Ants!

So here are some recent pictures of the ants, Temnothorax longispinosus (this is colony #2), taken last week over winter break. Aren't they awesome!!?? The pictures turned out a bit overexposed due to my flash (I have to work on making a practical flash diffuser (looking into making #1 or #2) specifically for taking photos of these ants.

Concise updates:
colony #1 successfully re-located their entire colony underneath a stack (over a dozen) of National Geographic magazines inside the cabinet that their artifical colony was resting upon. They are back, now, in their petri dish...and I wonder why they wanted to move to the magazines? Scouts seem to always be on the top lid of the petri dish during daylight hours, trying to find another way out perhaps?
colony #2 indulged in a fruit fly yesterday. They always seem to be scouting their enclosure, thus getting to their food immediately. They also recruit many more workers to help eat and take back honey, water, and fly to the nest, unlike #1 & #3.
colony #3 is remaining shy as ever. They will rarely investigate beyond the inside of their nest. And when they do, they send only 1 to 3 scouts at a time.
colony #4 is still a lone queen with her clump of 1-3 eggs (not sure). She carries them everywhere she goes. If she needs to get some water outside her nest, she will take them with. Set them aside her, drink, pick them up again and return to her home. She's so protective, I don't like to scare her every time I open up the petri dish to move something or add food. I hope she will be able to see the fruits of her labor soon...it's been so long and I haven't seen much growth or change in her egg mass.

Today was my first day back to class. I have to start thinking heavily about my NCUR project, as I have been accepted and now have a deadline to meet.
All for now...