4 replies to this topic

[D-4057]

Hi everyone,

Today I noticed a worker ant near my flowerpot. After I gave it a drop of honey, it went under the pot and entered the soil through a small hole.

This made me suspicious that there might be a newly founded colony there. I carefully checked the soil and, to my surprise, I found a queen along with some brood.

I managed to collect the queen, about 5–6 workers, and a few larvae, and I placed them in a test tube setup.

My question is: Do you think they can survive and continue developing under these conditions?

Thanks!

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Edited by D-4057, August 18 2025 - 7:48 AM.

[antsriondel]

Hello D-4057, I am not one on identifying ants, so I'm not going to try for this one. However, I would ike to point out, this colony will need a proper test tube setup, with water and cotton balls. If you do this, I believe she could survive, but more information on how you collected her would also be helpful. 

[bmb1bee]

Considering that these are Pheidole, they should be fine since the genus is known to be pretty hardy. As antsriondel said, providing a proper test tube setup with water would be mandatory, as otherwise the ants would dessicate.

[RushmoreAnts]

When I bought my Pheidole bicarinata colony (no idea where you're from, so I can't give you a species, though that colony looks similar to bicarinata), its previous owner had neglected it so bad that it was cannibalizing its own brood. It had 12 workers, and they probably would've started dying if I didn't step in.

 

Less than year later, the colony has over 2,500 workers and is producing alates. Pheidole are indeed a hardy genus.

[D-4057]

When I bought my Pheidole bicarinata colony (no idea where you're from, so I can't give you a species, though that colony looks similar to bicarinata), its previous owner had neglected it so bad that it was cannibalizing its own brood. It had 12 workers, and they probably would've started dying if I didn't step in.

Less than year later, the colony has over 2,500 workers and is producing alates. Pheidole are indeed a hardy genus.

It has currently laid 3 new eggs.