Frozen Termites

[Danny]

Well that’s done it if you can breed melbas on frozen ants I’ve got to get some and give it a go, thanks Avishoot . Like they say the proof is in the pudding or in this case the photo.

Convinced me too. I have access to plenty but its a 2 hour drive and then you have to get rid of all the crap afterwards. It might be easier to collect and process the nests on site, throw all the scraps back in the hole so they can reform a nest and just take home the ants themselves. Has anybody tried other material to put the ants in prior to feezing such as bran or sawdust???

[tonytoast]

Avishoot - Awesome and well done HOWEVER, my interest is the natives and although the Melbas et al. are a huge success, I just wonder whether the locals might be a little more fussy. Not to worry as today I bought a swivel feeder in preparation for my forzen termites.

Danny, I had not considered onsite extraction - GREAT idea! I have them pretty close to me but I like it....I will also have a bit of a think about the medium. I was going to use small chunks of mound initailly but will experiment later down the track with sawdust etc, especially given Tiaris thoughts....

[Diane]

Wasn't there a link on the forum to a person made a post on a blog that collects them and uses paper or lolly sticks to keep them going?

[Buzzard-1]

I freeze termites for back up. I prefer to feed live but if I'm to busy I have reserves in the freezer. When I first tried to freeze them I spent a lot of time getting just termites with no dirt or nest etc, It didn't work they seemed to go mushy. the next lot was mixed with the loose sandy soil around the nest and froze well and the birds loved them, so if you are looking for a medium try dry sand.

[Tiaris]

Tony,
Melbas (+Bluecaps, YW Pytilias & others) are far more fussy re: livefood (quality & quantity) than are any native finch. If Melbas rear full clutches on frozen termes, native finches will be a push over.
The main problem with trying to freeze them with alternative substrates is first separating them from the dirt/termite mound residue which they are already in when extracted & which freezes them quite well anyway, so why bother? It really is a simple process which doesn't require any further complication - just tap/tumble/sieve them out into lidded plastic containers & freeze them.

[SamDavis]

This is such excellent information - I'll shove some in the fridge and freezer tomorrow. My problem has always been what to do when going away on holidays/business. It's always a big ask to have someone extract termites each morning. But spooning them into a dish when frozen shouldn't be an issue. I'll also try freezing them along with my frozen sprout/softfood mix to see how that goes - would simplify the feeding task even further.

[BENSONSAN]

Evenmaggots freeze realy well sam. Ive gotta do a termite run soon.

[Danny]

This is such excellent information - I'll shove some in the fridge and freezer tomorrow. My problem has always been what to do when going away on holidays/business. It's always a big ask to have someone extract termites each morning. But spooning them into a dish when frozen shouldn't be an issue. I'll also try freezing them along with my frozen sprout/softfood mix to see how that goes - would simplify the feeding task even further.

Just to appease and assist the curious, could you freeze a small portion in some bran and some in fine sawdust just to see how they go. I don't always get a lot of nest residue with the way I hand harvest and if I plan to harvest in the field then carrying sand would be a pain so a nice light alternative would be nice.

Danny

[SamDavis]

Good idea, I'll try a few different materials with the termites. Followed in a few weeks with a wine tasting for the birds!

[SamDavis]

Went hunting today, so I could freeze some of the catch...
The inside of one nest was all that crumbly stuff full of the juicy white workers (yummy).

innards.JPG

Here's my "fancy" sieve.

sieve.JPG

And some of the good stuff.

result.JPG

Had to raid the tupperware cupboard - is that red one a rice cooker? Ah well, was never too rapt in rice. I suspect I'll be in the poo (again)!

ricecooker.JPG

And the freezer (about the same is in the fridge)

freezer.JPG

I kept some of the big chunks for later experimentation and to feed out the old fashioned way.

chunks.JPG

I mixed some with my sprouts/softfood, but most I just froze/refrigerated as is.
Danny - Didn't try mixing with bran/sawdust as there was heaps of "nest dust" in this batch that is difficult to remove. I left the chunks so I can extract some pure termites to try freezing in different mediums.