Queen Ants not making eggs

[thegardenant]

Hi there, I caught 2 Carpenter Ant Queens about 4 weeks ago. They have not been damaged, they live a test tube setup which is in a very dark location. Both of them have just been sitting there. What am I don't wrong and what do I need to do to fix it? Thank you in advance

[Jharrell23867]

Carpenter ants make great starter queens but they need total darkness to lay eggs & will not lay them if they are moved a lot or catch you peeking at them and feel threatened or see a lot of light... They will even eat the eggs they lay if they feel threatened... this behavior stops once they have a few workers.

My advice is to leave them be for about a month or at least a few weeks. My carpenter Queen has 5 workers now & i have had her for about 5 months so she averages one workers a month... they grow very slowly until they have enough workers to forage proteins & sugars for them.

[seahehern]

The queen could be unfertilised and could be finding a mate and would not lay eggs #AntLove.