Keeping Ants in Test Tubes (Basics) | Ant Keeping 101

[@DisciplineYTshorts]

You inspired me to keep ants ! Great work!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@louistownend184]

@@MilesMaxcer just caught a queen ant, I think it’s a lasius Niger, how many times does it need water in its tube, right now it’s in a makeshift tube I made till I can get a test tube, so I have to dampen the cotton on one side to keep it hydrated, so how many times should I wet the cotton a week?

[@chromiumio]

How is your ant keeping journey going?

[@xxchowzerxx]

I found one on my drive way

[@tristenjustusjustus8956]

This is my first time ant keeping

[@MilesMaxcer]

Good luck!

[@crlobbro8126]

same here, what species do u have?

[@chicken5761]

Cool, same and good luck!

[@IceCubeNETWORK873]

I Used to be an Ant Keeper! But now I’ve come back because I Got bored on lockdown! I’ve Been back to ant keeping for 2 Months now!

[@cadenessary1092]

@@crlobbro8126 not the person your responding to but I recently ordered a harvester ant queen

[@TankieBoi]

Both of my queens I caught were begging for domestication, the first one (camponotus pennsylvanicus) was on my driveway, and the second one (camponotus novaeboracensis, herculeanus or chromaiodes?) was literally crawling on me in my sleep.

[@inkcat3189]

Ant whisperer?

[@TankieBoi]

@@inkcat3189 Update: I have a third queen now who looked dead after drowning in a sink, but she started twitching and came back to life, fast forward to now and she has 4 workers, the trend of crazy queen captures continues!

[@Themostrandomperson_ever]

@@TankieBoicrazy

[@FrostFall0261]

@@TankieBoi my first successful colony was founded by a queen I saved from my dogs’ water bowl lol

[@JessHull]

High quality ant content the anting community is in much need of. Great Job Miles. Funny timing. I just posted a vid on my channel of my Camponotus fragilis moving OUT of their test tube set up, lol.

[@MilesMaxcer]

Thank you, Jess!

[@mrdumbass6765]

Jess Hull I just subbed you should upload more often

[@JessHull]

@@mrdumbass6765 thank you! I hav been meaning to upload more, I will try soon as I just caught some new ants.

[@mrdumbass6765]

Jess Hull you have a pretty good collection maybe you should try feeding videos

[@JessHull]

@@mrdumbass6765 Thank you! that's a good idea maybe I'll make a feeding video soon.

[@jessicabauer9225]

If you twist the wooden stick on the coton you can push and pull the cotton against the water to adjust placement before moving the queen in and after moving her out

[@ColdBloodedCreaturae]

Fantastic video! I love those awesome camera shots you get of your ants.

[@jerryborsato6828]

What temperature range can the queen be kept in?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Depends on the species! Most can be kept in 68-80 F no problem, but will often do better when exposed to supplemental heat (such as from a heating cable). We incubate most of our queens at 80 F during colony founding.

[@Coal_XVII]

Mine has a sort of "wall" instead of the conton what do i do with it ?

[@kingcrockett5342]

Underated man I’m the 1001 subscriber 😂

[@mrhydration7066]

Yes, I use this too.

[@AhmedAbdul501]

Hummmmm

[@bocritters8052]

" *Never* place ants in the freezer " is my favorite quote ever actually

[@BoyWithVids]

yeah, i was going to freeze my ants but luckiy he said that

[@robertpetraitis1198]

I bought some yellow crazy ants it was delivered as a colony in a test tube. How long should i keep them in there?

[@louistownend184]

Until there’s about 30 workers or they are pulling on one side of the cotton to escape

[@southwestantchannel7943]

Glad ur making content again. I got plenty of the new modular mini hearths during tarheels holiday sales probably wont need to use test tube setups to found colonies for a while lol

[@MilesMaxcer]

Sweet! We have a video in the works about THA's new modular mini hearth line.

[@southwestantchannel7943]

very nice iv featured it in a video but just showing them, not as a review cant wait for a in depth review

[@RhunenStaldrad]

i need help, i have a test tube but the queen is nesting in the exit cotton, how do i move her to the other side of the tube?

[@Literallythebiggesthater]

My ants are not going to a fresh test tube.... WELP TAPPING IT IS THEN

[@kiryu63]

4:33 may I ask what Formica species is that?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Formica cf. obtusopilosa.

[@jalenramsey6927]

Do you ever have tot refill the water in the tube? If so how do you do it with the colony In the way

[@liam6377]

I have pogonomyrmex californicus can i put them in a big fish tank with other ants

[@Foxglove776]

What are those black rings! I need to find those for my test tubes.

[@MilesMaxcer]

Rubber grommets! You can find lots of sizes are your local hardware store.

[@MrAnt-sf2sk]

Is it ok to use water from a sink that has been filtered out?

