Module 4: First Workers
FIRST WORKERS
Module 4 of 6 · Initiate Certification
Nanitics
Her first workers are called nanitics. They are noticeably smaller and often paler than the workers that come later. Nothing is wrong with them. A founding queen is working from a fixed budget, so she spends it on quantity over size to get the colony open for business.
Later generations, raised on real food, come out full sized. The nanitics are the bridge.
Do Not Feed a Claustral Queen
Before the first workers appear, a fully claustral queen needs nothing from you. No sugar water, no insects, no honey. Food put into her tube during founding does not help her, it grows mould and it makes her want to move.
Feeding begins when you see workers. Not before.
The Two Food Groups
- Sugars — sugar water, ant nectar, a drop of honey. This is fuel. It keeps the workers moving and foraging. Several of our species, honeypots especially, want carbohydrates available essentially all the time.
- Protein — feeder insects such as fruit flies, small crickets, roaches, mealworm pieces. This is construction material. Protein is what becomes eggs and new workers. A colony with no protein stops growing.
Seed eaters such as our harvesters add a third: a small-seed mix kept available at all times. Their care guides cover this.
Portions and Rot
Scale to the colony. A colony of ten nanitics does not need a whole cricket, it needs a fragment. Oversized portions do not get eaten, they mould, and mould in a small founding setup is a real problem.
Remove uneaten food before it spoils. A day or two, then out. Little and often beats a lot and forgotten.