7 replies to this topic

[Davemck2nd]

Hey all,
I had caught 2 carpenter ant queens this summer. One was a great producer and got up up to 11 nanitics and 15+ more waiting to hatch. The other is very slow at producing with no nanitics and probably 5 or so brood.

The more productive queen has stopped moving since the other day and is only twitching her legs. I'm assuming she is unfortunately on her way out. I gave them spring water, local honey and a protein source. I also kept them in a good climate, there is no mold outbreak etc. The other queen ants and workers I have are fine so I'm at a loss as to what happened.

I caught them the same day in the same area and am assuming they are part of the same colonies nuptial flight.

So here is my question. Has anyone had any success introducing a queen and brood to an orphaned colony of the same species/possibly their aunt? Lol

I've read up a bit on it, I'm just looking to be swayed one way or the other. Do I let the other larger colony die off without a queen? Or do I try and introduce the slow producing queen and see if they can work together?

Thanks in advance everyone!

[TestSubjectOne]

You can introduce the queen, but there is danger involved. I would recommend that you wait until the first colonies' queen is dead, preferably for a few days. Then you should cool the ants off in the fridge for about 10 minutes and merge them together. Workers with no queen are more accepting of a new one and cooling ants makes them less aggressive, which allows the colonies to merge together without fighting. However you should still watch them for the next few days and separate them if you see any signs of violence. After a while living together the ants will have the same colony scent and will have completely merged.

Edited by TestSubjectOne, August 10 2021 - 10:13 AM.

[Skwiggledork]

For the most part it's not possible. I would take the brood of the dying queen once she passes and introduce it to the other colony, but the workers will more than likely fight and kill the other queen. Camponotus are slow starters and there may be nothing wrong with having no workers yet.

[Kaelwizard]

For the most part it's not possible. I would take the brood of the dying queen once she passes and introduce it to the other colony, but the workers will more than likely fight and kill the other queen. Camponotus are slow starters and there may be nothing wrong with having no workers yet.

Agreed. Giving the living queen the brood but letting the workers die out is probably the safest option.

[ANTdrew]

That’s Myrmy’s Law for you. The best queen dies, while the dud lives on.

[TestSubjectOne]

I've had this work several times, twice with the same Myrmecocystus mexicanus colony and once with Camponotus sansabeanus with no issues. If one queen has been floundering then in my opinion the risk of introducing workers is less than that of her failing on her own, and forcing her to tend for and feed 15+ more brood when she only can manage 5 is even worse.

[Davemck2nd]

Thanks for the input everyone. As luck would have it I came across another queen yesterday as well. Here's to hoping everything works out!

[zA-Z0-9]

Thanks for the input everyone. As luck would have it I came across another queen yesterday as well. Here's to hoping everything works out!

good luck man hope it works keep us updated