ANTSTORE World of Ants

[zombiemoths]

I have Tetramorium caespitum. I set my ant farm up 5 days ago. The ants were still mainly inhabiting the delivery tube but yesterday, to my delight, the queen had left the tube. The other ants seemed to be fussing over her a bit but I assumed that's what ants do!! My boyfriend said he checked them last night and they were fine, just lazing about.

When I went to water my ants this morning I was shocked to find that my queens front half was in the tube and her bum was on the other side of the basin.

I don't understand why the ants would mutilate their own queen. Any suggestions????

Their other behaviour seems normal enough. I haven't really seen them eat but they do still have the tube with the fluid in so assume they get some sustenance from that. I have seen them find the water. Other than that they seem to just be moving sand into the tube. Oh and there seems to be a black mold?? growing on the cotton inside the tube. I'm not sure how that got in there but maybe that has something to do with it?

I am just a bit baffled and upset. The ant farm was a birthday present from my boyfriend. It's not even been my birthday yet and my queens reign has already come to an end

[Shiver]

I doubt the workers killed her, she probably died "naturally", from the stress of the move/temperature changes/a problem or chemical in your set up or many other possible causes.. They usually dismember the Queens when they die, not 100% why, perhaps easier to transport out the nest!?

If you are after another colony, I think a forum member called 'Andie' has a colony of Messor barbarus that he doesn't have space for at the minute, perhaps you could contact him and check if that is the case and go from there..

[zombiemoths]

Amazing thank you.

I have been looking online trying to figure out why my ants would kill there only queen, with no luck. But that makes sense, thanks

Humm so it would be temperature changes, 1 due to the post office who retardedly put my boyfriends name down as 'Herr' (being Mr in German) so my ants were left in a freezing cold warehouse over the weekend until the post office were made to realise they had made a mistake. 2- Instead of using the heater we bought from ant world (which ended up being an aquarium one so can only use submerged) we had to rely on the radiator and our ability to judge when to turn it on and off.

Or it could be the mold that seems to be growing in the delivery tube which I will be asking ant store about.

Or I did something else majorly wrong...Who knows.

I will get on to researching the Messor barbarus straight away to see if they would be suitable, and then try to hunt this dude down... thanks again. Kat.

[Shiver]

When I say temperature changes, I mean sudden and dramatic ones (like going from room temp, to near freezing and back to room temp, just causing stress rather than the actually temps being a problem), once they were at your house they just maybe didn't get over that intial postage stress!

Oh the mold/dirt I forgot to mention, it's pretty normal and usually not a problem, by the time it starts to become a problem the water in the test tube will probably be getting low anyway and they'll need a new one offering (so they can move themselves)

Unfortunately he's just posted in another thread that the colony has gone now! I would keep an eye out in the 'marketplace' section of the forum though as there are quite often UK users trying to sell which saves you a lot in postage

[Pugberto]

What you have on your hands is mutiny, this is very serious in ant farming. You may have given them printed type, this means that they can share views through petitions and news letters. One ant in there has caused a stir with her controversial views and now must be silenced. Talk to certain ants and see if they will be swayed into working for your new secret service.

FOR THE EMPIRE!