queen won't move

[TEXASantlover]

I have a queen fire ant that has been in a test tube since December 1st. she has failed to raise any worker ants and has been taking care of a small failing brood. the test tube ran out of water and started to mold so I tried to move her into a new test tube but she will not go willingly. recently i found that she raised a worker but it mysteriously died. I'm not sure what to do, should I gently force her to move without the brood? or some other option?

EDIT: I should clarify that she ran out of water and then the brood wasn't doing good

[AntFarmer7]

Just give her time. Also, if you haven't already, tape the two test tubes together. Try covering the new test tube as well. Ants can be stubborn sometimes!

[JoeHostile1]

In December she should have been hibernating, not trying to found a colony. That is most likely why she doesn’t have any workers.

Also have you been feeding her? Since she spent her hibernation period awake trying to raise brood and it’s been almost 4 months she is now probably out of food reserves.

I would attach a fresh test tube to her old one and give her sugar water and a piece of an insect. And then keep feeding her until she has workers that can forage for themselves.

[TEXASantlover]

last time I tried to get her to move I waited over 24 hours. i'm a little worried about leaving it taped together because she will eventually run out of oxygen and I'm not sure how long that takes. I tried feeding her before but good point I will try again and see what happens.

[JoeHostile1]

They won’t run out of oxygen. That’s a non issue. I had ants in a tiny, tiny test tube that was capped on the end with a plastic plug which was placed into a small ziplock bag that was sealed and then placed into an envelope. The envelope was opened 45 days later and every single ant was just fine.

[TEXASantlover]

wow. guess I won't worry about that then.

[TEXASantlover]

Five days after conecting the new tube to the old tube and the queen is finally scouting out the new tube. I hope she moves in soon.
thanks for the advice!

[antscanadafan]

How big is your fire ant queen? We are trying to find one from our backyard. We are also in Texas!

[TEXASantlover]

Antscanadafan, its an average fire ant queen size (i know. not helpful) I'll include a pic when I get that figured out.
the ants I catch are often ones that I have saved from our pool, that they often fly into somehow.

[WillWithAnts]

In December she should have been hibernating, not trying to found a colony. That is most likely why she doesn’t have any workers.

At what latitude do ants stop hibernating? Do all ants hibernate in Texas? I guess I don't know how cold it gets in Texas. . .