Hello,
I've watched AntsCanada videos for a while now (1-2 years) on and off, and I've always wanted to get into ant keeping. Finally, I planned to catch some queens, and was successful in doing so. I'm 90% sure I've caught 6 Lasius Neoniger Queens (Labor day weekend/various studies of research/Location (Indiana, USA)) which is an awesome start for me After catching the ants, I inserted them into a test tube set up. I have a few notes on each ant along with a few concerns and questions you guys might be able to help me out with also.
Ant 1: Seems to be doing well, and lost her wings the day after I caught her.
Ant 2: Also doing well, also lost her wings the day after I caught her.
Ant 3: Noticeably larger than the others, but in same condition as others, also lost her wings second day.
Ant 4: Still has wings, however is doing well.
Ant 5: Still has wings attached, and seems to be doing well also, however, 3 days after catching her, I believe her wings were stuck in the cotton ball setup. I moved her off of it and she scurried around fine.
Ant 6: Caught today (Sep 2) scurrying around in grass with no wings. I believe she may be my best chance at a colony as the others were caught mid flight. However, her abdomen seems a bit damaged which scared me because this is where reproduction happens I'm fairly certain. She also did not seem nearly as strong or active as the other 5 queens.
Also, I do have some questions as I am new
1) Is it true I must hibernate the queens before they will lay there eggs? If so, how long does this hibernation process take, and if ignored, what are the repercussions?
2) They have not produced eggs yet, but sort of following off the last question, how long does it typically take for them to lay eggs?
3) Further, about how long should it be until I have nanite workers?
4) I'm fairly certain you do not need to feed these queens (if they are Lasius Neoniger) as they are fully claustral, however I added a drop of honey to their test tube set up for a couple reasons. 1) Queen 6 is noticeably weaker, so I tried to strengthen her a bit. 2) Honey cannot mold, so it can't do much harm. 3) If it does any harm, It's easily removable.
Sorry for so many questions, as you may be able to tell, I am really excited to start ant keeping
I will upload photos later
New to ant keeping - New Queens
Moderators: ooper01, Trusted User
Re: New to ant keeping - New Queens
Here are the promised images!
NeverMind the location of the ant container, it's stored in a warm drawer. I took it out for better visibility
NeverMind the location of the ant container, it's stored in a warm drawer. I took it out for better visibility
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