A few weeks ago I received this M. mimicus queen from a buddy in Tucson. At the time she already had a good batch of eggs, but she would actually go on to eat most of them when I added sand to the test tube.
![IMG 20200804 180950968 IMG 20200804 180950968](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_1883/gallery_3235_1883_841.jpg)
Despite the bit of cannibalism it caused, the addition of sand was definitely the right move. She quickly laid many more eggs right afterwards, and from there I left her totally in the dark for around 3 weeks. I did peek at her every once in a while, but not enough to really do anything other than make sure she was still alive. After a while, though, I decided to check on her brood, and boy did she have a lot, including her first pupa!
![IMG 20200826 105710771 IMG 20200826 105710771](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_1883/gallery_3235_1883_34212.jpg)
![IMG 20200826 105722384 IMG 20200826 105722384](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_1883/gallery_3235_1883_15122.jpg)
I'm pretty sure in that pic she had 1 pupa, 16-17 larvae, and over 20 eggs. For a founding queen, that's pretty impressive. I've only seen Pheidole and Solenopsis do that well.
Another week and a half or so from when she got her first pupa, she followed up with 10 more, meaning she has a total of 11 pupae as of right now. The first one should hopefully eclose within a week or two, with the rest following suit. I don't see anymore large larvae, so it's safe to assume that (if she lasts that long) she'll be getting 11 nanitics. I've got a mini hearth XL prepped for when all 11 eclose, and will be moving them into it at that point.
![IMG 20200904 121951090 IMG 20200904 121951090](https://www.formiculture.com/uploads/gallery/album_1883/gallery_3235_1883_97331.jpg)
Edited by CheetoLord02, August 4 2021 - 10:49 AM.