ANTSTORE World of Ants

[irishantman]

I have a small Lasius niger colony since last year housed in sand loam farm. Few days ago I found what looks like the abdomen of a queen on the surface of the nest. I am concerned she is dead, but because they have nested in the sand I have no way of knowing if the queen is dead or not. Obviously I don't want to dig the nest up so is there any non invasive way I could check to see if she still lives? Any ideas appreciated, thanks.

[Uncletommy]

Can you expand on what setup you have - is it a thin tower or a basin with sand in? Only way is to look, if you can't see you'll just have to hope she's alive. Never dig out the nest, it will disrupt their activity and likely kill the queen anyway.

[maerbinger]

Take a look at the activity of your workers! Do they already have interest for insects, they have to feed their breed and maybe the queen! Without queen no breed!
Good luck!

[mati]

Did you feed anything with a similar abdomen and could it be leftovers from the feast?
I had the same fear once, only to remember I had fed the colony a fly I'd caught in the kitchen some time before. Since I hardly ever feed flies, I didn't think of this. (Still, I was more than happy to later actually see my queen in good health.)
Best of luck for yours!