Colony Dying Overnight

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
Shevolves
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:42 pm
Location: Memphis TN

Colony Dying Overnight

Post: # 97850Post Shevolves
Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:52 pm

Last night I noticed that I had 1 dead ant and another that looked like it was struggling. This morning there was an abnormal amount of traffic in the tube going from the Camponotus Nest to the Outworld and they were moving quite slow with no reaction to the light being turned on. I then came home from work and noticed about 10-15 dead ants near the water supply and could not locate the queen. I presume that she relocated to the Outworld. A few of the gasters are pink in color but they also recently received a bit of pink syrup so hard to tell if this is from the syrup or a sickness.

Need advice on what to do. My son has had this colony for a few months with no issues and has not changed their diet/routine. Is there any way to help?

AntsLuxembourg
Posts: 1578
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 7:17 am
Location: Luxembourg
Contact:

Re: Colony Dying Overnight

Post: # 97852Post AntsLuxembourg
Thu Jan 12, 2023 2:19 am

What was that pink syrup you talk about? Was it some kind of drink or food sauce or candy? It might be important to what's happening.
Doing some proper research is the best way to start an antcolony.

Need help or want to help? https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18153#p70566

Currently not keeping any ants anymore.

User avatar
antperson24
Posts: 1226
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:01 pm
Location: North East Iowa

Re: Colony Dying Overnight

Post: # 97855Post antperson24
Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:30 am

Shevolves wrote:
Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:52 pm
Last night I noticed that I had 1 dead ant and another that looked like it was struggling. This morning there was an abnormal amount of traffic in the tube going from the Camponotus Nest to the Outworld and they were moving quite slow with no reaction to the light being turned on. I then came home from work and noticed about 10-15 dead ants near the water supply and could not locate the queen. I presume that she relocated to the Outworld. A few of the gasters are pink in color but they also recently received a bit of pink syrup so hard to tell if this is from the syrup or a sickness.

Need advice on what to do. My son has had this colony for a few months with no issues and has not changed their diet/routine. Is there any way to help?
I would be very wary about feeding my ants something like that, I like to feed my ants food that is as natural as possible.
Why keep ants that aren't found in your yard?
There are so many fascinating ants right where you live!
I disagree with the keeping/buying of ants that aren't in your area.

Join Ants, Plants, and Myrmecology: https://discord.gg/BeQuNf8yTN

Shevolves
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:42 pm
Location: Memphis TN

Re: Colony Dying Overnight

Post: # 97856Post Shevolves
Thu Jan 12, 2023 9:13 am

@antperson24. The colony belongs to my 11 year old and this was a big learning moment for the both of us. We will certainly be more mindful on what they are being fed.

User avatar
antperson24
Posts: 1226
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2022 4:01 pm
Location: North East Iowa

Re: Colony Dying Overnight

Post: # 97858Post antperson24
Fri Jan 13, 2023 7:15 am

Shevolves wrote:
Thu Jan 12, 2023 9:13 am
@antperson24. The colony belongs to my 11 year old and this was a big learning moment for the both of us. We will certainly be more mindful on what they are being fed.
That sounds like a good idea. Normally I only feed mine honey that I know is safe for ants (you can test this by getting a wild caught worker and feeding her some, and if she is still alive within 12 hours it should be safe). And when I feed them some sort of protein I either feed them some of my left over meat (only some species will except meat), organic sunflower seeds (only some genera will eat sunflower seeds, and I don't think Camponotus is one of them), or a insect found in my yard, but be mindful when feeding them wild caught insects as the could have chemicals on them that could kill the ants, my yard is not spayed so it is safe, but if yours is, you will likely have to buy feeder insects online.
Why keep ants that aren't found in your yard?
There are so many fascinating ants right where you live!
I disagree with the keeping/buying of ants that aren't in your area.

Join Ants, Plants, and Myrmecology: https://discord.gg/BeQuNf8yTN

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests