I don't know what to do, my queen is having problems.

[AdamRNeill23]

I woke up yesterday to grave news, my first, and only, worker had died. My queen is Lasius Neoniger, but she had stopped laying many eggs a while ago, and the eggs ended up scattered around the test tube. I found her June 27, and set her up in a test tube with the cotton ball and water. She laid eggs within a week, but only resulted in one worker. I have kept her in the test tube, waiting for more workers to hatch, but that hasn't happened. She has moved her eggs around several times in the last few months, but no more have hatched.
It has just snowed for the first time, but the ground isn't frozen yet. I am not sure what to do, should I wait for it to rain and release her so she can nest underground, or should I just try to give her the best life I can until she dies? I started providing tiny bits of food every 4 days starting 7 days after the worker emerged.
I am not sure what to do since this is my first queen.

[Elrichiz]

This is definetly stress, this is what you must do:

1. Put two or three tiny drops of honeywater or sugarwater.
2. Put a black paper or red cellophane around the test tube, then a clothe or rag on top of the test tube.
3. Put the queen in a ventilated and quiet place, there must not be vibrations or agressive movements in that place.
4. Look on the queen every 1 or 2 weeks.

This tips are the key for your colony to advance, good luck!

[AntsLuxembourg]

This is definetly stress, this is what you must do:

1. Put two or three tiny drops of honeywater or sugarwater.
2. Put a black paper or red cellophane around the test tube, then a clothe or rag on top of the test tube.
3. Put the queen in a ventilated and quiet place, there must not be vibrations or agressive movements in that place.
4. Look on the queen every 1 or 2 weeks.

This tips are the key for your colony to advance, good luck!

I can agree to these tips. To 1. I would add maybe a very small piece of an insect to provide the queen with some protein.

[AdamRNeill23]

This is definetly stress, this is what you must do:

1. Put two or three tiny drops of honeywater or sugarwater.
2. Put a black paper or red cellophane around the test tube, then a clothe or rag on top of the test tube.
3. Put the queen in a ventilated and quiet place, there must not be vibrations or agressive movements in that place.
4. Look on the queen every 1 or 2 weeks.

This tips are the key for your colony to advance, good luck!

I have been keeping her in my desk drawer which has no large gaps so it is nice and dark. I have been feeding her cooked pieces of meat and sugarwater (1 part sugar to 7 parts water) every 4 days, alternating between the two.

[Elrichiz]

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I have been keeping her in my desk drawer which has no large gaps so it is nice and dark. I have been feeding her cooked pieces of meat and sugarwater (1 part sugar to 7 parts water) every 4 days, alternating between the two.
[/quote]

I recommend to look on the queen every 1 or 2 weeks, checking on her too often leads to stress.

Greetings

[AntsLuxembourg]

I have been keeping her in my desk drawer which has no large gaps so it is nice and dark. I have been feeding her cooked pieces of meat and sugarwater (1 part sugar to 7 parts water) every 4 days, alternating between the two.

In your desk drawer?
Seems a bit of the wrong spot for me unless you never work on that desk nor does anybody else.

Plus cooked meat might not be the best choice. It's harder for ants to process meat / cut it into small pieces. Plus if it's seasoned or marinaded it might cause issues. You should get them some meal worms that you can keep in your fridge and feed them one half once per week and remove it after 3-4 days. Should be a healthier choice. If you don't want to offer insects you can offer a little bit of softboiled eggwhite. It should be better than offering a piece of meat. Just use an egg boiler or boil the egg for 5 minutes in a pot with boiling water.

[AdamRNeill23]

I have been keeping her in my desk drawer which has no large gaps so it is nice and dark. I have been feeding her cooked pieces of meat and sugarwater (1 part sugar to 7 parts water) every 4 days, alternating between the two.

In your desk drawer?
Seems a bit of the wrong spot for me unless you never work on that desk nor does anybody else.

Plus cooked meat might not be the best choice. It's harder for ants to process meat / cut it into small pieces. Plus if it's seasoned or marinaded it might cause issues. You should get them some meal worms that you can keep in your fridge and feed them one half once per week and remove it after 3-4 days. Should be a healthier choice. If you don't want to offer insects you can offer a little bit of softboiled eggwhite. It should be better than offering a piece of meat. Just use an egg boiler or boil the egg for 5 minutes in a pot with boiling water.

I have been feeding her plain cooked meat, no seasonings or anything. Thanks for the advice though, I really appreciate it.

[AntsLuxembourg]

Hm. Yeah I wouldn't recommend meat in general. Not to say it's super bad since the fire ants of AntsCanada are eating raw chicken that has been out in the open for days and smelled rotten and bad and all sorts of things, but if you can avoid it, avoid it. ^^
Ants probably prefer other insects over meat.

[AdamRNeill23]

Hm. Yeah I wouldn't recommend meat in general. Not to say it's super bad since the fire ants of AntsCanada are eating raw chicken that has been out in the open for days and smelled rotten and bad and all sorts of things, but if you can avoid it, avoid it. ^^
Ants probably prefer other insects over meat.

Should I feed her mealworms cut up?

[AntsLuxembourg]

Depending on the species it will make it much easier for them.