For the ant species Lasius Niger [1][2] the following things are necessary to take care for them: Living Conditions
Examples of Nests:
""Food""
In Nature Lasius Niger milk Aphids (plant lice) for there sugary excrements. The ants actually put them on the most promising plants and defend them from predators. You can actually keep Aphids in the arena with some plants, but instead you can just feed the ants some ""sugarwater or honeywater"".
Every now and then Ants need some proteins in form of other insects or meat. They happily accept Drosophila (fruit flies).
What needs to be bought/found/acquired in the course of making this?
Is there anything likely to go wrong?
What can we do about this in case of unexpected difficulties?
How can I tell this part is finished?
When they live.
How long will this take? (Workdays/Weeks) As long as the colonies are small they can stay in the test tubes. The Nests can be offered to them, but Lasius Niger are very loyal to their nest, so it could take a while before they move. The actual production of the Nest should not take longer than one day, if the necessary material is there.