pheromone tracks with small colonys
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 7:26 pm
My young Atta colony are still being given leaves from the adjacent unit as they are being stubborn with the feeding table, but over the last week they have been venturing down on it and have started to move around with a little confidence if that makes sense.
Today though I decided to clean the foraging table with kitchen roll and water. Now will the ants wonder around like they where? Nope, they are very causious, like they have never been there, looking for danger with every step-that's how it looks to me when I watch them.
So I guess this may be down to me washing away the pheromone trails they had laid. When I had my last Atta colony there was loads of ants, I'd block them, clean the table, remove the block and they would come stampeding out in a rage!
Just a note for best practice really, best not to clean foraging areas while a colony is small.
Today though I decided to clean the foraging table with kitchen roll and water. Now will the ants wonder around like they where? Nope, they are very causious, like they have never been there, looking for danger with every step-that's how it looks to me when I watch them.
So I guess this may be down to me washing away the pheromone trails they had laid. When I had my last Atta colony there was loads of ants, I'd block them, clean the table, remove the block and they would come stampeding out in a rage!
Just a note for best practice really, best not to clean foraging areas while a colony is small.