Multiple Solenopsis Invicta Colony?

[SeanSz]

Has anyone ever successfully raised a multiple Solenopsis Invicta colony with 3+ queen ants? I’m interested in starting this, but I don’t want to end up killing all of them… any help would be greatly appreciated!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Has anyone ever successfully raised a multiple Solenopsis Invicta colony with 3+ queen ants? I’m interested in starting this, but I don’t want to end up killing all of them… any help would be greatly appreciated!

I haven’t raised a colony like this… I did do it though.

So, let me start from the very beginning.

November 18th- I wanted a real ant colony, as I mostly just watched and fed some local Lasius spp… after lots of research done in previous years, I turned to invicta… Mistake

I dug up an 8 queen colony of invicta, accidently killing 3 queens in the process. I put them in a dirt setup to find 2 queen bodies at the entrance… I had 3 queens left. From there, the colony spun down. A queen was killed, one left… workers got down to 50, I was worried. So I did what a panicked person would do, load them up with wild brood, food, and nectar… and it worked. The colony produced an alate who shed two wings and almost killed the other queen until I intervened. She got to lay all the eggs, meaning I got male pupae that were killed. At the time, I also had several other invicta colonies who were doing poorly on death’s doorstep. They all had not adjusted to captivity well. So, I did what any irrational person would do, go dig up two more colonies that I instantly merged, success. I then merged that colony with my infertile queen colony, which accepted them(How couldn’t they had the military advantage). I tried to merge my other colonies, but none were accepted… so now, I have a thriving colony of invicta which has 4 queens, one infertile and 3 fertile and mated

[SeanSz]

Has anyone ever successfully raised a multiple Solenopsis Invicta colony with 3+ queen ants? I’m interested in starting this, but I don’t want to end up killing all of them… any help would be greatly appreciated!

I haven’t raised a colony like this… I did do it though.

So, let me start from the very beginning.

November 18th- I wanted a real ant colony, as I mostly just watched and fed some local Lasius spp… after lots of research done in previous years, I turned to invicta… Mistake

I dug up an 8 queen colony of invicta, accidently killing 3 queens in the process. I put them in a dirt setup to find 2 queen bodies at the entrance… I had 3 queens left. From there, the colony spun down. A queen was killed, one left… workers got down to 50, I was worried. So I did what a panicked person would do, load them up with wild brood, food, and nectar… and it worked. The colony produced an alate who shed two wings and almost killed the other queen until I intervened. She got to lay all the eggs, meaning I got male pupae that were killed. At the time, I also had several other invicta colonies who were doing poorly on death’s doorstep. They all had not adjusted to captivity well. So, I did what any irrational person would do, go dig up two more colonies that I instantly merged, success. I then merged that colony with my infertile queen colony, which accepted them(How couldn’t they had the military advantage). I tried to merge my other colonies, but none were accepted… so now, I have a thriving colony of invicta which has 4 queens, one infertile and 3 fertile and mated

Wow! That’s crazy! I currently have 5 fire ant queens in a large Solenopsis AC Hybrid Nest 2.0, and am hoping they will raise their first broods and merge into a super colony. They have plenty of space, some moss and soil, plus a lot of hydration. Based on your experience, do you think this can turn into a super colony, or fight an ant war? Thanks for the reply!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Has anyone ever successfully raised a multiple Solenopsis Invicta colony with 3+ queen ants? I’m interested in starting this, but I don’t want to end up killing all of them… any help would be greatly appreciated!

I haven’t raised a colony like this… I did do it though.

So, let me start from the very beginning.

November 18th- I wanted a real ant colony, as I mostly just watched and fed some local Lasius spp… after lots of research done in previous years, I turned to invicta… Mistake

I dug up an 8 queen colony of invicta, accidently killing 3 queens in the process. I put them in a dirt setup to find 2 queen bodies at the entrance… I had 3 queens left. From there, the colony spun down. A queen was killed, one left… workers got down to 50, I was worried. So I did what a panicked person would do, load them up with wild brood, food, and nectar… and it worked. The colony produced an alate who shed two wings and almost killed the other queen until I intervened. She got to lay all the eggs, meaning I got male pupae that were killed. At the time, I also had several other invicta colonies who were doing poorly on death’s doorstep. They all had not adjusted to captivity well. So, I did what any irrational person would do, go dig up two more colonies that I instantly merged, success. I then merged that colony with my infertile queen colony, which accepted them(How couldn’t they had the military advantage). I tried to merge my other colonies, but none were accepted… so now, I have a thriving colony of invicta which has 4 queens, one infertile and 3 fertile and mated

Wow! That’s crazy! I currently have 5 fire ant queens in a large Solenopsis AC Hybrid Nest 2.0, and am hoping they will raise their first broods and merge into a super colony. They have plenty of space, some moss and soil, plus a lot of hydration. Based on your experience, do you think this can turn into a super colony, or fight an ant war? Thanks for the reply!

No war, only riots. There is a chance that after the second generation workers eclose(or the first) they will kill all but one queen, you should to feed them well when workers eclose

[SeanSz]

I haven’t raised a colony like this… I did do it though.

So, let me start from the very beginning.

November 18th- I wanted a real ant colony, as I mostly just watched and fed some local Lasius spp… after lots of research done in previous years, I turned to invicta… Mistake

I dug up an 8 queen colony of invicta, accidently killing 3 queens in the process. I put them in a dirt setup to find 2 queen bodies at the entrance… I had 3 queens left. From there, the colony spun down. A queen was killed, one left… workers got down to 50, I was worried. So I did what a panicked person would do, load them up with wild brood, food, and nectar… and it worked. The colony produced an alate who shed two wings and almost killed the other queen until I intervened. She got to lay all the eggs, meaning I got male pupae that were killed. At the time, I also had several other invicta colonies who were doing poorly on death’s doorstep. They all had not adjusted to captivity well. So, I did what any irrational person would do, go dig up two more colonies that I instantly merged, success. I then merged that colony with my infertile queen colony, which accepted them(How couldn’t they had the military advantage). I tried to merge my other colonies, but none were accepted… so now, I have a thriving colony of invicta which has 4 queens, one infertile and 3 fertile and mated

Wow! That’s crazy! I currently have 5 fire ant queens in a large Solenopsis AC Hybrid Nest 2.0, and am hoping they will raise their first broods and merge into a super colony. They have plenty of space, some moss and soil, plus a lot of hydration. Based on your experience, do you think this can turn into a super colony, or fight an ant war? Thanks for the reply!

No war, only riots. There is a chance that after the second generation workers eclose(or the first) they will kill all but one queen, you should to feed them well when workers eclose

Good to know! Thank you very much for the advice!