2 replies to this topic

[ZTYguy]

So I have had a colony of these for some time now and I can’t quite figure out why they are supposedly so hard to keep. I got these guys as a small little 5 nanitic colony and they have had a steady growth and eat like beasts. The reason why I am asking this is because they were my second ever colony. 

Edited by ZTYguy, October 26 2020 - 7:34 AM.

[OhNoNotAgain]

I suspect it's because the queens have a reputation for dying BEFORE getting to having 5 workers.

The consensus before this year was like a 3 in 4 loss rate - "buy at least 4-5 queens" has been the advice, unless buying an established colony.

This year people have done very well with the queens, especially those who collected lots of queens and have kept them in the months since then. My own rate has been pathetically bad, probably because I didn't have appropriate heat until pretty late, and also probably from shipping stress (a couple of them died within days of arriving).

 

Once they have a good number of workers, they do not have a reputation for dying, except that they are notoriously difficult to move. You can find videos of Nurbs showing how he moves the repletes.

[ZTYguy]

Thanks so much and I will check it out.