My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

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EerieEcho
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:34 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39284Post EerieEcho
Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:23 pm

Hello everyone!

I recently got a lot of help on my post for "My queen won't lay eggs?" topic, but now I have an even bigger problem! As she is finally laying eggs (I have discovered two thus far), she seems to be abandoning them immediately! Obviously this has me concerned as ants don't typically abandon their eggs. So what is going on here? Is she too stressed? Are they infertile? What is going on here?

EerieEcho
Current forming colonies:
Unknown species.

Ryderw
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed May 16, 2018 9:53 am

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39311Post Ryderw
Fri Jun 29, 2018 3:36 pm

EerieEcho wrote:
Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:23 pm
Hello everyone!

I recently got a lot of help on my post for "My queen won't lay eggs?" topic, but now I have an even bigger problem! As she is finally laying eggs (I have discovered two thus far), she seems to be abandoning them immediately! Obviously this has me concerned as ants don't typically abandon their eggs. So what is going on here? Is she too stressed? Are they infertile? What is going on here?

EerieEcho
Well first is you're ant species semi-claustral?
Second what type of setup do you have for her, do you have pictures?
new keeper

EerieEcho
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:34 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39348Post EerieEcho
Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:10 am

She is of the Camponatus (please spare my spelling) genus, specifically the Camponatus pennsylvanicus species. From what I have read they are fully claustral, and yet with experimentaion she ate honey and cricket, so I honestly have no idea anymore. Also, her set up is a mash of two things: a tiny bottle and a test tube. She was too big for the test tube so I got crafty and attached a test tube with only water to this tube using the test tube caps as a gateway, held together by tape. I will attach pictures here:

https://imgur.com/a/ekNFpIF

She stays in the very back of the purple bottle, and her eggs are basically strewn throughout it, though she does have two underneath her currently as of writing this, so perhaps the first two were flukes. We will see how it goes, but I tried to find another person with this issue with no success so I guess I'm the first for this XD
Current forming colonies:
Unknown species.

AntsLuxembourg
Posts: 1578
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 7:17 am
Location: Luxembourg
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Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39349Post AntsLuxembourg
Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:20 am

I don't think she has abandoned her eggs. She might just be a bit sttressed with you checking on her all the time. ^^
I've checked yesterday on my 7 newly caught lasius ******* and 3 of them had already laid eggs so I have them a bit of the protein mix I got for my messor barbarus.
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.

EerieEcho
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:34 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39351Post EerieEcho
Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:25 am

Yeah, I am very guilty of that. But yeah, the first two eggs (she has four now) are still all over the place, while the two new ones are clumped together under her as they should be, so maybe she is feeling better? I have no clue.

Also, if you are wondering, her new setup is much bigger than the tiny test tube I had her in before and she has so much more space in there, and I'm really proud of it. Not to mention she must like it too because not even twelve hours after she moved in, egg was laid. But again she has left the first two out of around her reach, hence the abandoned part. If she continues to not abandon them, then it won't be an issue anymore, but it is strange that she did so.
Current forming colonies:
Unknown species.

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

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39353Post AntsLuxembourg
Sat Jun 30, 2018 5:42 am

Let's say your queen is a bitt messi. ^^
I also leave my stuff all over my place just because I am a bit messi. hahha. Perhaps she will go and get the eggs later and if you leave her along she might go back and get the eggs. :P

I am lucky that my own room is usually dark so there isn't much light coming in. Like I have something inside to shout out the sun but not the light so it get's not super warm inside and outside the windows are usually 80-90% shut when I open the wardrobe to get something I can have a glance on them before I close the doors again. But I don't usually open that part of my wardrobe much because I got most of my stuff ready on another place. haha :lol:

Well I would say try to just not look all the time and your queen will go and get those two eggs. if not then not but yeah. Just try to do something else. Because now that she finally starts laying eggs you wouldn't want her to fail on those. I know how exciting it is and I can barely hold myself from going to watch them all the time but you should just try to continue as if you hadn't caught her. Just leave her being and she will probably be alright in a few days. I mean what would be worse? If she really abandones those two eggs or if she dies from too much stress? I think the second one would be worse.
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.

EerieEcho
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:34 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39355Post EerieEcho
Sat Jun 30, 2018 6:01 am

True enough, I'll try my best not to touch her this week and give her some space. Besides I have a sick toad to focus on now (his name is Pete) who is very dehydrated and needs a crap ton of mistings and some food to keep his weight up. Needless to say I love to rescue animals and study their behaviors, nifty if I do say so myself.
Current forming colonies:
Unknown species.

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

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39402Post AntsLuxembourg
Sat Jun 30, 2018 2:33 pm

yeah so there is actually a good distraction for you. Try to nurse your toad first. :D
Offer him perhaps something like a little pool so he can stay cool if he wants to. ;D
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.

EerieEcho
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 3:34 am
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39757Post EerieEcho
Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:20 pm

Good news is Pete is now fighting fit again after a lot of hydration and cricket nomming. Bad news is that even though my checking frequency has gone down, I'm still always antsy (no pun intended) about wanting to check. I have many pets, all of which require attention constantly, so I guess it is me being used to that sort of lifestyle. But I did update her surroundings once, since I discovered the drawer I had moved her to was VERY cold, so I moved her into another drawer just under a heat mat used by my female leopard gecko tank, and she is also under a towel to keep her stress down. So hopefully I will be able to resist more, and maybe we will see development soon!

Also I ended up catching another queen! But she is in really bad shape as she was stuck in a spider's web :( I am hoping she may recover but I can already say her chances are slim to none. I don't even know what species she is, but she is super tiny and redish in tint, so she could be one of the tiny ants I find outside of my house (they are really tiny and their colony is huge! They moved it under my house though after me disturbing their nest, but then I came to discover they have a second colony probably from a different queen of the same bloodline, which is kinda cool!). Wish me luck!

UPDATE: After some research, she looks to be a black garden ant. They are really common in my area and since it just rained, I may find more of them tomorrow! Maybe, hopefully, I don't know! XD
Current forming colonies:
Unknown species.

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

Re: My queen has abandoned her eggs. Help.

Post: # 39762Post AntsLuxembourg
Wed Jul 04, 2018 1:56 am

Post a picture for proper identification :D
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.

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