Lasius flavus in their new home

I have moved my Lasius flavus this morning to their new home. I had to move them by force in an emergency situation because the cotton in the test tube they were in was showing signs of mold, and I found that this species is particularly sensitive to it. They settled down very quickly, though.

As you can see, they scattered at first, all workers started moving about except for the queen, which stayed very still next to some of her eggs.

After the workers found the underground tunnels and finished exploring, the eggs, larvae and pupae were quickly moved to the first and second rooms. Then two workers started dragging the queen for a bit until she got the message. :)

After about fifteen minutes, they moved lower down to a room on the left, but I did not take pictures by then as I thought they had had enough stress for the day.

Cleaning up the tube

Well, the test tube was broken and there were so many loose shards inside that I decided the best course of action would be to try and clean it as gently as possible without disturbing the ants. After a small brain-surgery-like operation, the test tube was free of shards (only a very small one which seems to be tangled in the cotton remains. I would not be able to remove it without disturbing the ants directly so I chose to leave it as it is very small), and the cotton wool was dipped in water and squeezed so to make it humid again and put back. I'm quite happy with their new shelter until I get home. :)

Second one from Europe

Today my Lasius flavus arrived from England. It was posted on the 6th October, today is the 28th. She is alive an well, but it was a fluke because the test tube she arrived in is completely smashed in the middle. The bubble wrap is keeping it together. She has around 5 workers with her but they are so tiny I could not take better pictures right now. This is the test tube she arrived in (not much to see, really, as it still has bubble wrap all around):

She seems to be unhurt and the workers are fine, moving about and grooming themselves now and then. She is moving as well and grooming herself quite often. When I get home I will transfer her to the sand nest I have for her and will try to take some pictures. I don't want to open the bubble wrap right now as I am at work and the tube will definitely come apart. I hope she is not too stressed, she is very small but looks really nice :)