ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Ant mad]

just walking up the path in my garden saw what i thought at first were just a few m.rubra workers but at a closer look there was 8 queens and 7 worker a few eggs but just that, but it was not as if they were moving from an old nest to a new nest just sitting there .
so i kept an eye on them for a while to make sure they weren't part of a nest and collected them.
but anyone have any idea why they might have just been sitting there?
p.s i will be adding them to my nest that ive already got. any tips since they are not hibernating?
Thanks

[JimmyVe]

Maybe they had to leave there nest. Its rather strange that 8 queens only have 7 workers. If you add them you your colony try to add one queen at a time. Wouldn't hurt if you could cool them down a bit.

[Ant mad]

i know that why i thought it was very strange just to see them sitting there. but normaly if any ant needs to leave an old nest they already have a new one ready or at lest just enough to get them queen(s) in.
yer ive done that cooled them down and will slowey add each one
thanks

[Ant mad]

opps sorry plz delete this post
thanks

[Eretikas]

How u people add new queens to another colony? I tried add one to my colony (Myrmica rubra), but ants just atacked her and tried to drag her out of the nest

[Cordovan]

You could try it by putting them into the fridge for a short time. The temperature will slow them down and until the temp goes up again, they will have the same "colony scent" and most likely won't attack each other.

Mind to keep them seperated in the fridge, e.g. with a mesh, so that the air can ventilate but the workers can't reach the new queen...

So far only read about this, but never tried it myself, so can't say for sure how long it will take without harming the ants...

[Ant mad]

well all they queens that i added are in the nest now but they are not being alowed near the other queen or the brood, where as the workers are acting like anyother worker.
i put them in the fridge for a while then added them.

[Eretikas]

Ok i will try, thanks

[Ant mad]

i put them in the fridge for 2 days before i added the queens then kept them in for another 2 days just to make sure.
but i still see some worker attacting the queens then suddenley stop and start cleaning them, but ive not had anydeaths (yet).

[Eretikas]

Oh, by the way what about temperature? I checked my fridge and it has 5, on celsius scale, highest temperature.

[Cordovan]

Do the new queens also lay eggs?

Just to give it a shot: If they do, they might be changing from oligogyny to polygyny as time goes by... At least from my opinion they should get the same scent if the live in the same nest...

[Ant mad]

well they are not laying eggs yet, but they are still being feed and cleaned, im hoping that they should get the same sent but dunno as of yet.
Eretikas: i did not look at what temperature my fridge was at but i would say around 5oC (approx)