Ant Farm: How to Do A Test Tube Setup for New Queen Ants | AntsCanada Tutorial #35

Summary

In this tutorial, Ants Canada demonstrates how to set up a test tube for a queen ant, emphasizing the importance of cleanliness and sterility. The video explains the process, from acquiring test tubes and cotton to creating a moist environment for the queen. It also discusses the differences between fully and semi-claustral species and provides tips for feeding and maintaining the colony.

Takeaways

• 🐜 The video is a tutorial on setting up test tubes for queen ants, which is considered the best way to start an ant colony.
• 🌟 Two types of test tubes are mentioned: glass and plastic, with plastic ones often included in ant kits.
• 💧 Local floral shops can be a source for test tubes, known as water picks, which are used to keep flowers fresh.
• 🧪 Sterility is crucial in the setup process, including clean instruments and test tubes, to prevent mold and disease.
• 💦 Bottled or purified water is recommended for filling the test tubes, though tap water can also be used.
• 🌱 Cotton is used to create a moist environment in the test tube, which is essential for the queen ant's comfort and egg-laying.
• 🌡️ Test tube setups allow ants to hydrate and regulate their environment, choosing between moist and dry areas for egg-laying.
• 🌑 Keeping the queen ants in the dark is beneficial for their development, as it mimics their natural environment.
• 🍽️ Feeding should be initiated when the queen has a few workers and shows signs of needing food, such as pulling at the cotton.
• 🏠 The video suggests using a small container for feeding the ants in the test tube, simulating an outworld environment.
• 🌱 The queen's egg-laying can vary, sometimes happening quickly or even being delayed until the next year, depending on the species.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the test tube setup for ants as explained in the video?

The test tube setup is used to start an ant colony, providing an environment for the queen ant to lay eggs and raise her young, mimicking the claustral chamber they create in the wild.

Why is it recommended to use clean instruments and materials when setting up a test tube for ants?

Cleanliness helps prevent the introduction of fungus or bacteria into the test tube, which could lead to mold outbreaks and diseases, ensuring a sterile environment for the queen ant and her offspring.

What are some alternative sources for test tubes mentioned in the video?

Alternative sources for test tubes include visiting a local floral shop for water picks, buying from a science supply shop, or even purchasing them from a pharmacy in some countries like the Philippines.

What is the significance of hydrating the cotton in the test tube setup?

Hydrating the cotton allows the ants to hydro-regulate, meaning they can choose the moisture level for laying eggs based on their preference, which can be crucial for the survival and development of the brood.

How often should you check on a queen ant in a test tube setup according to the video?

It is suggested to check on the queen ant once a week, but to minimize disturbance, especially during the initial stages of the colony's development.

What is the recommended environment for a queen ant in a test tube setup?

The queen ant should be kept in a dark and warm place, such as a bearded dragon room or an outdoor kitchen in the Philippines, to promote faster brood development.

How does the test tube setup benefit the ants in terms of water availability?

The test tube setup provides the ants with all the water they need, eliminating the necessity for the queen to leave the claustral chamber to find water.

What should you do if the cotton in the test tube starts to mold excessively?

If the cotton shows signs of excessive mold, it's time to move the queen to a new test tube to maintain a healthy environment for the colony.

When should you start feeding a fully claustral species of ants in a test tube setup?

For fully claustral species, feeding should begin when the queen has around ten workers, or when they show signs of wanting to forage by pulling at the cotton.

What is the difference between fully claustral and semi-claustral species of ants in the context of the test tube setup?

Fully claustral species do not require food during the initial claustral period, while semi-claustral species need to be fed during this time as the queen will forage for food.

What advice does the video give for those who are having difficulty finding a queen ant?

The video advises not to lose hope, as there are still opportunities to find queen ants during the summer and fall months, and to reach out to Ant Canada for assistance if needed.

Outlines

00:00

🐜 Introduction to AntCanada's Test Tube Setup Tutorial

AntCanada introduces a tutorial on setting up test tubes for new ant colonies, particularly for DL8 queens. The video aims to revisit an early tutorial due to its importance and the influx of new viewers. The host explains the necessity of a test tube and suggests visiting a local floral shop for water picks, which can be used as test tubes. They also discuss the importance of cleanliness to prevent mold and disease, recommending the use of bottled water and sterile instruments.

