The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

I recently caught a queen ant from a young wild colony in my backyard. I immediately put her in a test tube set up and it has been several weeks but she still has not lain any eggs. I gave her little bit of honey. Why isn't she laying any eggs??

Alright. So first. Calm your ****/nuts. no need to panic. Second. If you caught a random queen and from a young coloney, then how do you know that she is the queen? Did she got wings? If yes does she still have them? if so she is probably not mated yet. If she doesn't then can you share a few clear as possible pictures with us so someone might be able to identify the exact species.

You need to know that some species of ants look like the workers like some camponodus species. I myself accidently had caught a worker once mistakenly thinking it's a queen but now I know it wasn't. Then some queens might not lay any eggs if there are no more workers (not sure tho) so it's possible that she need her workers to take care of her. Perhaps your queen lays eggs but is too stressed and keeps eating them.

How often do you check on that queen? Once a day/week/hour?

Ya you’re going to have to be a lot more specific. If you took the queen from a wild colony why didn’t you take any of her workers or brood? How do you know it was a young colony?

Are you sure it wasn’t a huge colony and you took a female alate? If that’s the case those queens aren’t mated because they haven’t left their nest to mate yet.

Thank you for the reply. I know I probably overreacted but I know for sure she is a queen. She has wing scars but no wings and I saw 2 workers with her which I wasn't able to catch. The species is very small, so I was thinking maybe temnothorax or brachymyrmex? I check on her around once a week.

Sorry to break it to you, but I doubt this queen will survive much less raise any brood without her established workers. I know the eagerness you feel to start up a colony, but I urge you not to take the easy way out by capturing established colonies. It is an unsustainable practice that usually ends badly. Lots of newly mated queens will be flying very soon in your area. Learn about the species, and find what you can - don't go overboard, though! This is a much more rewarding way to start up a colony and more sustainable in the long run. If I were you, I would try to get this queen back into her original nest if it is not too late.

Thanks for the advice. I think I will try to return her to the nest. I'll find some camponotus soon!