Welcome to the Camponotus Crew!

[ArizonanAnts]

So it is really pouring here in AZ. Do you guys think that if I go out tomorrow I will find some late fliers? If so, what species do you think I will find. I'm hoping for Prenolepis Imparis.

Isn't it way too late in the year for nuptual flights?

You might be right. IDK. But maybe there is a chance, right?

[ArizonanAnts]

I finally have a second worker for my Crematogaster colony! She just was 'hatched' (it looked more like the queen was taking the mom approach at "get up you lazy kid it's time for school stop fighting me", picking her up and rotating her, prodding at her ) around 2am, and she is now slowly moving around the brood area.

Now let's see if I can even tell the two little girls apart once #2 gets her darker color in...

That is super cool! Do think there are more nanitics or those the only 2? I think you might get a little confused on which is which because my Dorymymex has two workers and I have no clue which one was born first.

[Kherafox]

I only have the two, and the second is so newly hatched, the older of the two is all over her, I think trying to make sure she's okay? Cleaning her off? I don't know. I'm thinking of going to get some crickets so I can feed them a lil' one just in case older sister is thinking younger is protein.

[Rockster]

Hello Camponotus crew, I posted an issue with my big head queen in a different area, but no responses? thought I would ask here. my queen is on her back, she is not dead, I can see her antenna moving, all eggs and larva are gone she is surrounded by her workers all seem to be trying to get her to move, some even pulling on her at times, this is really bumming me out! has anyone ever seen this before?

[Hawkeye]

Hello Camponotus crew, I posted an issue with my big head queen in a different area, but no responses? thought I would ask here. my queen is on her back, she is not dead, I can see her antenna moving, all eggs and larva are gone she is surrounded by her workers all seem to be trying to get her to move, some even pulling on her at times, this is really bumming me out! has anyone ever seen this before?

When my queens were suffering from a heatstroke they acted like that...

[Rockster]

it just got cold ( if you can call it cold here in southern florida) so I dont think its heat stroke, the workers now have her sideways on the wall, holding all her legs and pinning her to the wall?

[ArizonanAnts]

it just got cold ( if you can call it cold here in southern florida) so I dont think its heat stroke, the workers now have her sideways on the wall, holding all her legs and pinning her to the wall?

What is the temperature of the test tube right now? You can do this by putting a thermometer next to the tube.

[Rockster]

it just got cold ( if you can call it cold here in southern florida) so I dont think its heat stroke, the workers now have her sideways on the wall, holding all her legs and pinning her to the wall?

What is the temperature of the test tube right now? You can do this by putting a thermometer next to the tube.

shes in an AC mini formicarium, I have a heating cable in it, the one recomended for it, 1500 watt I believe, I added the cable because it got cold. they had 3 days of high 50's low 60's before I was able to get the cable, my other queens are liking the heat, they moved to a new chamber closer to the heat, but there didnt seem to be any change for the big headed ants as they are still all over the formicarium same as before the heat.
so to answer your question not sure? I dont have a way to check the temp at the moment, but I will get one and check.
its for sure not to hot, or at least it wasnt before the cable was added.she started this before it got cold, and the temp was high 80's day time and 70's at night.

[ArizonanAnts]

Okay. Try turning off the heating cable for 2 or 3 days and make sure your house doesn't go below 50F. Try this and see if it works. Sometimes it's good to let your ants go into hibernation. I really hope your queen feels better!

[Hawkeye]

First of all do big headed ants hibernate? Second this doesn't sound like hibernation behaviour. Especially since her workers are still actively trying to take care of her by the sound of it.

Thought a bit more about this. If none of the other ants in the nest display similar behaviour, it would be logical to rule out a general environmental variable like temperature. Especially since you'd expect the smaller worker ants to be much more susceptible to it than the larger queen.

Since ants feed each other out of their social stomachs a contaminant in their food supply seems unlikely too, though it can't be ruled out all together.

So that pretty much leads me to either genetics or a disease. Your queen might simply be built very frail, in which case it makes sense nature wouldn't want her to spread her genes (through alates later on) as it would weaken the species. Which would unfortunately mean that she will perish at some point. However:

She might have been susceptible to a contaminant in the food supply due to genetics, to which her offspring are less susceptible since part of their genes come from the male alate the queen mated with. (Hence I can't rule out food completely)

Finally, she might just be under the weather, having caught a disease. Stopping egg production, and basically shutting down (temporarily) will give her a better chance to fight off the infection. (+ She wouldn't want to lay infected eggs)
Humans pretty much do the same thing, though we might experience it differently. Curling up under a warm blanket, not going to work and pretty much sleep as much as you can, it all comes down to an overriding biological function of maximising your body's ability to fight off infections, viruses etc.

So I guess my advice is to keep the colony at a steady, comfortably warm temperature. If possible make sure your food supply is 100% free of contaminants like trace amounts of pesticides in honey for example. I'd refrain from offering wild caught insects, but offer boiled egg whites instead for the time being.
Maybe switch to sugar water or maple syrup for a week or two. Possibly even better would be to offer small pieces of fruit, so your ants get a dose of vitamins, anti oxidants etc. along with their natural sugars.
Then it's a waiting game to see if she recovers.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.