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hcunity: Lasius niger ant queen not laying eggs (1. Dez 2014 17:18)

HI everyone
I got my ant starter pack from antstore excatly 1 year ago.
In test tube there was a queen and several workers no eggs. Ive placed them with open tube into froaging area so they can move out eventually but its never happend.
Workers did explore all the area Ive noticed they had cary food for the queen and fed her. Months pass by and there was not a single egg and workers started to vanish 1 by 1.
I moved queen to the nesting area with remain workers and, she dug in into soil and thats it.
After a year now there is not a single worker just a buried queen in the soil.
Can some explain this phenomenon?
Is that mean queen was not fertilized?
Thanks for any thoughts and ideas

GvG: Re: Lasius niger ant queen not laying eggs (2. Dez 2014 19:16)

It can be many things. I allways try to keep it simple for starting queens and small colonies. Just a testtube and when they have more than 10 workers a small outworld. I try to avoid stress, so I keep them dark and i try to check them as little as possible. I feed a small colony a small fruitfly every few days. Sometimes a small drop of sugarwater.

What did you feed them?

The chance your queen will be able to raise workers again is very small.

Edit :
Her being unfertilized is unlikely, since she had workers. Unless antstore sold a unfertilized queen with workers from another queen. Which is, like i said, unlikely.

You bought them exactly one year ago, you said. So you recieved them in December. That is the time my Lasius niger colonies are in hibernation. A good hibernation increases the health of your colony. Did you let your ants hibernate?

hcunity: Re: Lasius niger ant queen not laying eggs (3. Dez 2014 15:49)

thanks GvG
When i got the ants i kept them in a room temperature, I fed them tiny drop of honey water and tiny piece of cooked chicken they liked the most, ive tried give tiny fly but they ignored it.
well tanks for your thoughts
preciate,
so next time should I keep colony in the tube until queen start laying egs? in the dark and cooler place for a winter?