Is this a good idea?

[Jeseee]

This is just my opinion but I would care for some feedback…..


I have had my black carpenter (Camponotus pennsulvanicus) queen for a while now (approximately 60+ days)
And she has no workers… she has put her eggs behind the water Cotton and then the eggs rot and “die”. So I was gonna buy a tarheel ant mini heath so that doesn’t happen. What do you guys think?
I really think that she is shoving the eggs in the cotton and causing her stress because she is trying to keep them safe. That is my opinion…

[Formicology]

I have had my black carpenter (Camponotus pennsulvanicus) queen for a while now (approximately 60+ days)

So, I don’t know your exact situation, but what I do know is that when talking about Camponotus pennsulvanicus, 60+ days is very little time.

Again, I don’t know your exact situation, but a big issue with a lot of people is that they check on their queens too often, which then stresses them out even more. The #1 thing that I’d recomended is to put her in a dark warm place and forget about her for a month or more at a time. If she’s going to survive at all, it’s likely that she won’t need your intervention at all until next spring, at the earliest.

I actually keep mine in a drawer in my un-heated, un-cooled garage where it reaches +90f in the summer and -35f in the winter, and they love it!

The only time I’ve ever had problems is when I’ve tried keeping them in the house before they have enough workers to help care for them.

[Jeseee]

Ok, I just feel it’s hard to do that. I can’t resist the urge of checking on her. But…… my sister is going to be moving away to college so I can put my queen in there. I hope she’s ok though. It’s been rough because this is the first queen ant I have kept for more that 5 days. I really don’t want her to die. Can she die from stress? Thank you for all the help!

[Gardener]

Just wanted to agree with Formicology's advice based on my small bit of experience. Since I have forced myself to only check the queens every 1 or 2 weeks (usually on the saturday), I have had less risk issues. I keep them in a stable totally dark place away from sounds and temptation---an old wooden drawer in the garage.

The queens appear a lot less stressed out once they have workers around them to help out.

[Formicology]

Can she die from stress?

Hahaha. Yeah, I definitely understand the temptation to check on them every few hours! They’re so cool to watch. Unfortunately though, they can die from stress. It’s especially hard with Camponotus because their colonies take so long to grow, but it’s all totally worth it when you see your first couple of workers show up.

Good luck and make sure to post any updates!

[Jeseee]

Ok I definitely will send updates! , I ordered the tarheel ants mini heath type lll last night and it’ll be coming soon… I hope this works out!