14 replies to this topic

[Croux]

Hello, I don't have any pictures of this, yet, but has anyone ever come across their queen laying on her back, not moving, or moving very slowly? Her appendages are not curled in, but splayed out into the air.


It looks like there is something very small and white attached to the side of her gaster, it's sort of oblong in shape and I'm not sure if somehow she got a parasite or mite?


The workers have surrounded her and have tried to move her a bit, to flip her over, but it doesn't seem to be working.


So I don't know if she is distressed or dying. I've tried not to disturb her, since she JUST laid some eggs, before this event.


I tried doing some research online, and cannot find anything to suggest what would cause her to just lay on her back.


This is the sole queen of a 2-year old colony of about 50 Prenolepis Imparis in Southern Ontario, Canada.


I'm suspecting that it's probably the end of the line, but I'm curious if anyone else has seen this.


Thanks.

Edited by Croux, June 24 2020 - 8:38 AM.

[AntsMaryland]

Depending on the size, that could easily be an egg, where she somehow fell on her back and is having trouble getting up. I would simply turn the test tube slowly (if housed in that) and she'll get up. If not, it may be the end of the line for her for some unknown reason, queens can pass away very suddenly sometimes. Hope this helps!

[Croux]

The white object was about a mm thick and went half the length of her gaster. So, I dunno.


She did end up moving to a tube recently, as the nest got a bit dry. I always keep a tube for humidity emergencies.


I've turned her over, slowly, while all the workers held onto her. Kept her from falling directly.


While she's not flailing around or moving actively, I've seen an occasional twitch. We'll see if she pulls through.


Thanks for the advice!

Edited by Croux, June 24 2020 - 9:36 AM.

[Croux]

Unfortunately, she has passed. Time to start anew, next year.

[Antkid12]

Better luck next time.

Edited by Antkid12, June 25 2020 - 5:42 AM.

[AntsDakota]

Fungus? Mite?

[Croux]

It looks parasitic, whatever it was, came from under the "folds" of the gaster, so to speak. So, she may have gotten something from the food or just had it for a while, I imagine.

[AntsDakota]

My guess would be fungus.

[Croux]

Any advice on how to avoid that, in future? I was pretty diligent in replacing the cotton substrate when it began to show signs of molding. However, I did house them with soil that was baked at 350F. Perhaps something grew form the soil? Was it perhaps too much moisture within the test tube or nest?

[AntsDakota]

Well, I think the best you can do is wash your hands before working around them.

[Croux]

Alright, thanks for all the advice.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Would love to see a photo for future reference.

Sorry about the queen

[gcsnelling]

Sounds more like a parasitic wasp or fly.

[Croux]

You're right, gcsnelling, I looked around and finally found out what it was.

Parasitic dipteran larva. Not sure how it got there, but that's what I pulled from the corpse.

[gcsnelling]

The egg was probably laid on /in her well before you collected her, would have been interesting to let it mature.