Post by Honeydewman on Aug 31, 2011 19:14:09 GMT
Well I am a year on from the collection of my Lasius Niger Queens in August 2010.
For me it has been a great year and I would like to share with all my experiences over the year.
SOME OF THE PROCEDURES DESCRIBED MUST NOT BE ATTEMPTED BY THE INEXPERIENCED.
I started out with 8 meat paste jars. You know, the type you get from Tesco or Asda.
Fully sterilised and filled with sterilised earth.
The earth was sterilised by placing in the oven @ 225 degrees celcius for 2 hours.
Put it in with the Sunday roast.
Please don't put your new Queen straight into the soil until it cools as she will die... ;D ;D
Now, at the end of August 2010 I had a late swarm in my area and I managed to collect 8 new Niger Queens. All mated, shed wings, looking for a place to call home. A safe home away from predators and other established colonies.
In they went, 1 per Jar, then after placing them in I wet the soil. Using only rainwater.
The Jars were then stored in a cool dark location.
Of the 8 Queens only 6 chambered. 2 Died for some unknown reason.
Of the 6 that chambered 4 set themselves up against the glass and I had unrestricted viewing from day one. Eggs were produced on day two. Each Queen producing upto 8 eggs.
This number was the same with all Queens.
The Queens then began the job of cleaning, feeding, tidying and moving the eggs around to different locations in the chamber. The dryer the soil the nearer the glass, the wetter the soil the further in the chamber.
All Jars were placed in wet sand at an angle of approx 20 degrees with the chambers at the highest point. This meant that when watering the soil, which in my experience was vital, the chambers were never flooded.
We were obviously at the end of Summer and so making sure the soil was sufficiently watered all Jars were left untouched for 3 months.
In December I viewed each colony in turn.
One of the 4 Queens who had chambered against the glass had perished. It seemed that she had been the victim of a parasitic fungus as she was enveloped by the cotton wool growth.
Of the other visible Queens all had roughly the same brood of which there were around 6 Larvae of varying size.
On several occasions I watched the new Queens eating their own eggs, only ones just laid.
So I had at that point 3 visible chambers and 2 that were located centrally.
It is important to use only red light for viewing.
It was now that I started feeding the Queens.
PLEASE NOTE THE PROCEDURE I AM ABOUT TO DESCRIBE MUST ONLY BE USED BY AN EXPERIENCED HAND.
Obtaining a syringe with needle, purchased from Fishing Tackle Outlets, I placed a tiny quantity of Sugar Water on the glass inside the chamber. At first the Queens did not immediately go to the offering but after a few days they moved to the glass when they felt the syringe enter the chamber.
You need a very steady hand as too much will encourage fungal growth.
All 3 Queens fed on the liquid and seemed more active as a result.
The upside of this was that when the Callow Ants hatched they were slightly bigger in size.
Of the centrally located chambers I did not feed the Queens but ensured the soil was moist at all times.
So we go through the cold months of the 2010-2011 winter with activity at a minimum.
Not surprising as it was freezing.
In early February I placed all the Jars within my loft thus raising the temperature of the surrounding area.
In the visible colonies I continued to feed the sugar water on a weekly basis then every 3 days as the Larvae pupaeted. In the increased warmth the and Callow Ants emerged within a few weeks.
It was then that for some reason unknown I found the Queen of one of the hidden chambers dead on the surface of the soil...I had no explaination as to why.
So 5 became 4.
By April all visible Queens had 2-4 workers who never at any point ventured out.
I continued to feed but this time added the juices from crushed insects into the sugar water mix.
The workers readily accepted and gorged.
Of the other Queen there was no sight and so I gave her up as dead also, concentrating as I did on the visible colonies.
Now came the time for initial placement.
Purchasing 4 plastic fish bowls from Wilkinsons I set each Jar at angle within the soil filled containers.
It was then that I had an accident with one of the Jars. It was dropped and all but the Queen and 3 workers were destroyed. The Queen was luckily undamaged and so I place them straight into the soil medium of one of the units.
This colony has obviously taken the longest to establish as the Queen had to start from scratch with only 3 workers.
