Queen ant arrived without much water -- New ant keeper

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
pdxant199
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 26, 2023 2:18 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Queen ant arrived without much water -- New ant keeper

Post: # 99246Post pdxant199
Fri May 26, 2023 2:42 pm

Hello,

I recently bought a queen mini ruby ant for my son's 10th birthday (today!) and it arrived last night without much water in the water reservoir and some loose cotton in the chamber. It looks like there are some eggs in the loose cotton but I can't quite tell.

Can't get pics to upload so here are pics on dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uprkqvt21syr4wf/IMG_4033.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eeezz669ozu9f7i/IMG_4032.jpeg?dl=0

I don't want to disturb the queen, but am wondering if we need to address:

1/ the lack of water - the cotton next to the water reservoir is not saturated all the way through and there's just a tiny bit of water on that side of the tube
2/ the loose cotton, especially if those are eggs in the loose cotton where she's facing.

Any advice on what we should do?

Thanks for your help! My son just got into ants and is pretty nervous about her wellbeing.

SolenopsisKeeper
Posts: 2402
Joined: Sun Dec 12, 2021 11:41 am
Location: United States, Florida

Re: Queen ant arrived without much water -- New ant keeper

Post: # 99250Post SolenopsisKeeper
Fri May 26, 2023 8:59 pm

pdxant199 wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 2:42 pm
Hello,

I recently bought a queen mini ruby ant for my son's 10th birthday (today!) and it arrived last night without much water in the water reservoir and some loose cotton in the chamber. It looks like there are some eggs in the loose cotton but I can't quite tell.

Can't get pics to upload so here are pics on dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uprkqvt21syr4wf/IMG_4033.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eeezz669ozu9f7i/IMG_4032.jpeg?dl=0

I don't want to disturb the queen, but am wondering if we need to address:

1/ the lack of water - the cotton next to the water reservoir is not saturated all the way through and there's just a tiny bit of water on that side of the tube
2/ the loose cotton, especially if those are eggs in the loose cotton where she's facing.

Any advice on what we should do?

Thanks for your help! My son just got into ants and is pretty nervous about her wellbeing.
Nice Camponotus discolor/decipeins queen. The water shouldn’t be too big of an issue unless it completely runs out. Leave her in dim light and do not roll or pick up the tube much. The “eggs” look like a cocoon. Once this cocoon hatches you can move her into a new tube. Do you have more tubes? She looks like a boosted queen, a typical thing for a GAN farmer or any ant seller to begin with. What state are you in, if you do y mind me asking? If you are southern it could just be the queen ate some brood in shipping. You and your son shouldn’t worry too much, she should be fine.
When you accidentally reply to yourself…

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

Re: Queen ant arrived without much water -- New ant keeper

Post: # 99291Post antperson24
Sun May 28, 2023 2:14 pm

pdxant199 wrote:
Fri May 26, 2023 2:42 pm
Hello,

I recently bought a queen mini ruby ant for my son's 10th birthday (today!) and it arrived last night without much water in the water reservoir and some loose cotton in the chamber. It looks like there are some eggs in the loose cotton but I can't quite tell.

Can't get pics to upload so here are pics on dropbox.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uprkqvt21syr4wf/IMG_4033.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eeezz669ozu9f7i/IMG_4032.jpeg?dl=0

I don't want to disturb the queen, but am wondering if we need to address:

1/ the lack of water - the cotton next to the water reservoir is not saturated all the way through and there's just a tiny bit of water on that side of the tube
2/ the loose cotton, especially if those are eggs in the loose cotton where she's facing.

Any advice on what we should do?

Thanks for your help! My son just got into ants and is pretty nervous about her wellbeing.
Camponotus like dry environments anyway, so don't worry too much. Also, the cotton will be fine. The queen will keep her brood in a little pile and will be able to keep track of it.
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 11 guests