I found a queen when it wasn't having it's nuptial flight

[Joeliamsullivan]

On February 15th I found a queen that I'm pretty sure is a cremogaster. There was still a thin layer of snow and I was searching for a winter ant colony so I could catch queens when their nuptial flight begins. When I turned over a rock I saw a queen mostly covered in dirt and seemed to have what appeared to be a thin layer of frost around it. I assumed that it was a winter ant and the nuptial flights had begun early. Once I got inside I discovered it was not and was as far as I could tell a cremogaster. I'm not sure what to do. Was it hibernating? If so why didn't it already have a started colony?

[AntsLuxembourg]

Alright so first of all. It would be helpful to get a picture for identification. As close and clear as possible. Second queens usually don't lay any eggs during hibernation since the eggs still need some heat to grow. Third if you know the exact species it will be much easier to find out what their behavior is. Sometimes they might lay eggs during winter but I would strongly doubt that. They just survive very long until winter is over and then lay eggs like crazy

[JoeHostile1]

A lot of ants hibernate before they start a colony. Specifically ants that fly late in the year before winter. I know Lasius neoniger usually hibernate before they lay eggs, but not always. I’m not sure when creamagastor fly in your area.

Or maybe the queen got kicked out of her burrow by rain/a predator/noise/vibration/poison ect and she had a few workers, but she had to leave them or they died.