But they have made it and thanks to all the extra goodies they number around 4 visible foraging workers.
The 2 other colonies quickly established themselves as healthy active colonies.
Of these 2 colonies only 1 was destined to finish within the final unit.
I have always set my colonies within fish tanks and so purchased a 4 foot x 1.5 foot unit.
I have purposely built a unit for the tank which means I have a support structure with raised sides to create an artificial moat.
In May 2011 the colony I gave up as dead threw out a surprise in the form of a small foraging worker.
I quickly made sure that there was adequate moisture, protein and sugars for them.
However, for some reason activity stopped and it wasn't until recently that I found they were trapped and could not exit the medium as it had set like concrete.
Once freed they fed again.
This colony has since found its way to a new owner with a collection of 10 workers and small numbers of brood.
So the 3 colonies were placed outside within Wilkinsons plastic tanks.
Each tank has holes inserted using a soldering iron.
..THIS MUST NOT BE ATTEMPTED BY CHILDREN...
Holes are placed from bottom to top of each plastic unit prior to initial jar placement and each unit is then stood upon blocks of wood in a further container containing water. The water is never allowed above a certain point as it can cause flooding and is controlled by holeing the water container at a certain height.
This also keeps the ants contained and stops intrusion from established colonies.
The holes also allow natural run off / Draining when it rains.
Feeding is straightforward and I found it easiest using Lego Pieces for holding sugar water and peices of clear perspex on which I place dissected insects. The internal fluids of the insects remain with the carcass and are not absorbed into the medium. Cuts down on fungal issues too.
Around the middle of August the chosen Ant farm was placed in the fish tank.
They already have a herd of Aphids feeding upon a Thistle and regularly enjoy ripe Pears as a treat. Dissected insects are placed upon the sills of the tank.
The other 2 colonies still remain within the Wilkinsons tanks. All but the colony which was dropped has at any time upto 6 workers actively foraging.
The colony from the dropped Jar have a maximum of 3 workers foraging at any given time.
The smaller colony is up for offer FREE TO A GOOD HOME.
As we drift towards Autumn all colonies are active although this is decreasing as the weather cools.
Will add a little more in the coming weeks.
For me it has been a great year and I would like to share with all my experiences over the year.
SOME OF THE PROCEDURES DESCRIBED MUST NOT BE ATTEMPTED BY THE INEXPERIENCED.
I started out with 8 meat paste jars. You know, the type you get from Tesco or Asda.
Fully sterilised and filled with sterilised earth.
The earth was sterilised by placing in the oven @ 225 degrees celcius for 2 hours.
Put it in with the Sunday roast.
Please don't put your new Queen straight into the soil until it cools as she will die... ;D ;D
Now, at the end of August 2010 I had a late swarm in my area and I managed to collect 8 new Niger Queens. All mated, shed wings, looking for a place to call home. A safe home away from predators and other established colonies.
In they went, 1 per Jar, then after placing them in I wet the soil. Using only rainwater.
The Jars were then stored in a cool dark location.
Of the 8 Queens only 6 chambered. 2 Died for some unknown reason.
Of the 6 that chambered 4 set themselves up against the glass and I had unrestricted viewing from day one. Eggs were produced on day two. Each Queen producing upto 8 eggs.
This number was the same with all Queens.
The Queens then began the job of cleaning, feeding, tidying and moving the eggs around to different locations in the chamber. The dryer the soil the nearer the glass, the wetter the soil the further in the chamber.
All Jars were placed in wet sand at an angle of approx 20 degrees with the chambers at the highest point. This meant that when watering the soil, which in my experience was vital, the chambers were never flooded.
We were obviously at the end of Summer and so making sure the soil was sufficiently watered all Jars were left untouched for 3 months.
In December I viewed each colony in turn.
One of the 4 Queens who had chambered against the glass had perished. It seemed that she had been the victim of a parasitic fungus as she was enveloped by the cotton wool growth.
Of the other visible Queens all had roughly the same brood of which there were around 6 Larvae of varying size.
On several occasions I watched the new Queens eating their own eggs, only ones just laid.
So I had at that point 3 visible chambers and 2 that were located centrally.
