It's not recommened to dig up ants but I have... How can I tell if ants have a queen or not?

Questions from those who are just starting or considering getting into the ant keeping hobby. If you’re intimidated or confused by the in-depth posts of the other sections of this forum, feel free to post here, and we'll start from square one!

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SpeciesK

Re: It's not recommened to dig up ants but I have... How can I tell if ants have a queen or not?

Post: # 18262Post SpeciesK
Sun Mar 19, 2017 9:10 am

Yes, I dug up the colony and kept everything, it is a dirt colony in a bucket. I didn't know until now if I had the queen or not. And for whatever reason the ants have gone pretty much inactive again... Maybe because I have given them sooooo much food now that they don't have much reason to go walking around on the surface much any more. It also is cold outside and its drafty so they probably are a little colder than a few days ago. There is also the possibility that they decided to walk over the powder and vaseline and leave. I discovered that they weren't keeping the ants inside at all after I added more of each! I just wiped it all off to see if that helps any -maybe its not a thick layer of vaseline but just a coating?

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Batspiderfish
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Re: It's not recommened to dig up ants but I have... How can I tell if ants have a queen or not?

Post: # 18274Post Batspiderfish
Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:06 pm

You should probably try to salvage this bucket situation by letting the dirt dry out and leaving a test tube or formicarium for the ants to move into. There's very little control over the hydration, and the walls are probably tacky from talcum powder and vaseline so that neither of them would work. It will probably take a long time.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.

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