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First bumblebee queens of the year

Started By ANTdrew , Mar 14 2020 7:01 AM

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83 replies to this topic

#81 Offline DRpepper - Posted April 17 2023 - 5:26 AM

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The tricky part is getting fresh bee pollen to feed the queen before her workers start foraging. That’s why I’ve never tried it. I don’t have time to visit 400 flowers a day.

you could buy pollen from a beekeeper. 


#82 Offline ANTdrew - Posted March 27 2025 - 10:20 AM

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I spotted the first Bombus bimaculatus queen in my yard! I saw my first one of the year last week outside the school I work at.

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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#83 Offline OwlThatLikesAnts - Posted March 27 2025 - 5:45 PM

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How can you tell the queens apart? Are they just bulkier? I know that the queens first hibernate and then start a nest, but do the workers survive winter too?


Currently keeping:

 

1x Formica subsericea, 35-40 workers + maybe eggs

1x Crematogaster cerasi, only queen now, workers ded   :facepalm:*internal screaming*

1x Myrmica ruba sp around 10 workers + pupa

*New* 1x  founding Camponotus pennsylvanicus + eggs that die (probably infertile)

*New* 2x Camponotus nova, one is infertile

*As you watch your ants march, remember that every thing begins with a small step and continued by diligence and shared dreams*

-A.T (which is Me)

 

#84 Offline ANTdrew - Posted March 28 2025 - 10:34 AM

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Workers die in the winter. The only bumblebees one would see this time of year are queens. They are also much bulkier.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
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