Prenolepis Imparis Journal

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Funny stories, On sunday I tried dumping the queen and she went suprisingly easy just kinda rolled lol. I think only one casulty tho it might have been dead before. I dumped the workers in the outworld and 2 days later there are a couple of the in the new test tube the queen is hiding under the tube in a small cavity and like 14 workers are crowded around a *** SPAM *** soaked with sugar water lol.

Lol
Believe my I have done this with fire ants, hints my name. Boy, we’re they being quite similar. They hid under tube for about a day, I purposely flooded them so they would move into the tube, they then moved back, same process, then build a dirt seal, I destroyed it and accodently dumped them out, and finally I quit watering their substrate, and the queens fought until 1 remained.

[LoverofAnts37]

I added a fresh cotton ball today with sugar water and I saw 3 ants in the test tube and one dead one which was probably a casulty or it died from natural causes, that makes 2 dead ones.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

I added a fresh cotton ball today with sugar water and I saw 3 ants in the test tube and one dead one which was probably a casulty or it died from natural causes, that makes 2 dead ones.

Causalities are very rare, as ants don’t really get hurt from falling. If you touch them to knock them, it may hurt them.

[LoverofAnts37]

Either that or old age.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Either that or old age.

If causalities isn’t over 10%, you should be fine.Unless the queen was a casualty

[LoverofAnts37]

No the queen I don't think was injured but she has not moved from her spot under the tube and not many workers are near her.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

No the queen I don't think was injured but she has not moved from her spot under the tube and not many workers are near her.

I wonder why. The workers should help her… you could try moving her and a few workers to a tube, but idk if that would work. You could also try attaching them to a modular nest…
I would leave them for a few more days, and if she is still under tube, just put/scare her into tube along with workers.

[LoverofAnts37]

Maybe i just pick her up and put her in the tube I wantthem to move into.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Maybe i just pick her up and put her in the tube I wantthem to move into.

She will run out. If you do that put a few workers with her and leave her for a few hours then hook her back up.

[LoverofAnts37]

I am very sorry, I went to put her in the tube and it is as I suspected. She died. I feel so bad and I dont know what I did wrong, they had access to water and honey or sugar water all the time and they should not need protein as the colony has no brood. I dont know what I did wrong. Sometimes keeping ants is so hard for me and it feels like everything is against me. I just cant keep them alive. My only consolation is that maybe I can catch an alate this spring and put her in there but considering how my luck goes I am not counting on it.

R.I.P. queen ant
may you rest in peace
I hope you know I tried my best
may you serve as a forerunner to a thriving colony in the future
I have learned much from you