To recap some of these concerns, certain Camponotus species founding queens will pull the cotton strands and place them on their pupating larvae (whilst they spin) causing strangulation eventually in many cases. This was found to occur at least to some degree in over 40% of the time in a research effort last summer in Camponotus chromaiodes. Another problem with test tube setups is the difficulty to properly clean the inside of an occupied test tube, particularly when the cotton ball plug molds and food residue forms within. Another shortcoming is when attempting to heating a queen/colony in a test tube setup. With the natural fluctuations in your house temperature, disaster for your colony is just a unusually hot day or a power outage away. With this in mind and much more, I set out to come up with a solution to this over the spring and so far I like the results of the method I describe below. - See more at: http://www.tarheelants.com/blog/early-success-for-new-methods-of-founding-colonies.html#sthash.kHOEzhFJ.dpuf