Humidity is the single biggest cause of failure in captive ant colonies. Too high, fungus and mould will thrive. Too low, the ants themselves will perish. When water condenses, water droplets themselves pose a risk to foraging ants.
The type of substrate you select will depend upon the type of nest you have. In plaster nests, for example, the plaster of Paris is capable of retaining water and when sealed properly. Chambers of appropriate size will allow the ants to carefully control the temperature and humidity of various sections of the nest.
Naturally, you won't have a plaster nest for every queen you capture following a nuptial flight, so in the mean time you might use a test tube, petri dish or similar plastic container. With a test tube or plastic tubing, bunging the end with cotton wool and keeping this slightly damp will give some control of the internal humidity. In my petri dishes I commonly include wood shavings, a small amount of sandy soil, moss, or all three. When used as a floor covering this will prevent any droplets building up to a size that pose a danger to the ants and will give them something to hide amongst.
Alternatively, you may want to see what the internal nest would naturally look like and allow the ants to construct their network of tunnels and chambers. In this case, soil or a soil-sand mixture is the ideal substrate to use. And aquarium based setups, try soil with a range of tiny pebbles and pine needles for the ants to construct with. Soil will also allow you to provide grasses, tomato seedlings etc on which you can then raise aphids.
Tags: Keeping Ants
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