2 replies to this topic

[FelixTheAnter]

I posted a few weeks ago about a worker acting erratic and then dying. Since then, two more workers died. I checked on them today and saw the queen was standing in an odd position. Looked closer and saw she was clearly dead, with her abdomen bursting with either mold or fungus.

I'm so freaking sad, I traveled over an hour just to pick this girl up with her original 6 workers and brood. She's been kept next to the couch so I could see her every day, she was definitely my favorite of all my ants.

Could this have been caused by eating mold a couple months ago? I had moved them into a new nest because they had dragged a mealworm into their test tube and it grew a dense yellow fuzzy mold.

Is this something I need to worry about my nearby ant colonies getting sick from?

Any idea what caused this?

Can get better photos later if needed, just let me know.

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[Manitobant]

Camponotus queens often die randomly for no apparent reason, much more than other genera. They also seem much more prone to fungal infections.

[ANTdrew]

I second this. It's amazing to me that they can even survive in the wild. Big, old colonies of Camponotus really are a miracle.