[@MilesMaxcer]

We strongly recommend using a form of water without dissolved minerals or chemicals, such as distilled water. If your filter accomplishes this, the water may be appropriate for this use.

[@firepro186]

Is it ok to use sugar water?

[@lucaparkes6966]

Hello, I bought a A5 ant nest with lasius flavus from bestantsuk and I have connected everything (the outworld with the nest and water and the nest with the ants). How do I feed the worker ants in the test tube while I am trying to get them to move into the nest?

[@handandjoshkoun2142]

Hiya I'm having trouble moving the Queen out of the test tube to another and test tube , thanks

[@serg.i0]

So I have 3 queens and I put tap water in one because I didn’t have clean water it grew some mold which was fine at the time but then the cotton changed colors it is now red and yellow along with the mold do you think I should rush a move to another test tube with light

[@firepro186]

YES

[@joaquinrodriguez2914]

Any ideas on what I can use if I don't have any test tubes? I am pretty sure I have a camponutos queen and she has not laid any eggs yet Plz help

[@matthewkim9083]

If you are young ask your parents for medicine containers or snap cap vials. Make sure to add cotton balls at the bottom. Water the cotton ball every 5 days. If you are a adult you could just buy some test tubes on Amazon. Good luck with your colony! I to have a carpenter ant queen.

[@matthewkim9083]

I know this will be hard but leave the queen ant alone. If you keep looking at them and exposing them to light they will start start to get stressed and not lay any eggs. Only check up on them every week.

[@nuclearpigeon3792]

Can you use a sponge instead as cotton balls

[@MilesMaxcer]

Some high-density sponges may work, but for the most part, cotton is the way to go.

[@FizzleFX]

ONE TIP after adding water put it upside down for a while to see if it leaks. If Ur new you don't want to drown them by accident!!

[@belail]

Great guide, thanks!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheDonna62]

just got ants in mail for Christmas set up, how long will they live in the tube?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Hi Donna. Be sure to check out our “How to Care for Queen Ants” tutorial for information on how to move the ants into a formicarium.

[@jaketheperson8495]

Uhm I have a colony in a snap-cap... (Its there cuz i ran out of test tubes) what is the best way of moving them?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Hi Jake! Sorry we missed this question. You can simply remove the snap cap and place the tube into the outworld of the formicarium setup. Make sure the ants have access to water during this process.

[@jaketheperson8495]

@@MilesMaxcer Thank you! You didnt had to answer this right now😁

[@BT.70]

can you put sugar water in the reservoir

[@MilesMaxcer]

Not for test tubes in which the ants are living. This will encourage mold and bacterial growth.

[@firepro186]

Oh man I have to make a new tube!

[@BT.70]

@@MilesMaxcer okay

[@jjche3480]

do u work for a company or something? seems like u got an entire lab dedicated to entomology

[@firepro186]

Is it fine with sugar water?

[@MilesMaxcer]

No, sugar water will allow microbes to grow and ruin the cotton. It will lead to an unhealthy environment for the ants despite seeming like a good idea initially.

[@Cellobear12]

Hi Miles! Thanks for the informative video! I just had a question about the use of aluminum foil covers for test tubes. Should I worry about colonies overheating if I use a heat source (such as a heating cable) with an aluminum foil cover? I know aluminum is a good heat conductor so I don't want to do anything stupid. Thank you!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Hi Mikkel! No, don't worry too much about that. Just keep an eye on the tubes and the ants' behavior. Aluminum foil generally doesn't heat up too much.

[@Wmei64]

When I feed my queen, I let her out, but she never goes to far away and when she is done eating, she goes back by herself😂

[@ant6573]

I hope she's semi claustral

[@firepro186]

TAMING A QUEEN

[@firepro186]

Teach me master Roshi

[@Wmei64]

Firepro 186 How to train your ant queen😂

[@muhammetkaganbayrak1881]

I think because she sees the tube as home

[@TheGamingExperiment]

Probably a stupid question, however, do you feed them?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Check out our follow-up to this video, the "Test Tubes - Advanced Techniques" for information on feeding your ants!

[@TheGamingExperiment]

@@MilesMaxcer Thanks

[@RocketdogandSeptembr]

Thank you for this video! Antscanada and all the others' videos on how to do this were way too long. 15 minutes to setup a test tube? Really?

[@kiryu63]

Bingo McDoogal I know

[@crazywitchbitch3334]

This really helps

[@crazywitchbitch3334]

But I don’t mind the video length

[@chicken5761]

Antscanada is just more detailed, you don’t have to watch it all if you don’t want to

[@leon85tan]

love your video so much.... keep it up

[@winterwren8707]

I'm the 1,000th subscriber!!!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Woohoo! Thank you so much, WinterWren!

