The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

This is the very first queen ant I ever caught and I actually caught her very late August and put her in a test tube set up where she lived for months until I came back for winter break and I forgot to hibernate her in the cold but also she never laid any eggs so I’m wondering if she’s dead now from improper temperature or if she was not fertilized and died or if she’s just hibernating. Thanks!

Well we're gonna need pics. It's gonna be a lot easier to tell if she is dead if we can actually see her

Looks dead, sorry. On top of a lot of things going wrong with hibernation (she should have been in the cold a while ago) temperate fall-flying Camponotus have a low rate of survival because of lower nutrient reserves and because they also have trouble finding mates. Queens do not die from being unfertilized, though -- that is a myth.

Camponotus queens will often curl up if they are hibernating in low temperatures, but that posture doesn't look like this. You have nothing to lose by holding onto her until it's more clear that she is dead or alive.

Awwww I’m sad but thank you for replying.

The cotton looks dry. Was there water in the other end of the test tube?

Yes there was water on the other side but for some reason she stuffed herself on the other side of the tube