the talcum particles enough to render them useless.
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 10, 2012 18:00:30 GMT
I used surgical spirits, as the smell of it alone should have deterred the ants; but as spirits evaporates so fast they probably didn't even notice I'd used any. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Wood~Ant on Feb 15, 2012 17:48:05 GMT
I love the camera set up to the large flash light. It looks complicated, but I'll bet you get some lovely shots of ants with it.
|
|