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What online ant store did you buy your ptfe from? I have 16 queens in test tubes and need to start making formicarium. Not sure where to find ptfe aside from amazon which seems expensive Sorry I don't use Baby powder/rubbing alcohol combo, but I use PTFE and it works just fine ( I got mine from an ...

Potentially an infertile queen can lay eggs which will develop into male alates (ant genetics are different from ours, as it is the amount of genes which determines the ants gender/class). However I wouldn't worry it's a really slim chance and your queen's sound fine!

Shame, always liked S.fugax.

I agree, plus you can tell when they need a proper set-up once they start escaping. Also you could always use a tubs and tubes setup if you're worried about just the test tube. I raised my first Lasius Niger in a test tube, the queen did take a year to produce her first generation, so some patience ...

Definitely interesting, I know their not reproductive ants but has your colony ever produced alates? I agree that the 'best' strategy is the older ants do more dangerous jobs, which is more visible in smaller colonies. Are you sure there the same species? I know it's a weird question but maybe they'...

Definitely a Lasius of some sort. Either Lasius Niger or Grandis in my opinion.

Depends on the amount of protein the workers feed the larvae. So maybe increasing their protein intake will increase the general size of workers. But generally an ant colony would have slightly smaller workers even if that species isn't polymorphic. The smaller workers tend to stay in nest and look ...

Not from Ireland, but Myrmica Rubra fly later than Lasius species, from like Mid August to September.

Really it depends on how relaxed and calm the queen is. As there is only one worker it's probably best to check once a week or two, but never too often. So long as they have food just let them be until they have more workers.