earlyer today i was following a trail of black ants and found that they were at war with a Lasius * flavus colony (i think i am not good at identfying ants yet) when i saw underneath a dirtclot a massive redish ant what makes me say that it is a queen is that her thorax is extreamly big compared to other Lasius *flavus ants and that she is huge but also i can see 2 little bumps on the thorax were wings might have been but what i was wondering is what should i do for her i put her into a plastic container (temporary) but what size tank should i put her in and how long will she live and what kinds of food should i give her right now she is living off of sugar water thanks for any and all help :)
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If she has wings she will not be fertile you should put her back to the nest she was in and which country do you live in if its in the UK I dont think they have had there nupital flight yet ;)
i live in the usa and i did not find her in a nest from the looks of it she was running from black ants and no she does not have her wings but i looked her up on the internet from what i have seen her abdomen is half the size it should be
o and if my grandma wish's to destroy the ant colonys in her garden but said i can dig around in the garden (no plants yet to early) should i try to take the queens from the ant colonies? i do have piror experence with queen extraction i mean a shot at keeping a colony going or total anilation via poisons
Can you put up a picture of this L asius flavus queen?
If it is really L. flavus, they are very easy to keep, but you need to know some basics about ant keeping. E.g. you should know ants can not live by sugar water. Read the "Care sheet" there: http://www.antstore.net/viewtopic.php?t=6355&start=0
and follow instructions.
i just found that same care sheet not to long ago and i now i have to get some bug for her to munch on but which kind should i get her i have had luck feeding grubs to other ants both of and not of her kind would they be a good thing to feed her?
Hello anquietas and welcome,
It is best to feed her small bugs(fruit fly for example). If the colony gets bigger you could feed larger bugs.
ty for the help i will do that one more thing like i stated earlyer my grandma is going to destroy all the ant colonies in her garden to save one i was able to dig up the queen and about 10 - 15 workers what should i do about her she i think is a l. flavus but her thorax and head are relly yellow more so than any pictures i have seen before but jw what should i do with her i have her in a contianer with a layer of dirt a centimeter thick a cotin ball with water and a honeydew mixture as well as some small buggs she has made a roof over her head and the workers -1 are all underground should i expect her to live long enough to start a new colony and transfer her to a more prement encloser? o and would a gel farm work cuz i heard they are cruel but i have also heard that they are the best for ants o and does antstore ship to the usa (excluding queens and ants)
Well, if they are building, they must think the place is okay. L. flavus is underground ant, so don't expect much activity above ground. But L. flavus queens are usually brown, maybe you found something other - try to make a photo.
i'll try it may take a while cuz like i said she did dig herself in
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Post from 5:33pm
she's to small to get a non fuzze photo without using any special carmas but i will see if i can find her on here or another site
Post from 5:37pm
she is a l. flavus (under shop - ant colonies - l. flavus - bottom picture)