[@ColossalSwordFormAndTechnique]

Toilet paper cardboard works too 👌

[@toast9808]

The cotton in my ants test tube keeps turning black idk why I’m assuming it’s mold Idk I used gloves and cleaned my hands many times

[@Sol4i6]

i'm creating 3 different ant queens, and yes, 1 of the 3 cotton turned black (and I'm worried about my queen ant), did you discovered what this is? and you transferred your queen to other tube? (I tried transfer her, but he didn't go, I assume that 'cause of the eggs).

[@FieryCoal]

It’s mold, simply move them to a new test tube enclosure or a permanent enclosure depending on the colony’s size.

[@nang9484]

@@Sol4i6 dump em

[@kikopup5272]

0:11 this my ant genius

[@Reshtarc]

Set ups like this are for when the queen is new and she is full on wing muscle to feed her young. I got 3 queens now in December all their brood have failed. I could use a guide on how to keep them alive feeding and needs to help her get to spring so she will restart laying and try to build brood pile again. This is a Huge challenge for a novice ant keeper. I see zero guides on this subject just how to keep new queens. Well what about the ones that are not new but still in the box so to speak. How to care for them to get to year 2 and a real founding.

[@IndianJimmy1]

You gotta use what you got

[@admc5403]

Hey ant guys: Have you thought of adding a colloidal silver solution to the tube instead of pure H2O? (Antibacterial/Antimicrobial)

[@kathryncastanares525]

You don't want to use or introduce anything that hasn't been tested or proven safe for your ants. Using distilled water and a clean test tube while making sure your own hands are clean or gloved should be good enough as molds and bacteria grow where there is contaminates, like in tap water, or touching everything with dirty hands.

[@FieryCoal]

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answers/colloidal-silver/faq-20058061 ants are pretty small animals, so any buildup of metals in the water could very easily harm them. Not to mention colloidal silver has never been proven on any of its claims, including study’s done on humans, and taking too much can cause seizures.

[@SheethalVR]

Nice video. But you didn't show how the workers moved into the test tube and also how all of them moved out before cleaning the test tube.

[@MilesMaxcer]

Please see our advanced test tube tutorial for information about moving ant colonies.

[@thelmacais5999]

I realy need help I have my queen black crazy ant but my mom said that she has a patient that is bitten by ant if you want to help can you please say at the comment what is the most venomous ant

[@mrdumbass6765]

I think it’s a bullet ant

[@moviewaicher4607]

My ant queen died and i dont know why. Pls help, becose i got another one and i dont want that she die. Pls help😦😢!

[@ant6573]

Possibilities: 1. Maybe you disturbed her too much by observing her. Higher chance if shine a light on her 2. You might have misidentified a large Camponotus worker as a queen 3. She was semi-claustral, meaning she needs to eat while starting a colony 4. You caught a queen with wings. Sometimes (not always) the queen is not fertilized when she still has wings. Queens like to rub off their wings after mating as they don't need them anymore 5. Mold 6. Dehydration Hope I helped :)

[@wasd6090]

you look so depressed while making the test tube

[@eesar4032]

Miles you looking handsome as hell!

[@MilesMaxcer]

I appreciate that. Thank you! - Miles

[@michaelcorcoran3942]

Is no one else going to draw attention to that massive queen?? What type of ant is that??

[@MilesMaxcer]

She is a western black carpenter ant, Camponotus modoc!

[@michaelcorcoran3942]

@@MilesMaxcer My god..how big is it? I wish we had ants like these in Ireland. I am sure some industry does not hehe. I found some largish ants in a forest and captured a queen..but the were so peaceful they never ate other insects and I couldn't figure out what they ate.

[@DivyanshThakurYT]

Good

[@songyichen4430]

my ants drown like this :(

[@antwit9343]

?

[@firepro186]

Did u use a cotton ball?

[@Drpaper1]

He looks upset

[@brawlfool8670]

Why does this guy look so scary

[@MilesMaxcer]

No kidding! I startle myself every time I look in the mirror. Thanks for your thoughtful comment. - Miles

[@SB-jr8qh]

bruh ur brain tiny CHILL THE QUEEN FOR % MINUTEs thats risky my guy

[@MilesMaxcer]

Not risky when you do it for only a few minutes (for most species), and especially not when you know what you're doing.

[@geritdevries3522]

20 100

[@mississippistatefan4958]

Air bubbles are ok I watch someone called ants Canada he has air bubbles and he he has thousands of ants

[@senpaikingofgenzweebs836]

ants dont breath air or anything

[@Aaron78097]

They do breathe air. They have holes on the outside of the exoskeleton.

[@senpaikingofgenzweebs836]

ah this was the vid i met to say i was joking but i did not know what vid until i got this notie but i know that they have holes and im not replying this like or sound that to look like a dumass

[@senpaikingofgenzweebs836]

like this

[@Brijit12338]

Good