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Losing a queen in your room

Started By Manitobant , Sep 2 2020 5:06 PM

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14 replies to this topic

#1 Offline Manitobant - Posted September 2 2020 - 5:06 PM

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Today I was giving some pupae and callows to my parasitic lasius subglaber queen and she slipped out of the tube, which i proceeded to accidentally drop. I havent found her...


Has anyone else lost a queen in their room? If so feel free to share your story.

Edited by Manitobant, September 2 2020 - 5:07 PM.

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My journals:

Polyergus Mexicanus: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry175528
Lasius minutus: https://www.formicul...cs/#entry174811
Lasius latipes: https://www.formicul...gs/#entry206449
General acanthomyops journal: https://www.formicul...yops-with-eggs/

#2 Offline Temperateants - Posted September 2 2020 - 5:25 PM

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Oh... twice. Why I don't raise ants in my room now. I found a tetramorium looking queen in October (super weird) and it escaped out of one of my test tubes. I looked around, and saw her crushed under a piece of paper. I lost a lasius queen while transfering her from a catching container to a test tube setup. Next thing I know, I find her crushed in a notebook. Lessons:

Don't ant in your room or places with a lot of hidden surfaces and coverings

Queens are slow, don't panic if they fall somewhere

Be careful with your queens. Something I like to do when manually moving colonies and even just for casual feedings is putting a thin white poster board under, so I can keep track of escapees and other stuff. Basically nullifying the ants camoflage. Make sure you also have adequate lighting, so sunlight or a large LED lamp works well. Another reason to probably not ant in your room.

By the way, these incidents happened 1-2 years ago, I have learned from my failures obviously.


Edited by Temperateants, September 2 2020 - 5:25 PM.

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#3 Offline TechAnt - Posted September 2 2020 - 5:31 PM

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Oh no, I only keep my ants in my room because there is nowhere else to put them. The room has a carpet too, so if I lose a small Queen I never will find it..
Anyways, I never have lost a queen, but when I was transferring a M. mexicanus to a new test tube she fell out onto the carpeted floor. She darted onto a side of a box I keep some of my ant supplies in. But I managed to nudge her into the new tube. It was a close call as she could have gone into the closet next to the box which was opened at the time and I never would have been able to find her in there.
My Ants:
(x1) Campontous semitstaceus ~20 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Camponotus vicinus ~10 workers, 1 Queen (all black variety)
(x1) Tetramorium immigrans ~100 workers, 1 Queen
(x1) Myrmercocystus mexicanus -1 Queen
(x2) Mymercocystus mimcus -1 Queen
(x1) Mymercocystus testaceus ~45 workers, 1 Queen

#4 Offline NickAnter - Posted September 2 2020 - 6:45 PM

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Well.......

Once my late Temnothorax colony escaped into the sides of a cardboard box that covered their tube. Yeah that was a disaster.

Before that I lost a Cardiocondyla queen on the floor.

And the single Strumigenys queen I have ever seen seemingly disappeared from her tube in my room. Yeah I was really, really bummed.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#5 Offline Spazmops - Posted September 2 2020 - 6:55 PM

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I had a Lasius queen dig through her cotton and escape. Still haven’t found her.


Co-owner and founder of Mountain Myrmeculture and The Menagerie Discord Server. 

Ants I have:

1 Formica fusca group- 0 workers

1 Tetramorium immigrans colony-20 workers

1 Dorymyrmex insanus- 1 queen, used to have workers

 

1 large P. occidentalis colony- around 50 workers, plenty of brood

 

 

#6 Offline ponerinecat - Posted September 2 2020 - 7:55 PM

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How about losing a mature colony  :lol:  Still see workers wandering around sometimes.


Well.......

Once my late Temnothorax colony escaped into the sides of a cardboard box that covered their tube. Yeah that was a disaster.

Before that I lost a Cardiocondyla queen on the floor.

And the single Strumigenys queen I have ever seen seemingly disappeared from her tube in my room. Yeah I was really, really bummed.

oh dang, what species was the strumi?


#7 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted September 3 2020 - 5:12 AM

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I lost a C. nearcticus queen in my room and found her a couple days later in my bathroom.

