Ok a brief intro, currently building a farm to put a Wingless Lasius Niger that i found wondering about about a week ago. (I'm pretty certain its a queen; double jointed antenna, massve thorax, pincer style jaws etc), the only thing that possibly worries me is she seems a bit small, prob about 8mm, is this anything to be worried about? Anyways, my sister bought me a nasa style gel farm a few years ago so i've temporarily put her in that for the time being, until i can move her to the new nest i'm currently building. Hopefully she'll take to it.
Now the questions...I've read the L.Niger sheet that Miszt wrote and read quite a bit of stuff from the forums and other sites, but couldn't find my answers so thought i'd better ask..
Q1. I'm having a hard time finding clay, is this essential or could i just put a couple of straws down either side of the farm and water it that way?
farm measures A3 size perspex set 20mm apart and framed with wood)
Q2. Can L.Niger chew through wood? Since thats what the frame is made from lol.
Q3. I ordered a 1kg sand/loam mix from antstore but it arrived ripped, managed to collect about 800g's of it up, will this be enough to fill the farm 3/4's full? Otherwise can i mix it with horticultural silver sand like 1:1 ratio, and how wet does it need to be?
Q4. Final one lol, should i protect the wood frame from the loam as the loam will be constantly damp? If i should are there any household products i can use to do this? The wood is smooth pine. (Would vasaline work? maybe a pva glue coating? Or a non toxic paint?)
Thanks for taking time to read all this, what was meant to be a quick post turned in to an essay! Any answers would be cool!
Don't call me lol, man. 
