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okay to leave dead males in tube?

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 9:23 pm
by BleedingRaindrops
There was a mating flight the other day, and I caught several queens, but a few of them were still attached to a drone when I found them. Is it safe to leave the dead drones in the test tube or should I attempt an extraction?

Re: okay to leave dead males in tube?

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 9:39 pm
by Martialis
it may be best to remove the males as soon as possible.

Re: okay to leave dead males in tube?

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 11:52 pm
by BleedingRaindrops
I removed the two dead ones, but there is one still alive and crawling around. I did not think a drone would survive the mating process. Should I remove the live one?

Re: okay to leave dead males in tube?

Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 4:34 am
by ANTphibian
BleedingRaindrops wrote:
Fri May 05, 2017 11:52 pm
I removed the two dead ones, but there is one still alive and crawling around. I did not think a drone would survive the mating process. Should I remove the live one?
I probably would. It will die soon anyway, and I'm guessing the queen having to live in close proximity with another ant of her size won't be good for her.

Re: okay to leave dead males in tube?

Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 5:29 am
by BleedingRaindrops
I tried and failed to remove the live one. The queen seems very protective of it, and both became very agitated when I opened the tube. I would rather not stress the queen if she doesn't want to let it go yet.

Re: okay to leave dead males in tube?

Posted: Sat May 06, 2017 10:11 am
by ANTphibian
BleedingRaindrops wrote:
Sat May 06, 2017 5:29 am
I tried and failed to remove the live one. The queen seems very protective of it, and both became very agitated when I opened the tube. I would rather not stress the queen if she doesn't want to let it go yet.
That makes sense.