Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some veteran advice on my young Messor barbarus colony. I’ve had them for about a month, and I'm concerned because no new workers have been born yet, and I can't see any clear signs of brood.
The Setup & Darkness Strategy:
I am currently keeping the setup inside a closet in total darkness. I only check on them briefly once or twice a week to feed them. I chose this to minimize stress and vibrations, but I’m wondering if the lack of a day/night cycle or a slightly cooler temperature inside the cabinet could be contributing to the stall.
The Feeding Mystery (Large Seeds vs. Small Workers):
The colony has a stockpile of large, round seeds inside the tube (they were there when I received the colony). I've noticed they only eat small seeds, which are now finished. The large ones remain completely untouched.
• My Theory: Since the colony only has small minor workers, they might be physically unable to crack the husks of these large seeds. As Messor barbarus is highly polymorphic, I suspect they are waiting for majors to handle these, but without new births, we are in a "catch-22" situation.
• Question: Should I manually crush these large seeds into a "flour" or small bits to help them out?
Protein & Behavior:
• I provide mealworms/pupae every 4 days. Lately, I've switched to a larger "smellier" type of mealworm, and they reacted immediately, swarming it in large numbers.
• They’ve built a thick wall of shredded cotton and sand at the tube entrance, which makes it almost impossible to see the Queen clearly.
• The Queen is often in a "ball" position over the cotton, but I haven't seen a single egg or larva in 4 weeks.
Mortality:
I recently found 2 dead workers in the outworld trash pile. They look like the original nanitics. Is this just natural turnover, or a sign of the nutritional issues mentioned above?
My Questions for the Pros:
- Crushing Seeds: Is it common for young Messor barbarus colonies to struggle with large seeds?
- Darkness vs. Temperature: Is the closet "total darkness" strategy good, or do they need a temperature boost (heat mat?) to kickstart egg-laying?
- New Nest: The water in the current tube is at 50%. Should I offer a new, larger, blacked-out tube now, or wait?