Queen stopped moving

[Bordoli]

Hi, I got a new messor barbarus queen (my first ever queen) about a month ago. She now has 5 workers and a big pile of eggs. I was just wondering if it was normal for her to kinda curl up and not move for a while. They’re in quite a warm room and there is red plastic around them (which I think is meant to block light?????) thanks!

[AntsLuxembourg]

Hey,

A few things first. When was the last time you saw her move? How often did you check in general? Twice a week? Once per day? Multiple times per day? Does she react at all to anything like turning the testtube slowly around? For example: do the legs still move or the antenna? Is she still curled up? If so then I might have bad news for you. :C

She might actually be dead. For Messor Barbarus I also personally strongly doubt that they cannot see red light. I haven't done any testing so far but I will try to conduct some tests in regards to the color of light. My reasoning for this is that when I started I only had some green transparent tubing and they seemed to prefer that over an area that I had covered with red transparent foil. However it might not have been the right kind of red for them.

Red is not blocking the light. It's more the theory that ants cannot see red light as they are related to bees and wasps and so most setups have red foils to make the ants feel like they are in the dark.

For Messor in general I know that the queen is easily stressed and shouldn't be disturbed too much if not necessary. A small colony can live of a few seeds for a good while and doesn't need much besides water and some seeds every now and then. I can recommend some raspberry or blackberry seeds as my ants seem to absolutely love them and bring them home immediatly.

Anyway let me know and in case she doesn't move (even if you turn the testtube upside down) then I am sorry for your lose. :C

[Bordoli]

Thanks for the advice
She still seems to be alive because I can see her legs and antenna moving. I’ve moved her back into a dark cupboard for now and I’m gonna check on her as little as possible. Maybe I’ll try raspberry seeds at some point, thanks for the tips.... thank you!