Queen Abandoning Eggs?

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Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21150Post AntsAreAwesome
Sun May 14, 2017 8:30 am

So just a few quick questions: will queens abandon their brood when you manually move them? Is there anything wrong with manually moving them? Also, if a queen loses some EGGS, not larva, will it lay new ones right away?

Thanks for all the answers ahead of time!

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Aquaexploder
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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21154Post Aquaexploder
Sun May 14, 2017 9:42 am

If you were to move a queen manually it would most likely stress her out to the point where she might eat her eggs, so I were you I would let them move in at their own pace.
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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21156Post AntsAreAwesome
Sun May 14, 2017 11:02 am

Aquaexploder wrote:
Sun May 14, 2017 9:42 am
If you were to move a queen manually it would most likely stress her out to the point where she might eat her eggs, so I were you I would let them move in at their own pace.
I would but the problem is the test tube is really moldy and I won't be able to take care of her for a while. But she had larva, not eggs, so I don't think she would eat them would she?

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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21161Post Aquaexploder
Sun May 14, 2017 1:41 pm

What species is she?
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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21164Post AntsAreAwesome
Sun May 14, 2017 1:57 pm

Aquaexploder wrote:
Sun May 14, 2017 1:41 pm
What species is she?
Pheidole Sp.

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Aquaexploder
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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21166Post Aquaexploder
Sun May 14, 2017 2:11 pm

I am dealing with a similar issue in a way and what I would do is put their tube in a small tupperware container next to another test tube setup that is wrapped in paper to make it darker. Then shine a light over the test tube she is in and hope she moves in to the new one. I am new to ant keeping and this might not be the best way to do it. I got the idea from batspiderfish here: http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=3250 . Granted this is meant for my situation not yours.
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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21191Post xTNxANTMANx
Sun May 14, 2017 11:41 pm

I would definitely not move them manually. So many problems could occur while moving them as well as stressing your Queen out. It's best to listen to the above advice and put her test tube and a new test tube side-by-side and let her move at her own pace. If she doesn't want to be in there she will move when she is ready. You have also got to be patient. I recently went through the same problem with one of my Camponotus Queens. It took me roughly a week before her and her workers finally decided to move. But again I would let her move when she is ready don't try to force it.
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Re: Queen Abandoning Eggs?

Post: # 21193Post AntsAreAwesome
Sun May 14, 2017 11:54 pm

xTNxANTMANx wrote:
Sun May 14, 2017 11:41 pm
I would definitely not move them manually. So many problems could occur while moving them as well as stressing your Queen out. It's best to listen to the above advice and put her test tube and a new test tube side-by-side and let her move at her own pace. If she doesn't want to be in there she will move when she is ready. You have also got to be patient. I recently went through the same problem with one of my Camponotus Queens. It took me roughly a week before her and her workers finally decided to move. But again I would let her move when she is ready don't try to force it.
Well, before I posted this I manually moved her. I checked on her later on, and everything was well it seemed. She only lost 5 eggs or so in the old test tube. I noticed when moving her little black dots in what used to be the old eggs. So she must have young larva. She seemed to be caring for them. I have done this with queens before and most of the time it works. The way I do it is flick the tubes while my hands hold them together. Most of the time, the queen falls first then most of the brood (excluding the eggs) falls down with her. I just did this to my fire ant queen the other day and now she has 3 ants about to eclose. I will try not to do this to much in the future, and I do agree it can stress the queen out, but it was urgent. Thanks for you for the advice!

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