I Moved my Twig-Ants into their NEW Nest!

I moved my twig ant colony (Pseudomyrmex gracilis) into a new arboreal ant nest, and here's how they're doing a month later: lots of new brood and even a virgin queen alate! Nest in this video: TrapJaw Labs Canopy Nest https://trapjawlabs.com/product/the-c... (Full disclosure: I'm friends with the TrapJaw Labs team, but I did not receive these products for free, nor is this video sponsored.) Pseudomyrmex gracilis, also called the slender, elongate or Mexican twig ant, is a fast, big-eyed arboreal ant that nests inside hollow twigs and stems. These ants are invasive here in Florida, so I had no problem collecting this wild colony from a stick. The Canopy was super easy to set up, and within a day the ants had moved in. They get honey water at all times, plus termites and pre-killed mealworms for protein. A month later the colony is thriving and has lots of brood. At 2:34 you can watch workers feeding their larvae. It looks like the larvae have a pouch that holds their food while they eat, and they really do: Pseudomyrmex larvae have a food pocket called a trophothylax just behind the mouth, and workers drop food pellets right into it. My theory is that since workers can't always tend larvae inside thin twigs, the pouch lets larvae keep eating without constant attention. I was never the biggest fan of keeping Pseudomyrmex, but this colony changed my mind! Want to keep twig ants yourself? Here's a free Pseudomyrmex gracilis care guide I helped create: https://trapjawlabs.com/education/car... Chapters 0:00 My twig ant colony (Pseudomyrmex gracilis) 0:13 Collecting twig ants from a stick 0:32 Setting up the Canopy ant nest 0:52 Moving the ants into the new nest 1:33 Moved in after one day + what I feed them 1:59 One month later: brood and a virgin queen alate 2:34 Workers feeding their larvae 3:01 Final thoughts My iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/ea... Filmed in 4K. #antkeeping #ants #twigants #pseudomyrmex #antfarm #insects