It is important to use only red light for viewing.
It was now that I started feeding the Queens.
PLEASE NOTE THE PROCEDURE I AM ABOUT TO DESCRIBE MUST ONLY BE USED BY AN EXPERIENCED HAND.
Obtaining a syringe with needle, purchased from Fishing Tackle Outlets, I placed a tiny quantity of Sugar Water on the glass inside the chamber. At first the Queens did not immediately go to the offering but after a few days they moved to the glass when they felt the syringe enter the chamber.
You need a very steady hand as too much will encourage fungal growth.
All 3 Queens fed on the liquid and seemed more active as a result.
The upside of this was that when the Callow Ants hatched they were slightly bigger in size.
Of the centrally located chambers I did not feed the Queens but ensured the soil was moist at all times.
So we go through the cold months of the 2010-2011 winter with activity at a minimum.
Not surprising as it was freezing.
In early February I placed all the Jars within my loft thus raising the temperature of the surrounding area.
In the visible colonies I continued to feed the sugar water on a weekly basis then every 3 days as the Larvae pupaeted. In the increased warmth the and Callow Ants emerged within a few weeks.
It was then that for some reason unknown I found the Queen of one of the hidden chambers dead on the surface of the soil...I had no explaination as to why.
So 5 became 4.
By April all visible Queens had 2-4 workers who never at any point ventured out.
I continued to feed but this time added the juices from crushed insects into the sugar water mix.
The workers readily accepted and gorged.
Of the other Queen there was no sight and so I gave her up as dead also, concentrating as I did on the visible colonies.
Now came the time for initial placement.
Purchasing 4 plastic fish bowls from Wilkinsons I set each Jar at angle within the soil filled containers.
It was then that I had an accident with one of the Jars. It was dropped and all but the Queen and 3 workers were destroyed. The Queen was luckily undamaged and so I place them straight into the soil medium of one of the units.
This colony has obviously taken the longest to establish as the Queen had to start from scratch with only 3 workers.
But they have made it and thanks to all the extra goodies they number around 4 visible foraging workers.
The 2 other colonies quickly established themselves as healthy active colonies.
Of these 2 colonies only 1 was destined to finish within the final unit.
I have always set my colonies within fish tanks and so purchased a 4 foot x 1.5 foot unit.
I have purposely built a unit for the tank which means I have a support structure with raised sides to create an artificial moat.
In May 2011 the colony I gave up as dead threw out a surprise in the form of a small foraging worker.
I quickly made sure that there was adequate moisture, protein and sugars for them.
However, for some reason activity stopped and it wasn't until recently that I found they were trapped and could not exit the medium as it had set like concrete.
Once freed they fed again.
This colony has since found its way to a new owner with a collection of 10 workers and small numbers of brood.
So the 3 colonies were placed outside within Wilkinsons plastic tanks.
Each tank has holes inserted using a soldering iron.
..THIS MUST NOT BE ATTEMPTED BY CHILDREN...
Holes are placed from bottom to top of each plastic unit prior to initial jar placement and each unit is then stood upon blocks of wood in a further container containing water. The water is never allowed above a certain point as it can cause flooding and is controlled by holeing the water container at a certain height.
This also keeps the ants contained and stops intrusion from established colonies.
The holes also allow natural run off / Draining when it rains.
Feeding is straightforward and I found it easiest using Lego Pieces for holding sugar water and peices of clear perspex on which I place dissected insects. The internal fluids of the insects remain with the carcass and are not absorbed into the medium. Cuts down on fungal issues too.
Around the middle of August the chosen Ant farm was placed in the fish tank.
They already have a herd of Aphids feeding upon a Thistle and regularly enjoy ripe Pears as a treat. Dissected insects are placed upon the sills of the tank.
The other 2 colonies still remain within the Wilkinsons tanks. All but the colony which was dropped has at any time upto 6 workers actively foraging.
The colony from the dropped Jar have a maximum of 3 workers foraging at any given time.
The smaller colony is up for offer FREE TO A GOOD HOME.
As we drift towards Autumn all colonies are active although this is decreasing as the weather cools.
Will add a little more in the coming weeks.