05:01

🌱 Understanding the Test Tube Setup and Its Benefits

The video delves into the benefits of the test tube setup, highlighting how it mimics the natural environment ants create for raising their young. The setup allows ants to hydro-regulate, choosing the best environment for their eggs based on moisture levels. The host also addresses concerns about the setup's cruelty, explaining that it is a natural behavior for ants. Additionally, the video covers the longevity of a test tube setup, the signs of mold, and the importance of keeping the queen ants in the dark to promote faster brood development.

10:02

🍽️ Feeding and Caring for Ants in Test Tube Setups

AntCanada discusses the feeding process for ants in test tube setups, emphasizing that fully claustral species do not require feeding during the claustral period. However, semi-claustral species need to be fed immediately. The video demonstrates how to transition ants from the test tube to an outworld setup, suggesting methods to encourage ants to venture out and forage. The host also provides tips on feeding ants directly in the test tube and transitioning them to a full colony setup.

15:04

🌟 Conclusion and Additional Resources

The tutorial concludes with a reminder that the test tube setup is primarily for fully claustral species of ants. AntCanada encourages viewers to reach out for help identifying their ants' claustral status and offers resources for those struggling to find a queen. The video also promotes AntCanada's products and initiatives, such as the Queen Ant Sale and the Gang Farmer project, which helps connect ant keepers with local colonies for sale. The host wishes viewers luck in their ant-keeping endeavors and invites them to explore more content on the channel.

Keywords

💡Test tube setup

A test tube setup refers to the method of starting an ant colony using a test tube as the initial home for the queen ant. In the video, it is described as the best way to begin an ant colony, as it mimics the natural claustral chamber ants create in the wild. The script provides a detailed tutorial on how to prepare and use a test tube for this purpose.

💡DL8 queen

DL8 is a term used to denote a queen ant that has been caught by the viewer for the purpose of starting a new colony. The video script suggests that the test tube setup is particularly beneficial for such queen ants, as it provides an ideal environment for them to begin raising their young.

💡Claustral chamber

A claustral chamber is a sealed-off space where a queen ant will lay her eggs and raise her young, away from the outside environment. The concept is central to the video's theme of ant colony establishment, as the test tube setup is designed to replicate this natural behavior.

💡Hydro regulation

Hydro regulation in the context of the video refers to the ants' ability to control their environment's humidity. The test tube setup allows for this by giving the ants the choice of where to place their eggs based on the moisture level, which is crucial for their development.

💡Cotton

Cotton is used in the test tube setup to help maintain humidity and provide a surface for the queen ant to lay her eggs. The script emphasizes the importance of using clean cotton to prevent the introduction of mold or bacteria into the ant's environment.

💡Sterile environment

Maintaining a sterile environment is crucial for the health of the ant colony, as it prevents the growth of mold and the spread of disease. The video script advises viewers to wash their hands and all instruments used in the setup to ensure sterility.

💡Water pics

Water pics, also known as floral tubes, are plastic tubes used to hold water in flower arrangements. The video suggests reusing these as an affordable alternative to traditional test tubes for ant colony setups.

💡Mold

Mold is a common issue in ant test tube setups due to the organic nature of the cotton and the humid environment. The script explains that a small amount of mold is normal, especially around the queen's 'bathroom area,' but excessive mold indicates a problem requiring a move to a new test tube.

💡Fully claustral species

Fully claustral species are ant species that do not require food during the initial stages of colony establishment. The video differentiates between fully claustral and semi-claustral species, noting that the former can be managed with the test tube setup without the need for immediate feeding.

💡Outworld

The outworld in the context of the video refers to the external area or environment outside the test tube where ants forage for food. It is part of the larger setup that will eventually house the growing ant colony once they are ready to move beyond the test tube.

💡Formica

Formica is a genus of ants that includes many species suitable for keeping in ant farms. The video mentions Formica as one of the ant species that will be flying from July to August, indicating the time when potential ant keepers can catch queens to start new colonies.

