red tint?

[cheetawolf]

i caught about 20 lasius queens, and after a month, 2 have died, and most of them have some mold on the surface of the cotton.

i have 3 queens that have nanatics, one of the queens test tube water is slightly tainted red, while all the other queens still have clear water. why?

[cheetawolf]

update: i gave all my queens that have nanatics a nice drop of honey, and all of the queens are drinking happily except the one with red tinted water.

also that queen doesnt move much

[JoeHostile1]

I have a Camponotus colony in a test tube and the water also turned red. Which I found surprising as wel.

[Ltislander]

MOVE HER ASAP! That is the bacteria Serratia marcescens, it is very harmful to ants. It killed my queen with eggs. So move her to a fresh tube!

[cheetawolf]

MOVE HER ASAP! That is the bacteria Serratia marcescens, it is very harmful to ants. It killed my queen with eggs. So move her to a fresh tube!

ok thanks, will do!

[cheetawolf]

MOVE HER ASAP! That is the bacteria Serratia marcescens, it is very harmful to ants. It killed my queen with eggs. So move her to a fresh tube!

its been 5 hours since i attached the old test tube to the new one via cloth and tape, but the queen refuses to move, the 3 workers were happy with the new space and they moved all the brood to the new testtube, but the queen still stays on the moldy cotton, what do i do?

[Ltislander]

MOVE HER ASAP! That is the bacteria Serratia marcescens, it is very harmful to ants. It killed my queen with eggs. So move her to a fresh tube!

its been 5 hours since i attached the old test tube to the new one via cloth and tape, but the queen refuses to move, the 3 workers were happy with the new space and they moved all the brood to the new testtube, but the queen still stays on the moldy cotton, what do i do?

What I do is after all the brood is moved I move her in with a Q-tip

[idahoantgirl]

Eh.... Any time you are touching the queen with something, it is very dangerous. It is best to just give her more time, shine a light on her tube, keep the other dark, (be carful not to burn her). But if you are going to move her manually, it is really better to sort of shake or tap the side of the tube till she plops into the new one instead of poking her. Gravity will not hurt her nearly as much as a giant pokey object. But keep in mind I am not recommending that method either. Letting her move her self is always best.