ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Ant mad]

I have had my Pheidole pallidula for quite some time from 1 queen and 25 workers to approx 350-400 workers it was going well, now over night i have less than 100 workers mabey less than 50 (hard to count) so does anyone have any idea what could of happened?
Thanks

[JimmyVe]

In what kind of nest are you keeping them ? The workers will die very soon if the nest is not moist enough. That is the biggest problem you can have with this species. It could take out a hole colony in one day.

[Ant mad]

they are being kept in a soil nest and have been there since i got them and yes the soil is always moist and they have a water supply, which made me wonder?
Thanks

[kashmir79]

possibly an escape. pheidole are pests for escaping ?

can you actualy see all the dead ones or are they missing ?

[Ant mad]

i can see all the dead but queen is still doing ok which is good
i have never actualy seen an escape fingers crossed.
Thanks

[JimmyVe]

Maybe there is some bacteria in the soil ore a kind of sickness in the colony. It is hard to tell, keep a good watch on them. If more begin to die (again) it could be best to give them a new farm.

[Ant mad]

i getting a new farm built at the moment.
queen is still ok, laying lots of eggs which is always good.
there is something esle in there but i don't know what it is, looks like it could be some form of mould but they don't seem to mind it?(tiny little white blobs?)
Thanks

[kashmir79]

white blobs= Mites which kill ants, or Mould which kills ants. get the queen out it will kill her eventually. the mites live off the ants and slowly kills the ants. it could happen to your queen.

[JimmyVe]

If it are mites, the white mites don't harm the ants. It are black (or in some cases Red) mites that harm ants. The mites would be all over the dead ants (on there legs and stuff) If that was the reason i'm sure you already spotted it.

If it is mould... difficult to say, could be harmless but it also could be dangerous.
Are there new dead workers ?
Maybe it is best to move them to a new farm.

[Ant mad]

not mites because they don't move so must be mould.
no new dead ants from what i can see.
Thanks

[JimmyVe]

No new dead ants, that is a good sine, still i would consider giving them a new farm.

[Ant mad]

good news they have moved into a test tube and i will keep them in there til they get a bit bigger.
bad news is there was a lot of that white mold stuff smelt horrid
Thanks