Noticing a Pattern

[Swirlby]

Today, I caught a queen that I believe to be a Formica Subsericea queen. This is the fourth queen that I have caught unexpectedly, meaning that I caught them when I wasn't actively looking for them, and it might have been a few days since the last nuptial flight. I'm mentioning this because the first three queens that I have caught in this situation all died within days of being captured.

The first one I caught was a Camponotus Pennsylvanicus queen that was wandering around my garage at around 10:00 PM, about 24 hours since the last flight. She slowly died over the course of a few days, and I released her into my yard when she was practically on her last legs.

The second was a Camponotus Novaeboracensis queen that I encountered while sweeping the sidewalk outside my workplace during my shift at work. She seemed perfectly healthy when I caught her, but was dead by next morning. Not curled up, but completely motionless and stiff.

The third was some type of Formica ant. She was black with reddish legs, and I suspected she was a Formica Podzolica. I put her away with my other queens to lay eggs, thinking that doing this immediately would prevent her from dying. She was long dead by the time I checked on her a week later. She was curled up when I checked on her.

Finally, that brings me to this silky field ant. I am very worried that she's going to be dead next morning. I found her at work, just like the second carpenter ant, and I don't know if there's anything I can do to stop her from dying. Does anyone notice anything noteworthy about all of these instances? She seems perfectly healthy now, but judging from experience, that could change at any moment.

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Today, I caught a queen that I believe to be a Formica Subsericea queen. This is the fourth queen that I have caught unexpectedly, meaning that I caught them when I wasn't actively looking for them, and it might have been a few days since the last nuptial flight. I'm mentioning this because the first three queens that I have caught in this situation all died within days of being captured.

The first one I caught was a Camponotus Pennsylvanicus queen that was wandering around my garage at around 10:00 PM, about 24 hours since the last flight. She slowly died over the course of a few days, and I released her into my yard when she was practically on her last legs.

The second was a Camponotus Novaeboracensis queen that I encountered while sweeping the sidewalk outside my workplace during my shift at work. She seemed perfectly healthy when I caught her, but was dead by next morning. Not curled up, but completely motionless and stiff.

The third was some type of Formica ant. She was black with reddish legs, and I suspected she was a Formica Podzolica. I put her away with my other queens to lay eggs, thinking that doing this immediately would prevent her from dying. She was long dead by the time I checked on her a week later. She was curled up when I checked on her.

Finally, that brings me to this silky field ant. I am very worried that she's going to be dead next morning. I found her at work, just like the second carpenter ant, and I don't know if there's anything I can do to stop her from dying. Does anyone notice anything noteworthy about all of these instances? She seems perfectly healthy now, but judging from experience, that could change at any moment.

What did you catch them in? Could be pesticides because it sounds like a lot of them were in urban areas

[Swirlby]

Today, I caught a queen that I believe to be a Formica Subsericea queen. This is the fourth queen that I have caught unexpectedly, meaning that I caught them when I wasn't actively looking for them, and it might have been a few days since the last nuptial flight. I'm mentioning this because the first three queens that I have caught in this situation all died within days of being captured.

The first one I caught was a Camponotus Pennsylvanicus queen that was wandering around my garage at around 10:00 PM, about 24 hours since the last flight. She slowly died over the course of a few days, and I released her into my yard when she was practically on her last legs.

The second was a Camponotus Novaeboracensis queen that I encountered while sweeping the sidewalk outside my workplace during my shift at work. She seemed perfectly healthy when I caught her, but was dead by next morning. Not curled up, but completely motionless and stiff.

The third was some type of Formica ant. She was black with reddish legs, and I suspected she was a Formica Podzolica. I put her away with my other queens to lay eggs, thinking that doing this immediately would prevent her from dying. She was long dead by the time I checked on her a week later. She was curled up when I checked on her.

Finally, that brings me to this silky field ant. I am very worried that she's going to be dead next morning. I found her at work, just like the second carpenter ant, and I don't know if there's anything I can do to stop her from dying. Does anyone notice anything noteworthy about all of these instances? She seems perfectly healthy now, but judging from experience, that could change at any moment.

What did you catch them in? Could be pesticides because it sounds like a lot of them were in urban areas

This current queen and the second queen caught were both captured inside styrofoam coffee cups. The first was was captured in a water bottle, and so was the third one. The area near my home where the first and third ants caught is a rural area with lots of farmland, and the place where I caught the second and fourth queens is a suburb.

All the current queens I have that haven't died were found on my grandmother's property, and the workshop next door.

[Swirlby]

Good news! The formica ant I caught most recently has not died, and has laid eggs! Looks like I will potentially have a non-Camponotus colony.