I have had this small colony (queen number 5) for 2 months now, they arrived as a colony of a Queen and a handful of workers and that is where they still are in their development but there is a significant amount of brood which suggests that they are likely to triple in numbers before hibernation.
I'm learning as I go and this is the first queen I've kept in a test tube (covered in tin foil), not the one she arrived in, which was swapped early on for a 150mm tube. I did this because I want to be able to easily connect them to a Wakooshi Venus nest which I have waiting for them. I'm not yet sure whether that will be this year but it would have advantages for a small Messor colony as I can keep one of the three tubes dry for seed storage.
I'm currently using a Wakooshi test tube pod to feed them in, I offer them crushed seeds every 4 or 5 days which they drag into the tune and bring out the 'empties'.
Overall, I'm quite happy with the way these are developing but we are experiencing a cold spell and if that continues they may get connected to the Venus nest early to allow me to fit a heat cable to avoid an unwanted early hibernation.
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