Hi fellow hobbyist. I have been quite unfortunate as an ant-keeper to my favorite species of ant, the trapjaw.
I currently have 4 queens in at standard test tube setup with soil bits, 3 of which have eggs. Now the puzzling thing is i do not see the eggs growing to larvae even though i have them for more than a month now. These queens are fed cut-up crickets once every 3-4 days, kept in a dark storage room where they are only moved when fed/to remove food waste.
The oldest queen I have was caught in Feb 2021, that is close to 5 months already. And her eggs still appear like tiny specks.
My questions are:
1. Are all my queens infertile? My definition of infertile means mated but biologically not laying eggs that will develop to larvae.
or
2. Are my queens not mated? If so wouldn't they die off since the instinct to grow a colony ends with their inability to reproduce?
or
3. The setup is inhabitable such that stress is causing them to eat the eggs.
I appreciate any help given or insights to what I can learn on. I currently live in Singapore where the climate is hot and humid.
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