Pavement queen with extended gaster

[AntsAntsAnts]

My old pavement queen (no workers yet )has been having eggs for MONTHS with still no workers or even pupae. Unfortunately ,that time caused mold to form and now, the queen has big belly. Normally this is GOOD but she already has a brood pile and they aren't hatching. Is this some kind of infertility or what?

[Antloverhuman]

Sounds like she is mated. Did you feed her any thing? It may be cold where the queen is placed which is making the process slower

[AntsAntsAnts]

I did feed her some honey bc I was worried she would starve (no food for months!) but yes, it is rather cold in the place I put her in.

[Antloverhuman]

Well then extended gaster could be because of the food in her stomach and the eggs arent growing quick because of cold

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Well then extended gaster could be because of the food in her stomach and the eggs arent growing quick because of cold

Mold is fine until covers the entire Cotten, I have a queen that seems to “panic” with the mold and is now ahead of queens I caught before her. She has matured larvae before the oldest queens eggs have hatched

[AntsAntsAnts]

Okay. I guess some are different. But I have a feeling the mold is not too bad because its been there for a month but is still tiny.