Highlights

Redo of an early tutorial to ensure new viewers don't miss important information.

Explanation of the test tube setup as the best method to start an ant colony.

Use of glass or plastic test tubes and their acquisition from local floral shops.

Recommendation to buy water picks from floral shops as an affordable alternative to test tubes.

Importance of maintaining sterility in the test tube setup to prevent mold and disease.

Suggestion to use bottled or purified water for the test tube setup.

Demonstration of how to fill a test tube with water and cotton for the queen ant's environment.

Discussion on the natural behavior of queen ants creating claustral chambers in the wild.

Advantages of the test tube setup for hydral regulation by the ants.

Guidance on when to start feeding the ants in the test tube setup.

Advice on keeping the queen ant in the dark to promote brood development.

Creative use of a bearded dragon room for maintaining warmth for the ant colonies.

Information on the timing of queen ant flights for different species.

Instructions for feeding ants in the test tube setup using an outworld.

Distinguishing between fully claustral and semi-claustral ant species and their care.

Encouragement to keep trying if a queen ant doesn't make it and the option to purchase from the website.

Introduction of new products to assist with ant raising in the initial stages.

Invitation to join the ant raising project for local community engagement.

Promotion of other videos on the channel for further ant-keeping guidance.

Transcripts

hey guys what's up

ants Canada here welcome to another ant

canada video i wanted to redo a tutorial

probably one of our very first tutorials

because i feel like we have so many

tutorials now that some of you might be

missing some of the earlier ones and

some of the earlier ones that tend to be

some of the most important so in this

video i'm going to explain how i do my

test tube setups when you catch your dl8

queen for me the test tube setup is

still the best way to get your ant

colony started and I'll explain why

through the video so to start what you

need is a test tube now I've got two

test tube sizes here now I've got a

glass test tube here and then we have

the plastic test tubes like this which

actually comes with your kit if you

order one of our new hybrid nests they

fit right into the entrance and the very

convenient look how much space that is

now if you don't have any test tubes

what I recommend to people is you go

visit your local floral shop you know

place where these sell flowers and ask

them for some water pics now water pics

are kind of like test tubes that are

usually made of plastic they're either

opaque or transparent and they're used

to place at the ends of flower bouquets

to keep the flowers fresh and you know

you usually put water there with some

other chemicals to keep the flowers

fresh but they can also be used for your

test tube setups for your Queens they

usually are very cheap especially if you

buy from them in bulk I used to buy mine

for 10 cents each but they can go as

high as 75 cents Canadian so they're

very affordable it's kind of like the

end keeper secret emergency test tube I

used to buy my test tubes from a science

supply shop near my place but I'm sure

there are places online where you can

buy test tubes to use or in the case of

Philippines I just go to the pharmacy

and buy some there so you've got your

test tubes what else you'll need is some

cotton of course yeah you'll need some

kind of pokey and what I use is

either a barbecue skewer or what's even

better are these q-tips which are great

because they're clean and sanitary you

want to be working with very clean

instruments because you don't want any

fungus or bacteria to be in your test

tubes because then it leads to mold

outbreaks and whatever disease and you

want everything to be sterile as much as

possible

even your test tubes so make sure to

wash your test tubes wash your hands

wash everything make sure everything's

as clean as you can to make your Queens

environment as sterile as possible I

myself like to use bottled water um you

can use water from the tap but me I'm

just I don't know extra careful so I

like to use bottled water purified water

filtered water why not okay so to make

the test tube setup you need to fill

your test tube with water now I

personally fill it up to here with water

it's a little bit past halfway so I'm

going to take my bottled water here I

suppose you could use a syringe to put

water in here but for me the less

instruments used in the cleaner so I'm

just going to try my best not to spill

anything here alright so something like

that I've got water that's about just

past halfway then I'm going to take some

cotton that might be a little much let's

smooth an off

and stuff that into test-tube like so

but that much now with my pokey I'm just

gonna push it in quickly because if you

take a while there might be a air bubble

that'll form and that's kind of on you

I push quickly in there see no air

bubble and then I'll kind of push the

surface so that it's slightly moist like

that

and no water will come out you see so

