First outworld

The accessories from ant world have arrived!!! I'll take you through them in another post because I'm only going to use a couple of bits from it for now.

So I've used an old plastic lunch box for the first outworld (almost used the new one but I want to customise it properly first and that'll be impossible if I start to use it now).

Started off with painting lots of PTFE around the top of the box. It's something that most species of ant find impossible to walk on without slipping so it stops them escaping. It's very important to let it dry fully before allowing any ants to come close as the wet fumes aren't good for them. I also added a couple of rocks, and some fake plants for a bit of scenery. I almost added a bit of sand to the floor to help it look a bit prettier but I'm worried that the workers will start to pile it up and end up nesting under one of the rocks where I won't be able to see them so decided against that.

There were 2 liquid water dispenser things that came with the kit along with a small feeding bowl too so I've set up a honey water feeder, plain water feeder, and I'm adding protein sources to the feeding bowl. So far I've added cooked chicken, protein jelly and a dead wasp to the bowl so far. The wasp is the only thing I've seen them interested in so far.

I've put the whole test tube into the box so as to not disturb the nest. It kept rolling around so I've put a bit of blutack on each side to hold it steady. I was a bit worried that the ants may get themselves stuck in it but it actually works really well as a ramp to the top of the test tube.

Quick picture for you...

I was really worried that the PTFE wouldn't work well. The lunchbox isn't tall enough for me to put the lid on because of the water feeders so it's just open. Was up about 6 times the first night to count the ants to make sure nobody was going anywhere they shouldn't! It's been set up this way for a couple of days now and I've not seen any workers get even close to the top so I'm confident that they're staying put. Although I do keep thinking about putting the lunch box in something larger filled with water to make it like an island so that escapees can't actually escape. But I think they're good.

As for the ants, things are still the same. 8 workers, growing larvae and some eggs. The protein from the wasp and whatever else I can find will be great for helping the larvae grow. Also hoping the Queen will lay some new eggs soon. I don't think there have been any new ones since she arrived.

My queen has arrived!!

Being the wrong time of year to catch a queen and really start from scratch I decided to order myself a Lasius niger queen with a few workers to get us going. My sons original ants were from Antkit, and we have been really pleased with them so I ordered from there again.

I chose a queen with 6-10 workers. Placed my order on Wednesday morning and the lovely post man brought them this morning (next day delivery). They arrived in a little box, well packed so that nothing would be damaged and all the ants would be safe.

The test tube has been filled about 1/3 with water and plugged with cotton wool. Then there's the Queen and her workers, along with a few eggs and larvae (sorry, I can't get a good picture of these because they are right by the cotton wool). And the end of the test tube is plugged with more cotton wool to stop the mini beasts from escaping.

So I am now the proud mummy of 1 Lasius niger queen and 8 workers so far! Exciting!

I am still waiting for the rest of the equipment to arrive from Antkit (I chose economy delivery so it's not expected for a few days yet), but they should be more than happy living in just the test tube for a little while yet. You can buy the ants like this with up to 20 workers so I'm in no rush to get them moved right now. Besides, I have plans for their new home!! (More on that later)

The ants like to be in the dark, so they aren't very happy when I open up the box. I have read that ants cannot see red so the plan is to get hold of some red acetate to wrap around the test tube. That way they will be happy in the 'dark' and I'll be happy I can watch them without worrying about stressing them. I'll show you how it looks when I get it probably tomorrow.