How do I tell if there's a egg?

[Tjmcnee]

It has been 5 days since I captured a Queen ant... How do I tell if my queen ant layed an egg if they are so small? I don't want to disturb her by getting too close. Do I wait into they turn into larve? I need to know before I capture another. Thanks very much!

[Boomdale]

The best option is to wait. Wait a week, check again if you need to. That is what I have done so far. Check once a day the first couple days to make sure they aren’t dead, then wait a week and check again. They are hard to see put if the queen keeps going back to one spot and hovering then she probably has some. The week difference is also helpful to let her relax and start popping out some kids. Let me know if she starts laying!

[idahoantgirl]

Catch more anyways since the likelyhood of your first queen dying is fairly high. Its always good to have backup colonies.

[JoeHostile1]

Usually they lay eggs in batches. So you’re not looking for a single egg. You’re looking for a small pile of eggs. Helps if you keep the test tube clean and if you put coloured paper underneath the test tube to help contrast with the white eggs.

[Tjmcnee]

Thanks for the advice! I was searching for another queen yesterday, but failed to do so. But I checked on the Queen Ant again.. Because It wasn’t facing me, I saw a little white bundle of eggs in her gaster! She seemed calm and alive. Hopefully she makes it.

[Tsutsu]

They might look like tiny white specks almost, depending on the species . My very first queen's brood just developed into ants and I mistook the eggs for poop at first, they were so tiny. Over time they hatched and grew, but as others have said, it's a process that takes several weeks. The eggs from my velvety tree ant queen took about a month to develop into little ants.

[Tjmcnee]

Finally she layed an egg! It looks larger than I expected, almost larvae size! It must been there for abit. I’. So happy! Thanks everyone.