>>2942813
>>2944480
Thanks anons.

Since the thread is still getting bumped, here's the current state of things. I got two small 3D printed acrylic nests to allow the ants to get to a decent enough colony size, as the nests I made are too big for a single queen with a few workers.
Too big nests for the colony would mean that the ants get more easily stressed (not too much of a problem), and that they'd use parts of the nest they don't need as waste disposal sites, rather than dedicated areas in the outworld (the part I can easily access). Due to the humidity in the nest, waste is a bad idea and can lead to mold, so really it's not smart to put ants into too big nests too early.

The Lasius Niger queen has been doing really well, taking photos of her colony is still hard, but you can see her in the top left with one nanite, and the other 10 or 15 or so nanites in the top right. I removed the red cover for a better picture and the light difference stressed them out, which is why the workers/nanites are all rushing to the brood in that corner to protect it and/or move it if needed. Lasius niger can handle stress rather well though, so I doubt it'll be an issue.
Interestingly they've started nest building a lot, taking sand from the outworld to narrow their nest entrance and to cover the hole in the floor that humidity comes in from until it's to their liking (and for better grip to walk).

The Messor Barbarus queen has a bit more of a rough start, she's been very skittish and easily disturbed, and at first when I kept her in her test tube she'd get stressed from various stuff like light changes, which led to her eating her own brood I assume. I forcibly moved her into a second 3D printed acrylic nest which meant a lot of stress, but she seems much calmer in there. Anyways that's why I didn't remove the red cover on that, I really want her to manage raising some brood before hibernation (though I suppose I can artificially make them skip hibernation if really needed)