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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2012 13:50:56 GMT 1
Hello!
I am in need of some advice as to where to go from here.
Here's me: I have never kept ants before but I was mulling around the idea when one day I noticed a load of ants flying around. I captured 5 queens running around had them in test tubes for a while then switched them into jars with soil. I can see at least three of them with eggs and now I just checked one and there are two little workers!
Now I thought they were going to be the black ants but the workers are a pale yellow color so am I correct in thinking they are the yellow field ants?
So, I have read a few things on what to feed them but I want to give them the best start I can. I read that they mostly forage underground, so, what is the best way to get food to them? Also, not sure if this is a good or bad thing but I have had a problem with tiny flies living in the soil of my house plants and some have made it into the jars and are living in there, will the ants be able to eat these? Or should I try to do more to eradicate them?
Lastly, I have purchased equipment for building them nests and foraging areas (I haven't built them yet). Should I hurry up and make it or is it best to wait until they have a few more workers? I lied, I have another question. Obviously it is December now and they are meant to be hibernating. I did not read anything about putting new queens into hibernation so they have been sitting in my living room this whole time. I am guessing that it is too late to start now? I am not sure really.
I appreciate any advice you can give me and perhaps a link to a comprehensive care sheet for what I think are yellow field ants.
Thanks!
Anna
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Post by Myrm on Dec 6, 2012 14:02:13 GMT 1
Hi Anna and thank you for your questions. Sounds like Lasius flavus to me. Try to put the food in the jars but at the furthest point from where the ants are nesting. The flies could be good as the ants may be able to catch and eat them. I'd wait until there were a few more ants, but why not start building it now but slow time? I wouldn't bother hibernating them this year. Hope this helps.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2012 14:27:26 GMT 1
Hi Anna Are they yellow straight after developing or have they turned a different colour? Some ants appear white/light just after they've hatched, and turn darker as their exoskeleton hardens. So if it turns darker you might be right! Like Myrm says, you could still feed them and I'm sure if it's a smallish enough area (like a jar) they will find it quite easily. You do not need to just "drop" the water or food practically onto them for them to find and use it (this is what I did when I first had a queen! Silly). If you put the food far away enough for it to not bother them they should find it and you won't be disturbing them I tend to get worried when external forces enter my ant nests. I have had issues with mites entering the nest before because I didn't clean out the "rubbish pile" the ants left. Myrm doesn't seem to think it's an issue so that's definitely good However, I'd keep an eye on them. Try and get rid of any large insects like flies or beetles after the ants are 'done' with them (otherwise they get smelly and can bring mites or fungus) and hopefully you'll keep a lovely, clean nest! I'm not so informative on hibernation sadly, I don't think ants hibernate in Aus! But I hope I helped with some of your other Q's. Thanks for joining Myrm's forum and asking all your questions. I hope we can manage to help you with your ants as well as we can. And good luck!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2012 15:46:17 GMT 1
Thanks for your replies! It was my thinking that the flies could be a good source of protein for the ants since they seem to breed in the jars so well and don't really fly around much. The jars have about 3-5 inches of soil in them and the three queens I can see have all burrowed down to the bottom. Not sure if this will make it harder for the workers to find the food since from what I have read they do not venture from their burrows much. I've attached a pic of one of the queens in the jar I try to leave them alone as much as possible so I am actually not sure how recently they have hatched -the queens seem to get upset when I lift the jars up to have a look, understandably. I will have another look in a couple days to see if the workers have changed color. Their nests are going to be 2 sheets of A5 size clear acrylic surrounded by 1" pieces of balsa wood attached with clear aquarium sealant. The soil seems to be serving them well, no mold so far so I am thinking of continuing to use it. I have some clear tubing to attach them to a 3.6 liter locking clear food storage container which I planned to fill with a light layer of sand and make it look "natural." Although now I am wondering if I should put some soil and plant grass seeds. Any thoughts/suggestions? Also, I caught these queens back in July-August, they laid eggs a few weeks later so does it seem unusual that it took this long for the eggs to hatch? I wasn't sure if they were ever going to! Thanks again for your time and help Anna Attachments:
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Post by Myrm on Dec 6, 2012 15:54:43 GMT 1
Yep, that looks like a flavus queen to me judging by the pale orange underneath of her gaster. The planting of grss seeds sounds like an awesome idea.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2012 18:07:34 GMT 1
I am getting the feeling after reading more about feeding Lasius flavus (all my previous research was on Lasius niger) that having the flies in the jars may be the best thing for them!
They are either the adult form of root aphids which no doubt came from my house plants or fungus gnats whose larval forms burrow underground and eat roots and fungus. Although I have not seen much fungus aside from some on the surface when a fly/gnat dies.
This also makes me think my jar air holes are too big.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2012 20:13:59 GMT 1
just because you have read in some places that lasius flavus forrage underground, it doesnt mean that they wont forrage above ground. if you only place foos above ground (i know the fly thingys will proberbly venture below ground though) then the ants will be forced to forrage above ground i think. myrm or someone will have to confirm this though as i have only ever kept an un queened colony of flavus. (though i quite regulary se a couple of workers walking round even if it is freezing out side(yes i keep this small colony out in the car port)) also another tip, you can feed them with little bits of fish flake if you wand combined with some suggar at first untill you start to find more insects roaming around next spring. (that is what im doing with my lasius niger colony ) hope this helps ;D chicken2012
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2012 20:20:12 GMT 1
Hi, I have a small colony of Lasius Flavus consisting of a queen, 10-15 workers and loads of brood. I keep them in an open test tube which is inside a small container. The workers frequently forage around the container and eat the food I put in there for them even though they are not underground. Best of luck!
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