it's kind of like that if there is some

water I'll kind of I kind of shake it

off excuse me here

it's like close to 40 degrees here in

Manila so not only is water spilling

from this test tube but I'm also

sweating I know it's kind of gross

gotta love living in the tropics okay so

I've got my test tube setup here ready

for the Queen once the Queen is inside I

simply place this cotton swab and then

close her in like so now I had someone

write to me saying that his parents were

finding it cruel that we're keeping ants

in this little section here but in

actuality this is what they do in the

wild they create what's called a

claustral chamber most ants after mating

these Queens will bury themselves in the

ground or in a piece of wood or in some

kind of Hollow of some sort and they'll

close themselves off and what this does

is it creates the perfect environment

for them to raise their young what's

great about the test tube setup is that

the ants can hydro regulate now what

does that mean that means they can

choose where to place the eggs according

to how moist or humid it is so if your

ants prefer really humid and moist areas

to raise their young they'll go close to

the test tube hydration cotton right

there and if they like more drier areas

they'll move over to the drier side so

that's the beauty of the test tube setup

it gives them the choice to hydral

regulate now another thing too is you

don't have to worry about providing your

aunt water

which is cool they have all the water

they want now

if you're working with clean materials

usually a test-tube setup will last

anywhere between a few weeks to even

months what ends up happening sometimes

is the cotton will start to mold that's

normal your queen ant will have a

bathroom area and the cotton being

organic will mold so it's okay to have a

little bit of mold there that's fine but

when it's really taking over and the

whole surface of that cotton there is a

different color due to the mold then you

know you have a problem you'll have to

move your queen to a new test-tube and

to do that you simply well one of the

ways is to attach two test tubes

together and then allow the Queen and

her workers if she has a need to move to

the new test tube now when your queen is

in her test tube and she's in her

cluster chamber I highly recommend that

you put her in the dark somewhere and

don't disturb her I know it's hard to do

that especially if you're new and keeper

but it really helps if you keep your

queens in the dark I just recently had a

customer write to me saying that he had

a bunch of Queens in test tubes and he

divided them into and some of the

Queen's were in the light just kind of

like sitting on a desk somewhere I

suppose and the other group was hidden

away in the dark somewhere and he found

that the brute developed a lot faster

than those queens that were exposed to

the light so as much as possible keep

your Queens away in the dark somewhere

so you guys want to see where I keep my

Queens now here in the Philippines

outdoor kitchens are kind of a popular

thing um and I keep my Queens in my herb

cabinet so deep inside my spice rack and

my cabinet I have here if a delegate

didn't die versus queen and she's got a

batch of eggs there and I'm keeping her

in the dark now I've had this species

before and she didn't make it I hear

they're very very difficult to start a

colony

from just you know one queen but I'm

hoping this one makes it the first set

up if you saw one of our previous videos

involved some soil and the queen created

her own claustral chamber in a test tube

setup and she ended up dying for reasons

I'm not too sure but I'm hoping this

batch of eggs makes it and I'm able to

create a colony from just this Queen

here I make sure to check up on her

maybe once a week but she's in the dark

and cozy with all my spices and as well

keep them warm Queens that are kept warm

have brood that develop a lot faster now

I know this is completely random but I'm

sweating so much because this room

doesn't have air-conditioning because

it's kind of my bearded dragon room I

remember my bearded dragon the small

lizard that I had in one of my previous

videos well he's not so small anymore

it's quite large and its rules like this

if you have a reptile room where you can

put your aunts and your test-tube setups

it's a great place to legal right it's a

great place to put all of your test-tube

setups because it's warm and you don't

have to use a heating cable so your

queen ants can develop their young a lot

faster by the way thank you sue med

Philippines for this setup this bearded

dragon kit which was given to me be sure

to check out zoo Med they've got a lot

of great products that actually can be

used for ants like you see this bottom

here that's called excavator clay you

can use that stuff for the outworlds it

starts off as kind of like a soil

mixture you add water and then you shape

it and it hardens so it'd be great for

in Outworld the ants cannot dig in it

and it's completely natural and of

course they've got different things like

temperature and hydrometer heating

cables etc so your queen should start

laying eggs within well it can happen

