My ants now have a big sand pit to play in and they seem to love it. It only took a few minutes for the first worker to emerge from the test tube and not long after there were 6 intrepid explorers scurrying around in wonderment at the vast sandiness of their new world.
They’re so tiny, I don’t think I’ve seen any ants this small before. If I had microscopic vision superpowers I’m sure I’d see that they have big cute doleful eyes.
Stupidly I forgot to buy anything to make the lid on the foraging tank escape proof so there’s now a rather messy smudge of sunflower oil all round the top. I was a bit dubious that this would deter them from venturing further afield, but it seems ants really don’t like vegetable oil at all. Quite soon one was beaten back by the seemingly impenetrable barrier looking rather displeased and rubbing her head and antenna to get rid of any traces of the icky stuff. I guess they won’t want to come down the cafe for a big fry-up in the morning.
As a welcome gift I left a cotton bud soaked in some honey/sugar/water mix and a small piece of peach near the opening of their tube. They’ve only shown a cursory interest.
creative commons licence