Queen Ant Question

[BackedSummer56]

My queen is setup in a test tube setup and is in the dark I have had her for about 3 days and I check Ed on her today and she is biting at the cotton ball that’s blocking her escape. Is there a reason she is doing this and is this a normal thing that they do? If not please tell me what I may be able to do to help her.

[AntsDakota]

My queen is setup in a test tube setup and is in the dark I have had her for about 3 days and I check Ed on her today and she is biting at the cotton ball that’s blocking her escape. Is there a reason she is doing this and is this a normal thing that they do? If not please tell me what I may be able to do to help her.

This is perfectly normal (especially if she's Camponotus sp.). I believe she was just doing this out of stress when you checked on her. It was her method of attempted escape. However, it is recommended that you only check on your queens one week at a time (at least). Yet this most likely has nothing to do with the queen pulling at the cotton.