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Food help for Camponatus Queens

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 10:54 pm
by HelixHelix
Hello! This topic prolly dovetails into keeping too, since I'm new, but my queens haven't been doing well. Workers have been dying and they have no new eggs. Both queens look lethargic too... :(

Well, I've been giving them small pieces of fruit, and trying to clean the area I feed them too. (As soon as there were 3 ants hatched my mom basically shoehorned me to god be them an out world). What should I supply for protein? Both are extremely small, so crickets and such would be wasteful. Flies, perhaps? And how frequently should I feed?

I would love to get the queens healthy again and laying, but I'm also afraid my mother might be stressing them out by constantly checking on them.

Re: Food help for Camponatus Queens

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 4:53 pm
by YSTheAnt
I would recommend pinhead crickets (the really small ones), fruit flies, and mealworm segments. I would avoid flies as they can carry insectisides and can be parasitic, and are dangerous to feed to your colonies.

The reason for lethargy is probably lack of sugar or moisture, or maybe they are just trying to hibernate. As for eggs and brood, my camponotus stopped larva development already because it's close to hibernation and egg laying also stops and or slows down at this time.

Re: Food help for Camponatus Queens

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 7:29 am
by HelixHelix
@YSTheAnt

Oh! I actually didn't consider hibernation, as the room I keep them in has been dipping into the 70s and high 60s (a good hibernation temp prolly).

As for feed, I actually gave them fruit flies! They responded very well, but surprisingly cucumbers are a favorite! The flies are safe, to my know-how, since they're from culture in my university (perks of working in the genetics labs). If they are compromised, I'd know.

Re: Food help for Camponatus Queens

Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 5:26 pm
by YSTheAnt
Yeah, your flies are probably safe then. Also, temp doesn't always trigger hibernation. Mine decided to start hibernating end of August when time was still round eighty degrees some days. They have minds of their own...