AndyJ's Buggery room

[Andyj]

The thing is that the ants moved the orange peel to the waste right next to the fungus and also to the dump. I think they are using it as a cleaning agent much the same way as we are using orange peel and vinegar as a cleaner. "Citric acid will bind ammonia" quoted from a chemistry article.

Anyway ants doing well.

[RichardP]

I can just imagine the ants, in the middle of the fungus, with their chemistry book... "We're gonna more need ammonia ladies"

[Andyj]

Yea well, you wanna see the one's with the mop and buckets

[Britishants.com]

Lol, I need more lemon pledge!

[Andyj]

Lol, I need more lemon pledge!

A coincidence Sean that Johnson is my surname and Pledge has been my nick name for as long as i can remember. I just don't like being called a Lemon

[Deansie26]

Hi Andy, how they going? What are you going to do for a foraging area? Feedingng in the pod won't last to long I'd imagine lol.

[Andyj]

Still haven't got around to making the foraging area, i need a fish tank that will fit and the local pet shops around here are total crap.....It's not difficult feeding at the moment. Anyway here's my update so far. 10th week already

So everything is going really well and i have been offering rose petals which they really enjoy. Also Bramble and Ash. In a months time i am going away for a week so the Ants will have to fend for themselves, very worried specially after last time when my Atta died

I wished Seans pods had a recessed lid rather than a hinged lid. The ants have tried to seal the top as there is a very slight gap. Opening the lid causes the soil to get in the gap and it's a nightmare trying to stop ants escaping as the lid won't close properly. I'm glad though that there is no condensation on the sides anymore, just a bit on the top of the lid.

There is a myriad of Spring tails in with the fungus, they are doing a job i suppose and cause no concern,,,yet.

After my holiday i want to ad plaster to the bottom of the other pods and transfer the fungus to get rid of the soil, although i'm tempted to leave well alone as everything is going so well. If it's not broke don't fix it. Humidity levels stay between 97 and 99 % RH and i haven't added any extra water yet, also temps stable around 24.5C. There are loads of larvae and i have had a bit of a population explosion...All is good in the Buggery.

In the pic you can see how the ants have added soil around the lid.

[Leafcutter]

I used a recessed lid in my cylinders, a tighter fit and no issue of movement or instability. I suppose you could suggest it to British ants, although it requires more work, ie laser cutting acrylic to fit the inside and outside.

I can't remember whether I had spring-tails in my colony? Probably feeding off the decaying matter in the soil.

[Deansie26]

Looking good Andy, mine moved all the soil out of the unit themselves and previous ones have done the same so I'd have thought yours would too although I've never used clay.
You won't have the lid problem when you get your foraging area set up, how you thinking of doing it? Will it just sit on top of your current unit?

[Andyj]

I used a recessed lid in my cylinders, a tighter fit and no issue of movement or instability. I suppose you could suggest it to British ants, although it requires more work, ie laser cutting acrylic to fit the inside and outside.

I can't remember whether I had spring-tails in my colony? Probably feeding off the decaying matter in the soil.

Hopefully Seans seen this post and also the hinge snapped on one pod now, ill probably just glue the top on as its just really loose now


Jamie i have a small fish tank on the way for the foraging area. I plan on puttting a flat perspex lid on the top with a rectangle hole cut in it for access and just put PTFE on the underside until they get unmanageable. I would rather go down the moat route but later perhaps. A moat in the cabinet won't work as it needs more room and because the Ants cut whole stems rather than just pieces of leaves which will make for pontoon bridges i think.