#8 Offline Temperateants - Posted September 3 2020 - 6:31 AM

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I lost a C. nearcticus queen in my room and found her a couple days later in my bathroom.

I had a Camponotus queen escape in my room and appear out of the vents when my dad turned on the AC lol.


Check out my Youtube Channel! https://www.youtube....xh-HaScAuE5CShQ

Check out my Crematogaster Journal! https://www.formicul...e-2#entry141180

 

 

#9 Offline NickAnter - Posted September 3 2020 - 7:07 AM

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How about losing a mature colony  :lol:  Still see workers wandering around sometimes.


Well.......

Once my late Temnothorax colony escaped into the sides of a cardboard box that covered their tube. Yeah that was a disaster.

Before that I lost a Cardiocondyla queen on the floor.

And the single Strumigenys queen I have ever seen seemingly disappeared from her tube in my room. Yeah I was really, really bummed.

oh dang, what species was the strumi?

I am not sure, as it was July of last year, and I was no where near as good at making an ID, or taking half decent pictures, so I never found out. Probably membranifera, as they are the most common, the only thing was it was an alate that had clearly flown, so that made that slightly less likely.


Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies. 

However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:

Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant). 

#10 Offline Antkeeper01 - Posted September 3 2020 - 11:51 AM

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I lost 4 pavement ant queens in my room


1X Pogonomyrmex occidentalis 40-50 Workers

1X Solenopsis molesta 10 Workers (mono)

Ants I Want: Crematogaster sp, Camponotus Sp., Ponera Pennsylvanica, Mymercocystus sp.

 

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#11 Offline Antkid12 - Posted September 3 2020 - 2:17 PM

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A few temnothorax slipped out of their test tubes into my room. luckily I found 1 but the rest were never seen again.


Edited by Antkid12, September 3 2020 - 2:18 PM.

Ants I have: Tapinoma sessile(2 queen colony). RED MORPH Camponotus neacticus(now has pupae!), Tetramorium immigrans (x3), Aphaenogaster sp, Temnothorax sp, Brachymyrmex sp.   possibly infertile   :(,  Ponera pennsylvanica, and Pheidole morrisi!  :yahoo: 

 

Other insects: Polistes sp. Queen

                    

Ants I need: Pheidole sp., Trachymyrmex sp., Crematogaster cerasi , Dorymyrmex sp. Most wanted: Pheidole morrisii

 

                    

                   

 

 

#12 Offline RD.newbie - Posted December 8 2023 - 7:34 PM

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My Camponotus Queen escaped through the cotton while I was on a trip, I was bummed but basically forgot about it. Recently about 2 months after she escaped, I found her just walking around in the floor of my room.


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#13 Offline Locness - Posted December 9 2023 - 1:27 PM

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Try vacuuming the room. She should hopefully survive getting sucked up.

#14 Offline M_Ants - Posted December 9 2023 - 3:47 PM

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I lost my parasitic lasius queen. She was found a few days later still alive in a bathroom. Unfortunately my floor is deadly due to my dogs flea medicine and she died later because of this. 


Veromessor pergandei

Veromessor andrei

Crematogaster sp. 

Pogonomyrmex cf cali and rugosus

Various Pheidole

C. yogi 

https://www.youtube....FG7utFVBA/about

#15 Offline JesseTheAntKid - Posted December 14 2023 - 5:39 PM

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Yeah actually. I think it was a tetra bicarinatum or cardiocondyla emeryi queen, but anyway, i had picked her up after she was assaulted by tetramorium bicarinatum workers. I was hurriedly rushing to get her a test tube and dropped her. I never found her. She probably got spiked. Poor t bicarinatum queen


Currently keeping: Pheidole obscurithorax (FINALLY I CAN STUDY THEM AND HAVE THEIR COOL MAJORS  B)), Tetramorium bicarinatum, Solenopsis spp. (probably xyloni, the queens are tiny hehe)

Wanting: Atta texana, Camponotus planatus (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HOOK ME UP WITH ATTA)

Previously kept: Monomorium minimum, Pheidole dentata

 

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