Trying to get this right (new queen)

[PhoenixForge]

About a month and a half ago I caught a carpenter ant queen (camponotus decipiens I think), and put her in a test tube set up. I built a homemade formicarium last year based on research I did on the internet. Now I have questions about conditions for the nest, and the test tube for that matter. She seems happy enough in her test tube. She has about 6 or 7 larvae. I have the test tube sitting on a terrarium heating mat that I have plugged into a box controlled by a relay on a thermostat. I also got a humidity relay that I'll probably attach to an electric drip system once the colony is big enough to move into the formicarium in a year or so. The formicarium has slots for my sensors so I can get a good baseline of both temperature and humidity. I'm also going to add a reptile heat lamp over the outworld with a day/night cycle. Lack of air conditioning in a whole room is not an option in my little apartment.

My question is what the exact values should be. I've been keeping the test tube between 78 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit and I'm not worried about the humidity in there because I know this setup is pretty much ideal for that. Should I make it a little warmer or cooler? Also the temperature and humidity sensors on the formicarium are on opposite corners. I should end up with a gradient of both considering the heating source and moisturizing medium will also be on opposite corners.


This is my current ant keeping setup. The queen is under the red towel on top of the outworld.

[Batspiderfish]

That looks like a pretty sweet setup! I think your ants are in good hands.

A lot of the environmental data for captive ants isn't derived scientifically, so you'll have to try different things to see what your Camponotus are most comfortable with.

[PhoenixForge]

I know that within a couple days of the nanitics hatching I can give them a dab of honey, and maybe a cricket leg. Notice the cricket keeper sitting there in anticipation... How often after the first time should I feed them?

[Batspiderfish]

It will be rare that they take in protein foods at first, but it' still important that there is fresh food available for when they are ready. I prefer offering Drosophila flies, since they are much easier to portion out and can easily be carried back to the nest and chewed up by just about any size of ant.

[PhoenixForge]

Wow. I just finished fixing a fruit fly problem I had. I live in Dallas Texas by the way. Any chance I'll be able to acquire some?

[Batspiderfish]

Wow. I just finished fixing a fruit fly problem I had. I live in Dallas Texas by the way. Any chance I'll be able to acquire some?

The wingless strains are very easy to cultivate, and can be found at pet stores or purchased online. I produce hundreds of them every couple of weeks, and store the adults in the freezer.

[PhoenixForge]

Sounds good. I'll look into that.