WHY IS MY QUEEN NOT LAYING EGGS? ITS A QUEEN FOR SURE

[hi55666]

SO NOT LONG AGO I CAPTURED A QUEEN ANT THAT IS PRETTY BIG AND IT WAS ALREADY A WEEK AND SHE HASNT LAYED AN EGG YET
GIVE ME ANY SUGGESTIONS IF YOU HAVE ANY OR HOW TO HAVE HER LAY EGGS FASTER

[Parsasitequeenforsal]

Queens can take a very long time to lay eggs, up to several weeks or months depending on species , I would advise keeping her in temperatures from 74-80F for optimal egg laying temperature and although they usually don’t eat during this stage, I would advise giving her a small drop of honey or sugar water to ensure she doesn’t starve.

[AntsLuxembourg]

Here some questions and tips.
First. Why write all in caps? Looks like you are yelling at everyone. xD
Second. Do you know what species it is? have you identified it? If you know, please tell us so we can help you better.
How often do you check on them? Disturbing the queen might lead to unnecessary stress so even if she lays eggs, she just eats them again as she has no peaceful place to found her colony. Give her some space and time and preferably a nice dark place. Inside a wardrobe covered with a towel is always good. Preferably some place that you don't check on too often. I advice to check on them a maximum of 3 times per week. At least until they got some eggs. Then only check once per week to not stress the queen too much. Stressing the queen can lead to her death.
Depending on the species it might be that she is semi-claustral which means she needs food. But don't go in and offer her food if you don't know that she needs it.
It could also be that she is unfertile. Sometimes queens just break of their wings for no reason. So that is also an option.
Would be great if you could share some pictures with us to see if there is some possible improvements.

[hi55666]

i try checking on her once a week.
It is a camponotus queen
not sure which camponotus
dont think it is camponotus novaeboracensis

[AntsLuxembourg]

Well. It would be good to know. Maybe post a picture in the identification center so people can help you to identify the species. I also saw that if it was camponotus novaeboracensis as very aggressiv if they are disturbed. I would just leave her in the testtube and don't check on her for another 2 weeks. Or maybe put her in a new test tube. Sometimes. they don't like the first one.
If that doesn't help then it could be that she is a queen (with or without wings) but that she has not mated and will not lay any eggs for that reason.

[hi55666]

my Queen started to lay eggs and im hoping they grow up soon
i check on her once a week now
and she eats a lot so i give her a lot of honey every week so there wont be an accident of her eating her own eggs even if i check on her once a week

[SkeleAnt]

my Queen started to lay eggs and im hoping they grow up soon

Carpenter ants are very slow growing ants, it can take a month or more for an egg to even pupate, and even more time for it to eclose, so don't expect a quick start to your colony, at least not with this species.

she eats a lot so i give her a lot of honey every week so there wont be an accident of her eating her own eggs even if i check on her once a week

Since she's finally started laying eggs and is a carpenter ant, you do not need to feed her. She is a fully claustral species, and has energy reserves to sustain herself until her workers arrive. Feeding her will only cause her stress from the regular disruption opening her set up and adding honey will cause, and feeding her "lots of honey" is a hazard by itself. She can get stuck in it, and possibly drown if you give her too much, and it can cause mold growth if you don't clean out what she doesn't consume. She might eat her eggs anyway, no matter how full she is, if she's stressed out enough; worst case scenario, the stress itself will kill her.

Leave her undisturbed in the dark and maybe check on her once a week at the maximum for only a short time. The less you stress her out, the better your chances of success with her founding her colony.

[AntsLuxembourg]

Yes. I would only recommend a little droplet and then leave it at that. Of course cleaning it up 2-3 days later to keep the setup as clean as possible. So maybe get ride of the remaining honey tomorrow and then just wait. I read something about 50 days until an egg has fully developped into a worker. So you will need to have some patients here. :/

[vireshh]

I caugh 2 lasius niger queens 2 months ago, 1 has laid eggs and has around 15 workers now. The other didn't lay eggs.
What to do with the quees that didn't lay eggs?

[SkeleAnt]

I caugh 2 lasius niger queens 2 months ago, 1 has laid eggs and has around 15 workers now. The other didn't lay eggs.
What to do with the quees that didn't lay eggs?

Either wait it out and see if they do lay eggs eventually, some queens take a while to feel comfortable enough to do so, or release them where you found them.