How to release queens?

[Sponge]

Hello everyone!
So I'm new to these forums and the idea of ant keeping in general. Found AntsCanada and got engrossed in the idea of having my own colony. I've learnt a lot reading other peoples posts but I have one question.

How do you get rid of unwanted queen ants?

I've never really seen this mentioned. For example, I don't want to start a first ant colony with RIFA, so if I caught a queen what would I do? Can you really just release them? I'm not sure if you could, because you might have kept them too long for the wild.

Also, if you can just release them, what if a queen lays eggs before you can release them? Is it the same thing, or do procedures change?

Anyways, sorry if these are dumb questions. These are just the only things I haven't read about here on the forums. I can't find much on the internet either (It doesn't help most ant webpages are about extermination).

[MilesC]

You could leave the test tube outside and have the queen find a new claustral chamber. Or you could possibly make one yourself by digging a small hole if you're that concerned.

[AntLove4Evr]

Hello everyone!
So I'm new to these forums and the idea of ant keeping in general. Found AntsCanada and got engrossed in the idea of having my own colony. I've learnt a lot reading other peoples posts but I have one question.

How do you get rid of unwanted queen ants?

I've never really seen this mentioned. For example, I don't want to start a first ant colony with RIFA, so if I caught a queen what would I do? Can you really just release them? I'm not sure if you could, because you might have kept them too long for the wild.

Also, if you can just release them, what if a queen lays eggs before you can release them? Is it the same thing, or do procedures change?

Anyways, sorry if these are dumb questions. These are just the only things I haven't read about here on the forums. I can't find much on the internet either (It doesn't help most ant webpages are about extermination).

You can always try the GAN farmer program, but maybe RIFA may be a little much. And remember, a colony only grows with how much you feed it. No food=minimal growth.

[Martialis]

Hello everyone!
So I'm new to these forums and the idea of ant keeping in general. Found AntsCanada and got engrossed in the idea of having my own colony. I've learnt a lot reading other peoples posts but I have one question.

How do you get rid of unwanted queen ants?

I've never really seen this mentioned. For example, I don't want to start a first ant colony with RIFA, so if I caught a queen what would I do? Can you really just release them? I'm not sure if you could, because you might have kept them too long for the wild.

Also, if you can just release them, what if a queen lays eggs before you can release them? Is it the same thing, or do procedures change?

Anyways, sorry if these are dumb questions. These are just the only things I haven't read about here on the forums. I can't find much on the internet either (It doesn't help most ant webpages are about extermination).

You can always try the GAN farmer program, but maybe RIFA may be a little much. And remember, a colony only grows with how much you feed it. No food=minimal growth.

No food= ant death. Less food seems like a better course of action.


Also, the scientific community discourages releasing ant queens. They'd prefer they are given away or put down. I like Milesc's idea about releasing, though/

[Batspiderfish]

You'd be doing your ecosystem a favor by killing unwanted RIFA queens.

[Martialis]

You'd be doing your ecosystem a favor by killing unwanted RIFA queens.

Agreed.

[larynx]

You could leave the test tube outside and have the queen find a new claustral chamber. Or you could possibly make one yourself by digging a small hole if you're that concerned.

This is the method i use. i just make sure i dont notice any colonies near where i am releasing them.

[Sponge]

Hey! Sorry for not responding for a while, got a bit caught up in something.

Thanks for all the advice! I wasn't sure if it was that simple, but thanks for the answers!

[Canadiananter]

Don't as it may bring diseases out. I just feed them to my other colonies

[Martialis]

Don't as it may bring diseases out. I just feed them to my other colonies

That's a bit... morbid.