Should I feed my new queen?

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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coolfrood16
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 10:54 am
Location: Michigan

Should I feed my new queen?

Post: # 65484Post coolfrood16
Sat Nov 09, 2019 2:29 pm

Hi, I’m a new ant keeper and I have a question. I have had a aphaenogaster carolinensis queen in my closet with some brood. I left her without checking for about 2 ½ weeks because I thought this was the best course of action. I have now checked and she has one new worker and it appears that there is another worker who is dead. I have an AntsCanada ant tower small and I was wondering if I should move them in now. I’m worried that they may need food to keep healthy. It is a fully claustral species and I have had trouble finding out when they should be released into a formicarium. To clarify, this formicarium has digging medium and the ants would have to dig into it before the queen moved or any of her brood. I am concerned about that because there is only one worker. Is it possible to give them food while they are still in the test tube? Please help!

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idahoantgirl
Posts: 1521
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:52 am
Location: Idaho, USA

Re: Should I feed my new queen?

Post: # 65506Post idahoantgirl
Mon Nov 11, 2019 11:09 pm

You should feed your colony as soon as the first worker arrives. Get a plastic drinking straw, cut off a piece about and inch and a half long. Wedge it between the side of your test tube and the cotton blocking the exit. This creates a cozy tunnel. Set it in a tupperware container with a barrier to serve as an outworld, and place proteins and sugars in the outworld near the tube. They will forage if they are hungry. Move your colony into a formicarium when they are 25-50 workers strong.
Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

Keeping Tetramorium immigrans, Tapinoma Sessile

DCheezi
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:27 am
Location: UK

Re: Should I feed my new queen?

Post: # 65522Post DCheezi
Wed Nov 13, 2019 7:44 am

Definitely!! The workers need energy to forage, dig and work and the larva and queen need protein to grow and lay. Claustral specie queens don't need to be fed protein before their first batch of eggs, but then she would run out of wing muscles before long. It's possible the worker you saw died due to a lack of food, but your queen should still be alright if you feed the remaining worker and her. Also, with the digging outworld, I would wait until you have more workers like idahoantgirl says.
idahoantgirl wrote:
Mon Nov 11, 2019 11:09 pm
Get a plastic drinking straw, cut off a piece about and inch and a half long. Wedge it between the side of your test tube and the cotton blocking the exit. This creates a cozy tunnel. Set it in a tupperware container with a barrier to serve as an outworld, and place proteins and sugars in the outworld near the tube. They will forage if they are hungry. Move your colony into a formicarium when they are 25-50 workers strong.
Woah, never thought of making a straw tunnel in the test tubes. Genius :D
Keeper of founding L. Niger colony (~10 workers)
Keeper of founding M. Barbarus colony (20-30 media and minor workers) :)

kateroid
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:23 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: Should I feed my new queen?

Post: # 66466Post kateroid
Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:38 pm

you should check up on your ants daily. you should move in your colony when you have 20 workers and some brood then find a recipe for protein ant jelly and feed it to them

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