14 replies to this topic

[NikolaBale]

So i my two queens:Cataglyphis nodus and Formica rufa first i will start whit Cataglyphis...

I caught my Cataglyphis queen in fourth of july she layed eggs fairly quickly a week after capture the first workers came around a month after but she layed around 7 eggs but only 3 workers hatched the other larva just disappeared maybe half way throw idk what happened to them but i shared this info because i deemed it significant so anyway after the first workers came she did not lay a single egg to this day a month after she is feed well and has a lot of piece so i don't see the reason why she stopped because cataglyphis by the description of a lot of people that keeped them say that the grow rly fast in colony size so this kind of delay in a ant of this sort is rly worrying me.Later i saw to fix the problem myself but failed i put a tea spoon of sand in the test tube because i saw other people do it so i thought it maybe had to do whit her laying ability.

Next is my formica rufa now I'm not rly surprised whit this queen because f.rufa is  a very hard sp to keep so i never rly wondered why that much but still there must be a reason to this, the situation is very similar whit this queen exept all of the larva became workers exept for that i don't think further description is needed.Please if some of you know maybe a solution or a method i can try pls share these are my two favorite queens they where very difficult to find so i would be rly upset if this is not solved . 

 

 

Thank you!

[AntsMaryland]

First of all, please follow this rule on the forum,

 

7. Post in legible, coherent English, without excessive use of emoticons, slang, chat acronyms, or instant messenger shorthand.

 

Now to your questions,

 

you probably have not been feeding the colonies protein. Ant colonies need protein to feed the brood and for the queen to be able to lay eggs. Buy some flightless fruit flies off of amazon and start feeding them those. If you are feeding them protein than what probably is happening is you are keeping them in cold or air-conditioned places which can stop the queens laying eggs. Hope this helps. Best Regards!

 

-AntsMaryland

Edited by AntsMaryland, August 29 2017 - 5:00 AM.

[NikolaBale]

First of all, please follow this rule on the forum,

 

7. Post in legible, coherent English, without excessive use of emoticons, slang, chat acronyms, or instant messenger shorthand.

 

Now to your questions,

 

you probably have not been feeding the colonies protein. Ant colonies need protein to feed the brood and for the queen to be able to lay eggs. Buy some flightless fruit flies off of amazon and start feeding them those. If you are feeding them protein than what probably is happening is you are keeping them in cold or air-conditioned places which can stop the queens laying eggs. Hope this helps. Best Regards!

 

-AntsMaryland

I'm sorry about my english first of all but i gotta say you did not read the post well i said that i was feeding them well and i rly am protein in specific as for the temperature it is not cold at all it is a constant 28-30 degrees celsius so it can't possibly be that.

[AntsMaryland]

First of all, there was confusion for me as you did say you fed them well but I was not sure if you meant protein as well as carbohydrate. It was hard to read with all of the incoherent writing, but that's fine. Sorry for the confusion. As for the heat, that should be fine. May I ask if you are keeping your queens in a test tube set-up. If not, you might want to see if you can move them into that. What I suspect with both queens is that they are in a stressful area or they are being checked on too much. Are you keeping them in a dark place? How often do you check on the queens? Try only checking on them once a week when you are feeding them (they should only need to be fed once a week at the least judging by their numbers). I believe this might be the problem. Please let me know if this was any help. Please keep us updated on how the colony is doing. Best Regards!

 

-AntsMaryland

[AntsMaryland]

What I believe would be really helpful is if you took some pictures of your colonies and their set-ups and gave some descriptions on your routine of taking care of them. I might have an easier time zoning out the problem. I really want to help. Good Luck!

[NikolaBale]

What I believe would be really helpful is if you took some pictures of your colonies and their set-ups and gave some descriptions on your routine of taking care of them. I might have an easier time zoning out the problem. I really want to help. Good Luck!

I think pictures are not needed because they are being kept in a totaly regular test tube setup nothing out of the ordinary so there is rly nothing to see but anyway thank you for your help i will try not to disturb them too much and i will update them to you in a few weeks

[Serafine]

Formica rufa is a parasitic queen that cannot found colonies on it's own. It needs workers of a Serviformca ant, like Formica fusca. I highly doubt you have Formica rufa.

[NikolaBale]

[quote name="Serafine" post="70880" timestamp="1504023624"]

Formica rufa is a parasitic queen that cannot found colonies on it's own. It needs workers of a Serviformca ant, like Formica fusca. I highly doubt you have Formica rufa.[/quote) Dude i have formica rufa i know that she is a parasitic queen and I've actually succeeded in introducing the serviformica sp to her she layed 4 eggs and after a month and a half not a single egg anymore that was question i wouldn't be asking if i was not sure

[NikolaBale]

Formica rufa is a parasitic queen that cannot found colonies on it's own. It needs workers of a Serviformca ant, like Formica fusca. I highly doubt you have Formica rufa.

I am highly aware of the need of f.rufa and i have succeeded in introducing the serviformica workers so please if you have something useful to say reply.

[Shareallicu]

I am still learning about queen ants, so I could be wrong, but could your queens be stopping their egg laying to prepare for fall/winter?  My queen ant Formica Podzolica did not lay eggs all last fall and winter!   I figured it was a seasonal thing

Edited by Shareallicu, August 30 2017 - 11:24 AM.

[NikolaBale]

I am still learning about queen ants, so I could be wrong, but could your queens be stopping their egg laying to prepare for fall/winter? My queen ant Formica Podzolica did not lay eggs all last fall and winter! I figured it was a seasonal thing

Its possible but higly unlikely i have 4 other queens and their egg production is normal but thank you for anwsering anyway

[Jonathan21700]

Formica and I suppose Cataglyphis usually fully stop brood production at this time of the year and hibernate whit no brood. 

So yeah, everything seems fully normal to me.

Edited by Jonathan21700, August 31 2017 - 11:37 AM.

[NikolaBale]

Formica and I suppose Cataglyphis usually fully stop brood production at this time of the year and hibernate whit no brood. 

So yeah, everything seems fully normal to me.

Are you sure tho?At this time of year here where i am it quite warm still so there is no reason for that but maybe they run on a biological clock so the outside environment does not affect them.

Edited by NikolaBale, September 5 2017 - 7:29 AM.

[Jonathan21700]

Yes, they know exactly what time of the year it is no matter of the temperature.

Note that I haven't kept Cataglyphis and I'm not sure if they hibernate small larvae or no. I assume they don't considering how close to Formica they are but you will find that out soon.

[NikolaBale]

Yes, they know exactly what time of the year it is no matter of the temperature.

Note that I haven't kept Cataglyphis and I'm not sure if they hibernate small larvae or no. I assume they don't considering how close to Formica they are but you will find that out soon.

Thank You dude!