The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

Hello,
(New ant-keeper here)
Last fall I caught two queen ants which I believe to be Lasius flavus (I will confirm this once a decent amount of 2nd or 3rd generation workers are produced and I can capture one for keying out). They overwintered in a closet next to my garage in test tubes with cotton balls and water. Now, in springtime I see they both have laid eggs. However, one queen has laid approx 10-15 eggs, while the other seems to have laid almost double that amount. Both queens are basically the same size.

Is there a reason why would lay a different amount of eggs initially?
Is this a sign of one queen being more successful in the future (in terms of fecundity and egg-laying)?
Is this an omen of what can be expected from either queen in the future? Any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Glad to have found the forums.
Thanks, in advance!

Nope. They both lay about the same amount. Most of the eggs might be infertile and would never hatch. Don’t be alarmed tho. This is normal. Ant queens lay infertile eggs to provide a meal during the founding stages. So don't be confused if eggs are disappearing. Sometimes, out of a batch of 10, only one will be fertilized.
Your ants only shows that one queen is more hungry then the other and needs more eggs to eat. However this type of behavior is not caused by stress.
Still, you still don't want to check up on them too much.

AntLuvForever wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 10:57 am

Nope. They both lay about the same amount. Most of the eggs might be infertile and would never hatch. Don’t be alarmed tho. This is normal. Ant queens lay infertile eggs to provide a meal during the founding stages. So don't be confused if eggs are disappearing. Sometimes, out of a batch of 10, only one will be fertilized.
Your ants only shows that one queen is more hungry then the other and needs more eggs to eat. However this type of behavior is not caused by stress.
Still, you still don't want to check up on them too much.

That is not necessarily the case it is not like all queens of the same species will lay the same amount of eggs. Some will just be more successful, but usually only more successful in the founding stage.

This is a big help. Thank you.
So right now, I'm planning on checking them about once a week --is that too much? I have them in test tubes, as I've said, but now they are covered in aluminum foil. I also brought them upstairs to where the temperature is noticeably warmer (mid 70's usually). I figured this would help with the development of the eggs.

Is checking on them once a week ok, or still too much?

That’s okay. The longer without checking the better, but checking once a week is good enough.

AM1C39 wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 11:56 am

AntLuvForever wrote: ↑

Wed May 05, 2021 10:57 am

Nope. They both lay about the same amount. Most of the eggs might be infertile and would never hatch. Don’t be alarmed tho. This is normal. Ant queens lay infertile eggs to provide a meal during the founding stages. So don't be confused if eggs are disappearing. Sometimes, out of a batch of 10, only one will be fertilized.
Your ants only shows that one queen is more hungry then the other and needs more eggs to eat. However this type of behavior is not caused by stress.
Still, you still don't want to check up on them too much.

That is not necessarily the case it is not like all queens of the same species will lay the same amount of eggs. Some will just be more successful, but usually only more successful in the founding stage.

Oh really? I read about it tho...
See?
https://ibb.co/NtrwQNm

Not all species do that.

I can testify to that my winter ants have different size egg clutches and i have 3 of them, the 2 Un-winged queens have different amounts one has around 10 eggs the other has almost 15, and the winged queen started off with 5 and is up to 10ish now.

Great info provided. Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

An update: When I checked the two queens this weekend, the one that had laid the most eggs, now has several larvae in different stages of development present. The other queen (the one that laid fewer eggs), has now laid many more (upwards of 25 eggs it would seem) --however, they all just appear to be eggs. No indication that any of them are hatched larvae.

If the one queen has brood already developing (in different sizes and stages) and they were both caught at the same time, is this an indication that the queen without brood (eggs only) is infertile?

Would an infertile queen continue to lay eggs?

I've heard you really only know if a queen has been fertilized once the workers grow up and you see that they are not males.