8 replies to this topic

[AntPhycho]

Hey, I have been hearing a lot about brood boosting, I was just wondering, what is brood boosting, and how do you do it?

[T.C.]

The following is NOT my content.

" it's when you take eggs (if you have only a queen), larva, pupae, from another nest (just those not the workers) and place them into your nest to boost the number. Most cases the existing colony will adopt them as their own thus increasing your colony faster. Like I said if you only have a queen you can only do the eggs and that because the other stages of growth require works to tend to and feed them."

[AntPhycho]

Oh ok, how would you ever get the brood? I mean ant larvae in established colony can be super deep underground.

[FeedTheAnts]

Oh ok, how would you ever get the brood? I mean ant larvae in established colony can be super deep underground.

It's kind of a luck sort of thing, just look a lot. It also depends on the species, camponotus brood are really easy to get.

[Stroomschok]

Oh ok, how would you ever get the brood? I mean ant larvae in established colony can be super deep underground.

 

Actually, brood is typically kept where it's warmer. I particular the pupae are kept in the places of the nest where it's the warmest and most dry. Often this means right under the rocks or wood layers that are on the surface and get a lot of sunlight.

[Shaye]

The following is NOT my content.
" it's when you take eggs (if you have only a queen), larva, pupae, from another nest (just those not the workers) and place them into your nest to boost the number. Most cases the existing colony will adopt them as their own thus increasing your colony faster. Like I said if you only have a queen you can only do the eggs and that because the other stages of growth require works to tend to and feed them."

Wait.. What? You can boost larvae and pupae for a single queen though. Pupae is averagely what is boosted with. I don't really think people boost queens with eggs..

[Barristan]

You can boost with eggs and larvae but I'd only boost with pupae. The purpose of boosting is to help a founding queen so that she'll have workers faster. If you boost with eggs and larvae you won't help her at all since she has to feed the larvae and therefore spend precious resources she brought from her "mother colony". Pupae however don't require any food, so the queen will get workers for free.

 

But make sure too boost with worker pupae. I saw a lot of pictures in various forums people posted which showed pupae of queens. These won't help but harm the colony since the young queens need food and won't provide any benefit.

[T.C.]

 

The following is NOT my content.
" it's when you take eggs (if you have only a queen), larva, pupae, from another nest (just those not the workers) and place them into your nest to boost the number. Most cases the existing colony will adopt them as their own thus increasing your colony faster. Like I said if you only have a queen you can only do the eggs and that because the other stages of growth require works to tend to and feed them."

Wait.. What? You can boost larvae and pupae for a single queen though. Pupae is averagely what is boosted with. I don't really think people boost queens with eggs..

 

I wouldn't recommend it. The queen only has enough reserves in her body to take care of so much brood in the founding process.

 

 

You can boost with eggs and larvae but I'd only boost with pupae. The purpose of boosting is to help a founding queen so that she'll have workers faster. If you boost with eggs and larvae you won't help her at all since she has to feed the larvae and therefore spend precious resources she brought from her "mother colony". Pupae however don't require any food, so the queen will get workers for free.

 

But make sure too boost with worker pupae. I saw a lot of pictures in various forums people posted which showed pupae of queens. These won't help but harm the colony since the young queens need food and won't provide any benefit.

This too.It can be difficult to tell for new people in the hobby, but I have found, colonies will keep their alate brood seperated from their worker brood

[Shaye]

The following is NOT my content.
" it's when you take eggs (if you have only a queen), larva, pupae, from another nest (just those not the workers) and place them into your nest to boost the number. Most cases the existing colony will adopt them as their own thus increasing your colony faster. Like I said if you only have a queen you can only do the eggs and that because the other stages of growth require works to tend to and feed them."

Wait.. What? You can boost larvae and pupae for a single queen though. Pupae is averagely what is boosted with. I don't really think people boost queens with eggs..

I wouldn't recommend it. The queen only has enough reserves in her body to take care of so much brood in the founding process.

I'm really not sure what you are trying to say. In your original statement, you used someone's text and claimed that it was not yours (yet in posting it you partially claimed it as your answer, and that answer was utterly confusing and wrong).
Please re-read it if you disagree. In your second reply, to me saying that you actually can boost with pupae and larvae, you said you did not recommend it because the queen only has so much 'reserves'. That would be an excellent point if you were to give her an insane amount of larvae & were not feeding her (which I did not mean), but your statement did not even separate a response to larvae and pupae. Pupae do not take any work until they eclose. Your original response claimed that eggs were ideal for single queens, yet eggs will claim the most time and resources from the queen in the end.

Edited by Shaye, September 7 2017 - 1:33 PM.