Kitchen shelf

Lasius niger

Growth

Journal

1. 16-04-2026 21:14

   cleaning

   Rubbish heap out, glass wiped, escape barrier re-oiled.

2. 17-04-2026 18:08

   feeding

   Honey water and half a mealworm. The worm was stripped by morning.

3. 18-04-2026 18:15

   hydration

   Water reservoir refilled and the sponge in the outworld rinsed.

4. 22-04-2026 20:53

   feeding

   Fruit fly, freshly killed. Carried in whole.

5. 26-04-2026 19:13

   hydration

   Small refill. The nest holds moisture better since the cover went on.

6. 29-04-2026 22:15

   feeding

   Sugar water on cotton. Three of them stayed on it for an hour.

7. 01-05-2026 19:40

   cleaning

   Cleaned out the remains of last week's mealworms.

8. 04-05-2026 22:00

   feeding

   Two small mealworms; one went straight to the brood chamber.

9. 05-05-2026 20:39

   hydration

   Refilled the water reservoir.

10. 09-05-2026 21:10

    feeding

    Cricket leg. Too big, in hindsight — half of it ended up on the heap.

11. 14-05-2026 18:05

    hydration

    Damp end was drying out; topped it up through the side hole.

12. 15-05-2026 22:55

    feeding

    Honey water. Quiet feeding, most of them stayed inside.

13. 16-05-2026 19:33

    cleaning

    Cleared the rubbish heap and wiped the outworld.

14. 20-05-2026 21:10

    feeding

    Mealworm, cut open. That gets eaten twice as fast as a whole one.

15. 22-05-2026 17:22

    hydration

    Water reservoir refilled and the sponge in the outworld rinsed.

16. 27-05-2026 20:46

    feeding

    Fruit flies from the culture. Four went in, none came out.

17. 27-05-2026 22:22

    new workers

    Counted about 33 workers. The nest is filling up faster than it did last month.

18. 31-05-2026 18:52

    hydration

    Small refill. The nest holds moisture better since the cover went on.

19. 31-05-2026 19:17

    feeding

    Sugar water and a drop of protein jelly. The jelly was ignored again.

20. 02-06-2026 19:55

    cleaning

    Outworld cleaned; leftovers were starting to smell.

21. 04-06-2026 21:46

    feeding

    Mealworm. Trail across the outworld within minutes this time.

22. 09-06-2026 20:00

    hydration

    Refilled the water reservoir.

23. 10-06-2026 19:43

    feeding

    Honey water and half a mealworm. The worm was stripped by morning.

24. 15-06-2026 18:32

    cleaning

    Rubbish heap out, glass wiped, escape barrier re-oiled.

25. 16-06-2026 22:47

    feeding

    Fruit fly, freshly killed. Carried in whole.

26. 19-06-2026 18:03

    hydration

    Damp end was drying out; topped it up through the side hole.

27. 22-06-2026 19:42

    feeding

    Sugar water on cotton. Three of them stayed on it for an hour.

28. 27-06-2026 17:56

    feeding

    Two small mealworms; one went straight to the brood chamber.

29. 28-06-2026 17:48

    hydration

    Water reservoir refilled and the sponge in the outworld rinsed.

30. 29-06-2026 17:47

    cleaning

    Cleaned out the remains of last week's mealworms.

31. 03-07-2026 19:42

    feeding

    Cricket leg. Too big, in hindsight — half of it ended up on the heap.

32. 07-07-2026 21:55

    hydration

    Small refill. The nest holds moisture better since the cover went on.

33. 09-07-2026 18:23

    feeding

    Honey water. Quiet feeding, most of them stayed inside.

34. 14-07-2026 21:20

    cleaning

    Cleared the rubbish heap and wiped the outworld.

35. 14-07-2026 22:37

    feeding

    Mealworm, cut open. That gets eaten twice as fast as a whole one.

36. 16-07-2026 18:10

    hydration

    Refilled the water reservoir.

37. 18-07-2026 20:55

    feeding

    Fruit flies from the culture. Four went in, none came out.

38. 25-07-2026 19:08

    feeding

    Sugar water and a drop of protein jelly. The jelly was ignored again.

39. 25-07-2026 20:54

    hydration

    Damp end was drying out; topped it up through the side hole.

40. 29-07-2026 18:19

    new workers

    Counted about 93 workers. The nest is filling up faster than it did last month.

41. 30-07-2026 17:06

    cleaning

    Outworld cleaned; leftovers were starting to smell.

42. 01-08-2026 19:12

    feeding

    Mealworm. Trail across the outworld within minutes this time.

43. 03-08-2026 20:42

    hydration

    Water reservoir refilled and the sponge in the outworld rinsed.

44. 06-08-2026 22:03

    feeding

    Honey water and half a mealworm. The worm was stripped by morning.

45. 12-08-2026 17:02

    hydration

    Small refill. The nest holds moisture better since the cover went on.

46. 12-08-2026 17:17

    feeding

    Fruit fly, freshly killed. Carried in whole.

47. 15-08-2026 22:31

    cleaning

    Rubbish heap out, glass wiped, escape barrier re-oiled.