5 replies to this topic

[Jimmydave937911]

Hi all,

Quick question but quite important. After doing some landscaping in the garden over the last few weeks, I have caught 7 queens quite shallow in the ground just under the grass.
Now I believe these are probably queens from last year that are just in their intial burial chamber.
Now here’s my problem, I’m guessing at the time when I dug the queens up there could have been eggs or even a few workers around them but all I did was transfer the queens to test tubes. So even though Lasius Niger queens are fully claustral, am I right in saying they will have now used up their muscle reserves and will have to be fed?
As a precaution I’ve already fed them all sugar water and about a week later some chicken. But wanted to know if this is necessary or just a bonus?

Thanks guys...

[ANTdrew]

I think feeding them sugars and protein was a good idea. Getting them insect protein would be even better. Another thing you could consider is boosting them with some pupae or larvae from a wild colony.

[Jimmydave937911]

ANTdrew, thanks for the reply. Would the queen not reject the pupae/larvae though as it is not her own? When you say insect protein, what do you suggest? I have heard people talk about spiders legs a lot but surely they can’t draw much from that? Or can they?

[AntsDakota]

ANTdrew, thanks for the reply. Would the queen not reject the pupae/larvae though as it is not her own? When you say insect protein, what do you suggest? I have heard people talk about spiders legs a lot but surely they can’t draw much from that? Or can they?

Ants will most likely accept foreign brood, even from different species, as they can’t tell the difference. And as far as feeding goes, any colony would be fine with feeder insects normally given to reptiles, such as fruit flies (preferable for a small colony), mealworms, superworms, feeder cockroaches, etc.

[Jimmydave937911]

Thanks for that Dakota. As I mentioned I have 7 Lasius queens all of which have now laid eggs. I have just received some raw honey in the post so going forward was going to give them the honey one week and then mealworm/cricket the next. Would that be ok for just the queen? Obviously giving them in very small portions. Just looked online and can get some 25-30mm mealworms, would it be ok to just stick one of these in to each of the queens?

[ANTdrew]

Only feed them once as a boost if you feel they are weakened or compromised due to collection. A small segment of mealworm sliced would be sufficient.