9 replies to this topic

[William. T]

It really gets insane after three months of waiting. The queens start to lay eggs, but the next time you check, there is.... nothing. Either that or a smaller brood pile. The queens are Lasius sp. I can't get a photo now I will get one later. One thing for sure I know is that they are no social parasites, as their mandibles are quite small. I have placed the colony under a 4 watt heater of my terrarium, they are in test tube setups will water cover half of the tube, but the supply is now half full. One test tube has two queens, which have been fed three times with honey, as suggested, and the queens are given a lot of space. I rarely disturb them. Why is this happening?

Edited by William. T, March 14 2015 - 5:00 AM.

[Ants4fun]

She might be infertile, or they are to stressed. When did you take them out of hibernation?

Edited by Ants4fun, March 14 2015 - 5:29 AM.

[William. T]

I took them out in mid January. I think they are fertile, as the queens laid a lot of eggs in the beginning.

[dean_k]

How long have the eggs been? The eggs can need up to 2 weeks before turning into larvae.

[William. T]

The queen blasted them right out of hibernation.

[Jonathan21700]

In my experience Lasius don't do well in test tubes. My queens eggs didn't turn into workers when she was in a test tube but after I placed her in a soil habitat she had her first workers.

[William. T]

What kind of soil habitat do you propose? A test setup with dirt in it?

[Jonathan21700]

You can use a small container with hydrostone, plaster, grout etc. poured on the bottom with soil on top or just a test tube with dirt should work.

Edited by Jonathan21700, March 15 2015 - 1:13 PM.

[William. T]

Thanks! I will do this with all of my queens today.

[William. T]

I added some coconut fiber and sand mixed together to all of my test tubes. My queens are such fail moms. While on the journals the brood are in a neat pile, my queens just ditch them all over the place, neglected. If any of these colonies even gets a pupae...