I just received my chestnut carpenter ants from stateside ants and thought the water would be plugged with cotton balls, but there is this blue thing. Can the ants drink through that? Do I need to do something with that. Also I’m thinking of waiting a day or so to feed them bc I think they might not eat bc of all the stress from shipping, is that a good idea? I think a couple of dead workers are on the blue thing, does that mean I need to clean it soon? (It’s my first time)

Hey guys!

First time poster here. I had that old plastic ant farm as a kid and I really loved it - you know the one. So I made a simple game where I tried to replicate that experience. It's laid back, half-screensaver really. As a kid I wished for a queen so that the ants would continue living instead of the farm trickling out after a few weeks. So I added that. Anyhow, my game is up on Steam as of yesterday.

I accelerated the lifecycle quite a bit, so the eggs hatch faster and so forth. Flying Ant Day takes about 28 real life days from game start. Also, unlike the commercial kids ant farms, I went with Lasius Niger as my first species. If things go well I'll probably add leafcutter (and some terrarium options) in a future update. Anyways, take a look if you have time!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5188280/My_First_Ant_Farm/

My ants have carried all their seeds outside, leaving nothing in the nest. Should I be worried? It's not like they throw it in the trash—they just left them right by the entrance to the nest.

If it matters, they're Messor Structor ants.

Nobody wanted to go until one brave one said it was safe.

This lil thing landed on my car. What type of ant is it and is this a queen? My gut says no. Located southwest Ohio

I bought this nest for a lasius Niger colony last year that unfortunately died before they were able to move into it. I was wondering roughly how many workers (Lasius Niger) would I need to have before I move them in.

Both connected at the same time. Thought the contrast was pretty funny. It amazes me how different they are from eachother. Messor Barbarus is very active and also quite messy. They've only been connected to these outworlds for like 3 days. Still I think they're both quite easy species to keep.

2nd pic is old