An observation I've made with Parasitic Lasius Queens and supporting research, Severn MD

[JoeHostile1]

Hey I’ve also read that study, it was an interesting read. I have been keeping Claviger Queens for about 2 years and have always fed them. They love sitting on sugar water soaked cotton balls inside the test tube. I feed all the queens I catch sugar water whether they are semi-claustral or not. There really is no harm in that.

I currently have 6 Claviger Queens that are over 10 months old, I fed them the entire time. I even refreshed their sugar water during their 5 month hibernation. Two have claviger workers born and the rest all have larvae.

[kykel09]

Hey I’ve also read that study, it was an interesting read. I have been keeping Claviger Queens for about 2 years and have always fed them. They love sitting on sugar water soaked cotton balls inside the test tube. I feed all the queens I catch sugar water whether they are semi-claustral or not. There really is no harm in that.

I currently have 6 Claviger Queens that are over 10 months old, I fed them the entire time. I even refreshed their sugar water during their 5 month hibernation. Two have claviger workers born and the rest all have larvae.

Wow! That's awesome! How did you do your brood boost?

[JoeHostile1]

I used this guide by Batspiderfish
http://www.formiculture.com/topic/3252-much-ado-about-the-founding-of-lasius-temporary-social-parasites/

I have a Lasius Neoniger colony and I mostly use callow workers, larvae and pupae.

I use adult workers as well. It just depends on the temperament of the queen and workers. I place the adult worker in the fridge until it can barely move. Then I place the worker into the queens test tube. If there is any hint of aggression I place the queen and worker into the fridge.

When they thaw out there is either aggression or no aggression displayed. If no aggression then I repeat the process with another worker ant. However the more worker ants you add the sketchier it becomes because an aggressive worker can trigger panic in the test tube and cause already successfully introduced workers to turn on the queen.

If the queen is the instigator of the aggression then the callow method is the best bet. If it’s the worker then I remove the worker and repeat the process with another worker until I find non aggressive workers.

[JoeHostile1]

Forgot to mention that I then add larvae and pupae to the queeen with workers test tube. The workers look after the brood and forage.