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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2012 11:16:00 GMT 1
I had a colony of lasius niger consisting of 11 workers and a queen. Shes been in the test tube of the alpha ants setup for 2 months now. However, I have seen a slight decline in the number of workers I have. Currently there are only 7 workers and I can't see any means of escape. The lid is always on and I have coated the edges with a nice layer of ptfe fluid yet the missing ants do not appear to be anywhere in site.
Any speculation to what is going on? Maybe there escaping.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2012 12:51:28 GMT 1
My first thought would be they are dead or hidden in the nest somewhere. Usually when ants construct a graveyard they dismember their dead so you may see things that COULD be random heads or abdomens in a pile (making it harder to identify any specific ant dead) If this isn't the case, which you seemed to indicate, my second assumption is escape. In my experience, you should never underestimate the ability of ants when it comes to escaping. You can't watch them all the time, and sometimes they can escape out of the most seemingly inescapable places. I have had colonies of green ants, that can't climb up slippery surfaces like plastic or glass, but have still had them escape in the most random and perplexing ways enough attack me when I'm not expecting it! Serves me right
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2012 13:53:27 GMT 1
I haven't seen any dismembered body parts in or around the test tube. As for escaping, any other sorrt of prevention I could use as there are only 7 workers and the queen left, nearly losing half the colony to escaping ants. I started with 11 workers so its quite worrying.
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Post by Myrm on Nov 30, 2012 14:23:06 GMT 1
It's also worth bearing in mind that ants often eat their dead. It coul dbe that some of those workers have died and been dismembered and eaten. Is the test tube sealed or have the ants access to any other areas?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2012 14:43:12 GMT 1
They have taken alot of sand into the test tub creating a sort of blockade but are able to pass over the top of this with ease. The test tube is open and still have access to the feeding area that the test tube is placed in.
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