4 replies to this topic

[Waganga]

I was just placing my two successful first colonies of the summer into hibernation when I came across the test tube for a Camponotus queen I caught back in May... She never, ever, ever laid any eggs, and her water is just about to run dry. I've given her honey a few times over the summer, which she seems to have eaten, but she hasn't ever eaten so much at once that she filled her gaster/social stomach. I'm kind of surprised that she's still alive, tbh. I would have died of boredom.

 

I can move her to a new test tube, and try to offer her honey, and hope she survives the winter...

 

But, even if she does, what should I do with her? Should I give her some kind of "display" setup... just because? (She's clearly rocking the #singlelife amirite?)

 

What kind of environmental enrichment would a single queen even want?

[Jadeninja9]

You basically just keep her in a test tube set up and see what eventually happens.

[Waganga]

You basically just keep her in a test tube set up and see what eventually happens.

 

This is basically what I've done for the last 6 months... I guess I'm looking for some slightly less boring suggestions haha.

[YsTheAnt]

Leave her in the dark. Some Camponotus queens, despite being caught in summer, don't lay till next year. For example, most C. semitestaceus don't lay for at least one year.

[DaveJay]

Yeah, you never know, maybe she was waiting for a trigger that never came.

Otherwise I guess you make a tiny nest and outworld and put it somewhere prominent. She should be fairly interactive, she'll need to eat because she can't live on wing muscles forever.