Methods of storage should keep O. smaragdina alive for around two weeks while still allowing it to retain its chemical 'tags' (the chemical trace that identifies it as a part of a certain colony).
I followed the nests of this Genera in some islands of the Andaman Sea. Due to extra complicated behavior the longer you can keep the elements of it, the longer will be elongation of life of separated specimens? Didn't try part of nest? As well interesting can be experiment closely near its trails, but in cell that is isolated area but can smell colleagues...
Just hypothesis ...
Andrey
Dear Dr. Kovalchuk,
Thank you for your response. What would be the best way for me to transport the nest? Should I cut it out and store it in a terrarium with soil and/or detritus?
Rafael
I have stored them in plastic bags (pierced with small holes for gas exchange) for a little more than a week. I supply them with pure water and a 20-30% sugar solution in test tubes with a cotton plug during storage (no protein food) and keeep them cold at around 10-15 degrees Celsius willl exten the period they can be kept under storage. As you need to keep them up to two weeks, cardbox boxes (lined with adhesive tapes and provided with holes made by a needle) may be even better to avoid that moisture from the nests condensate on plastic surfaces. You should place the hole leaf nest with the ants inside in the storage setup you choose.
Good luck.
Dear Dr. Offenberg,
Thank you very much for your response. Why would they be deprived of protein food, though?
Would storage at such cold temperatures permanently affect them, both metabolically and morphologically? Would it interfere with production of cuticular chemicals?
Rafael
They do not need protein for a two week period, therefore I exclude it during storage to avoid it will decompose. In many places the ants are under naturally conditions experiencing temperatures down to 15 to 10 degrees, so it does not seem to be a problem. We even chill them to 5 degrees when we need to handle ants for experiments, though this will affect their long term survival marginally (See: The effect of cooling on mortality of the Asian weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina
H. Lauridsen • M. G. Nielsen • J. Offenberg in my publication list). I do not think this 10-15 degrees will affect their cuticular hydrocarbons at all.
Dear Dr. Offenberg,
Thank you very much for your response.
Rafael
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