Brown Queen - High Mountains

[Ants4546b]

Size: about 10-13 mm
When: about 7:00 on July/26/2023
Where: Mount Timpanogos, Utah in a heavily wooded area approx. 8,500 ft elevation
Appearance: Brown mahogany color, has wing scars, pointed gaster.
Behaviour: Was cleaning herself a lot after she was put into the testtube setup and was exploring between cleaning herself.
Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/Nm9mCar
Additionally: When she was first caught she had a small ant in her mandibles (approx. 1-3mm long and same color as the queen) and after about 30 min the small ant had been decapitated by the queen and left in a corner of the testtube.

[antperson24]

Size: about 10-13 mm
When: about 7:00 on July/26/2023
Where: Mount Timpanogos, Utah in a heavily wooded area approx. 8,500 ft elevation
Appearance: Brown mahogany color, has wing scars, pointed gaster.
Behaviour: Was cleaning herself a lot after she was put into the testtube setup and was exploring between cleaning herself.
Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/Nm9mCar
Additionally: When she was first caught she had a small ant in her mandibles (approx. 1-3mm long and same color as the queen) and after about 30 min the small ant had been decapitated by the queen and left in a corner of the testtube.

She is a parasitic Lasius queen. The best thing you can do is release her, as it is very hard to raise a parasitic queen.

[Ants4546b]

Size: about 10-13 mm
When: about 7:00 on July/26/2023
Where: Mount Timpanogos, Utah in a heavily wooded area approx. 8,500 ft elevation
Appearance: Brown mahogany color, has wing scars, pointed gaster.
Behaviour: Was cleaning herself a lot after she was put into the testtube setup and was exploring between cleaning herself.
Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/Nm9mCar
Additionally: When she was first caught she had a small ant in her mandibles (approx. 1-3mm long and same color as the queen) and after about 30 min the small ant had been decapitated by the queen and left in a corner of the testtube.

She is a parasitic Lasius queen. The best thing you can do is release her, as it is very hard to raise a parasitic queen.

That makes sense, thank you!