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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 16:51:30 GMT 1
Hi all
Totally new to this so tell me if I am going wrong anywhere!
My Grand Plan is to have my snake tank (3.5ft long, 1ft deep and maybe 1.5ft tall) partially filled with soil with twigs etc... and add a Lasius Niger queen, let her do her thing and start a colony.
But then I realised I wouldn't be able to see anything below ground, and I would very much like to see inside the royal chamber(?) in particular, but it would be unlikely she would nest against glass.
SO, my new plan was to have a smaller 'ant farm' which is thin and so she HAS to nest in view (covered with paper when not being viewed), then join it via a plastic tube to the main tank.
Is there a better way? Basically I want my main tank to be the forraging place and the queen to be happy, but visible.
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Post by animal123 on May 25, 2011 18:02:16 GMT 1
Hi all Totally new to this so tell me if I am going wrong anywhere! My Grand Plan is to have my snake tank (3.5ft long, 1ft deep and maybe 1.5ft tall) partially filled with soil with twigs etc... and add a Lasius Niger queen, let her do her thing and start a colony. But then I realised I wouldn't be able to see anything below ground, and I would very much like to see inside the royal chamber(?) in particular, but it would be unlikely she would nest against glass. SO, my new plan was to have a smaller 'ant farm' which is thin and so she HAS to nest in view (covered with paper when not being viewed), then join it via a plastic tube to the main tank. Is there a better way? Basically I want my main tank to be the foraging place and the queen to be happy, but visible. Good afternoon, Welcome to the forum, Spikie! That is a great plan Spikie but I would like to say that I think it would be better for the slim ant farm not to be connected to the main foraging tank until the queen has her first set of workers. The queen will not need any food until she has her first set of workers. When the first set of workers arrive, connect the slim ant farm to the foraging tank for them to forage. Also, one thing, I would just like to point out that once the colony has grown to be a large colony they may, move to the foraging tank due to space issues. Best regards, Animal Bin Lid.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 18:52:58 GMT 1
I would add that you could be waiting weeks or even months in some circumstances for a single Queen to produce a colony that gives viewing pleasure. As a first timer, I would strongly recommend that you purchase a colony with at least 10 workers, best around 20 to start with, so you see activity straight away. Just from personal experience
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 20:48:09 GMT 1
Thank you both Out of curiousity, if I got a queen from shop A (or from the wild) then got some workers who had never met the queen (say from another wild nest), would they all get on? Do workers from other nests throw their lot in with the local queen if theres is missing? Basically, do I need to buy the workers with the queen or can I use any Lasius Niger?
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 20:52:50 GMT 1
You need to buy the workers with a queen, using wild ones would almost certainly resu;l in fights.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2011 20:57:38 GMT 1
That makes sense, thanks What do the workers do while the queen is locked away in her nest for the first brood?
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Post by Myrm on May 25, 2011 21:47:52 GMT 1
Hi Spikie, and a vary warm welcome to you.
Once the first lot of workers are born some will tend to the queen and brood and expand the nest whilst one or two of the more bold ones will emerge from the nest and forage for food and explore.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 7:45:46 GMT 1
But sometimes it takes a VERY long time for them to forage. Just look at my Niger Queen Queeny journal
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Post by Myrm on May 26, 2011 8:08:42 GMT 1
But sometimes it takes a VERY long time for them to forage. Or even a vAry long time
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 8:39:38 GMT 1
Thank you all, I'm glad I've found such an active and helpful board!
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Post by Myrm on May 26, 2011 11:22:30 GMT 1
Thank you all, I'm glad I've found such an active and helpful board! No proplem! Thank you for joining. Oh, and I love the fire cat avatar.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 13:33:16 GMT 1
Another question! I move house in... July (ish) and that was the intended time to get the nest up and running. But having read around online it seems like, especially if I had a lone queen, all I would need is a test tube sized house to keep them. So I'm wondering whether to get a queen and a few workers but keep them in their tube for a month or two then introduce them to their habitat (hopefully with the first brood recently or nearly born). Also, I assume fertile queens aren't availiable all year round, so will I struggle to get one if I wait till late July? Basically I am eager to have her majesty and am wondering if I put her in a nice cupboard for a month in her tube she would be happy and ready to take up her duties when we move
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 13:36:02 GMT 1
In fact it would seem I could get a tupperware box (10cm by 20cm) and put the queen and her workers in there and they would be right as rain for generations. It's tempting while I get them going.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 13:45:37 GMT 1
You could easily get a lasius Niger queen from ants-kallytta.com
If you do just get a queen put her in a warm place and disturb her for a couple of weeks. Introduce her to a setup when the first workers arrive.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 13:54:48 GMT 1
You could easily get a lasius Niger queen from ants-kallytta.com If you do just get a queen put her in a warm place and disturb her for a couple of weeks. Introduce her to a setup when the first workers arrive. I assume that should be don't disturb her So a few weeks hidden away to relax and get her first brood would be ideal for her then. I might give that a go
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