Lasius Niger setup changed, outworld added.

So, when I am doing hobby things I often forget 2 things..

1. Time...
2. Taking photos...

What happened...

Queen moved from the funky tube-setup she came in to a fresh test-tube setup.
I left the dark cover off the old tube and put it on the new one overnight, so slowly increasing light intensity from the rising sun would be the 1st (indirect) light they saw. When I woke up they had moved to the clean new tube.

I created a smaller out-world for this tiny 10 worker Lasius Niger colony then posted in a previous post.
Hooked it all up and here it is...

Yes, the test-tube is under the dark cover (microfiber black sun-glasses cover sack thingy.)

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Lasius Niger Nuptual flight was today in Netherlands, Velsen.

Just now an hour ago many Queens landed all over the backyard... I caught 4 in Test-tube setups.

Learning more about ants: Anatomy

A pretty detailed anatomy page can be found here: Mississippi Entomological Museum Below is image with more basic schematic overview: Source: Wikipedia More will be added over time...

First picture of the Lasisus Niger colony.

I had a quick 1st look at the Lasius Niger starter colony today. They were exposed to light for only 20 seconds and did not get very aroused. Perhaps because they've filled up on sugars overnight. So here is the first picture of my Lasius Niger starter colony. This is the Gyne (Queen) with about 12 nanites (1st brood worker ants). As far as I could see there are 2 dead nanites in there and I do not see any 2nd brood. Perhaps my untrained 50 year old eyes are missing something so let me know if you see any brood or eggs. As you can see the cotton-wool in the test tube they arrived in has become a bit funky. They will need to be moved to the small nest or another basic setup test-tube soon. Before I do that I have fed them a juicy freshly swatted fly which I cut in half with a razor-blade for easy access to the juicy parts. I'll let them gorge on that for a few hours before using the light/dark method to enthuse them to move.

Lunk's Formicariums

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