within a few hours or can happen the

next day or in two days or happen maybe

within a week but oh and sometimes they

wait till the next year depending on if

you have a hibernation period sometimes

queens will wait til the next year too

late

our eggs which is completely normal so

what I suggest is you catch your Queens

you put them in test tube setups and you

wait until they die because if they're

not fertilized they'll essentially die

now when your queen has a few workers

already I suggest you don't feed them

you know if this is just for claustral

species now fully claustral species

don't require food during this period so

I say to feed them around mmm after

they've reached around ten workers

depending on the species and if it does

seem like they're pulling at the cotton

like they want to get out it means the

workers probably are trying to forage

and they need food so that's when you

can start feeding them some and keepers

like to feed them directly in the test

tube but a great way to feed a test-tube

colony I find is to put them into a

small container I guess whatever your

Outworld will be in this case here I'm

using a used Outworld from one of our

own the nest vertical form aquariums and

you place your barrier along the top and

then you treat this like the setup so

you place the food in the out world and

the ants will venture out what you can

also do is you can sort of instead of

completely removing this cotton at the

entrance kind of making a sort of hole

like maybe stick a straw in there so

that it's not completely exposed in the

colonies completely exposed to all of

that openness because you know the ants

like to be enclosed so if you can

somehow create a small opening for them

to come in and out that would be great

and then feed them that way and then

when the colony is big enough you can

attach your Outworld directly to your

forma carrion and move this test tube

sort of like that so they can discover

the for material I'm sorry guys I'm

completely sweating everywhere ooh hot

and so that concludes the test tube

tutorial now this tutorial applies only

to fully claustral species of ants there

are a group of ants that are known as

semi claustral which means they have to

be fed during this period in the test

tube so what you can do for those

species is

you give them this setup right off the

bat and the queen will leave and forage

for food that you put in your world and

go back to her claustral chamber to feed

her young if you're not sure if the ants

you caught are a semi claustral or a

fully claustral species feel free to

write to me

it's contact - us at ant Canada calm and

I'll get back to you as soon as I can

for those of you that have problems

finding a queen don't lose hope a lot of

you from North America are writing to me

saying that you're finding it hard to

find the LA Queens you still have the

whole summer and a little bit of the

fall right now it's June a second so

camponotus are flying right now I know a

lot of you guys are writing to me saying

you've caught camponotus Queens Tetra

more young species II a great species

especially for beginners is flying now

and then soon Formica will be flying

from July to August crematogaster as

well and then lay seus tend to fly from

August to September

especially around Labor Day with the

Labor Day and they see as neo Niger

common throughout all of North America

you'll find those Queens flying around

and they're a great species as well

so all of those are fully claustral

species and can be kept in test tubes

and started there and to make all of

this much easier and Canada is working

on a couple of products to help you guys

raise your ends at these initial stages

because it's so crucial and if your ants

die during this stage don't lose hope

because this happens in nature not all

Queens make it in fact a large majority

of Queens don't make it past the initial

stages or call me funding so just don't

lose hope keep trying and if you still

can't find a queen be sure to look up

our again project under Queen ants for

sale at our website wwlp.com and if we

have a vendor selling ants in your city

we can hook you guys up with a queen and

colonies and if you have lots of

colonies of your own that you would like

to sell off please feel free to join our

gang project and be a gang farmer and we

can help find local and keepers to help

you dispose of your ends it's completely

free to sign up and it's a great way to

foster and culture your local and

community thank you guys so much for

watching this video hope it's helped bye

bye

he thanks guys for watching our tutorial

on how to create a test tube setup

wishing you guys luck this year on your

nuptials lights hope you guys have lots

of Queens now if you want to check out

more videos on this channel be sure to

check out our latest video on our brand

new line of Gina's tailored hybrid mists

really cool for materials for your ends

that are specifically geared to house

your species events whatever they may be

and also check out our very cool

solenopsis Germanotta playlist it's Emma

Forever guys thanks and don't forget to

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