formicarium.it

Hi guys, i've registered here because i found about the site via Entomodena im hoping of cooperation with you guys preferably in English, if necessary in Italian and i will translate it somehow,but i've found out that i can understand quite a few words. I live in Serbia, Novi Sad and i drive an Alfa Romeo 147 also i own tarantulas, L.parahybana,G.pulchripes and B.klaasi, ofcourse i have ants, they're in 3 separate test tubes, i have 2 queens of C.vagus and 1 queen M.structor. I've been keeping ants for around 3 years but very unsuccsessfully. My queens died and i've had problems with containing them in the basin area without them escaping,but i've recently found out about a mix that could keep them from escaping, baby powder+alcohol (70%) is this a good method?

Cheers, David

Hi digiNS,
for a few advice, you should read the gold bars over there, at the top of the page. There are the rules of a good foundation, when do you have to keep your ants in the basin area etc.

Usually, to do not run away ants from the basin area, we use a mixed of vaseline technical and engine oil smear on the edges.
Ants can't walk on a slippery surface.
Your method isn't good, because the baby powder fly away with wind and in a long time the effect of repellent there isn't.

You can also read the diaries of us ants colonies to know other techniques and to understand what do you have to do for them.

ludomali

Welcome on our board;)

Welcome!

feyd ha scritto:Welcome on our board;)

Dani93 ha scritto:Welcome!

Thanks guys!

ludomali ha scritto:Hi digiNS,
Usually, to do not run away ants from the basin area, we use a mixed of vaseline technical and engine oil smear on the edges.
Your method isn't good, because the baby powder fly away with wind and in a long time the effect of repellent there isn't.

You can also read the diaries of us ants colonies to know other techniques and to understand what do you have to do for them.

ludomali

You didnt understand me quite good, i use baby powder mixed with rubbing alcohol, its a MIX so technically when it dries on the glass it becaomes slippery right?
Also i have vaseline from the pharmacy is that good? And what engine oil do you use? Where do i get it

Hello dear friend,
ludomali is right: you are not using the best method around.
Yes, the mix you are using appears to be effective, but it lasts for a very short time, and let's not forget about the fact that it involves the use of alcohol near insects: not the best idea if you are trying to keep them alive.
We advise you to use a MIX of vaseline OIL and vaseline PASTE. The slippery property is given by the oil; the paste gives the adhesive property that makes the mix stay in place around the edges of your container.
Try to experiment with it before applying it, because if applied by inexperienced hands, it leaks... and vaseline oil leakage kills ants. If they come in contact with vaseline or engine oil, it creates a patina that obstructs their respiratory opercula and leads to suffocation. So you have to create a mix that stays in place and does not leak. During the summer heat you may find easier to use vaseline paste without adding oil, because it would already be slippery enough.

You can use vaseline oil or engine oil.The type of engine oil we are talking about here is sewing machine oil. It would have been so fun if it had been another kind of engine oil... rocket engine oil maybe? Anyway, SINGER manifactures a good sewing machine oil, but every other type of sewing machine oil is equally recommended.

Yoo i finally figured out what PTFE is or what you guys use for anti-escape for ants
Liquid teflon i found it in my local thermoisolation store for house stuff. I wanna say that now i have C.vagus and C.ligniperdus.
Also can anyone recommend which topic should i read so i get the best info on ligniperdus and vagus? Thanks guys!
Cheers, David

Hi!! I have C. vagus and C. ligniperda too. They're so interesting.

http://formicarium.it/index.php/formich ... otus-vagus : at this link you can find the best 2 diaries of C.vagus (but in italian obviously).

http://formicarium.it/index.php/formich ... ligniperda
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9952 : here you find the stories of my colonies of C. ligniperda (I found them in June 2015).

Thank you for your information yurj
I got my hands on liquid teflon, or teflon paste thats what we call it here, anyway i succseded in keeping my ants in the enclosure and once i gave them new space they started growing really really fast, less then one month after releasing them i have atleast 30+ eggs,larvae with atleast 10 really big larvae that are FAT! and even one pupae!

Additionall info: The teflon paste or PTFE costed me around 350 dinars which is around 3 euros which is really cheap since i found some that are over 10euros but this one is doing the job excellent

Welcome!

Hey guys, i need some help
I applied the PTFE or Insect-a-slip how its called in some parts of the world, and i noticed one worker escaped, how did this happen? Is the layer of PTFE bad ? is the PTFE bad? Should i try and change the PTFE im buying?
Did me aplying the second layer ruin the first layer and made the barrier worse? I'd appreciate if someone helped me fast! Thank you

In this forum we suggest using liquid paraffin and lubricating oil. We mix it and we put on the "out world" walls.

have you tried this solution? I haven't the know how about Insect-a-slip, i red something on the web and it could work, I don't know why it didn't...

I tried liquid paraffin oil and i tried vaseline( lubricating oil), the pharmacy bought paraffin oil just dries out after one day and is completely useless and the vaseline is just bad, they run over it like its nothing, atleast the C.vagus from the pictures above, i dont know why and how they escape my out world because the edges are round and slippery with PTFE.... since the last post they haven't escaped i guess they've been busy with the superworm i gave them

Had you try to mix oil and paraffin? I saw with my eyes using this method with a colony of C. vagus with tons of workers! Look the giannibert's Journal!

It's in italian but you can look the photos: http://formicarium.it/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=62

Im having trouble finding the exact part of the thread where it is explained how to mix the paraffine oil, can you pin-point the exact page ? Im also bad in italian, i would appreciate it very much thank you