3 replies to this topic

[FelixTheAnter]

Hi all.

My colony of Lasius Niger has approximately 1,000 workers. Queen is alive and well, just saw her yesterday.

They currently have hundreds of small larvae, but they don't really seem to be feeding them. I'm also not noticing any new piles of eggs from the queen.

I'm offering protein in multiple forms that they've ravenously taken to in the past : grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms, fruit flies. But their interest in minimal. They take a tiny bit, but mostly just leave it untouched. They're still going after their sugar water as usual.

Any idea what could be going on? I keep them at room temp, which currently is 23.5°c or 74°f. They've never been highly affected by temperature, besides going into hibernation when it's much colder, so I'm doubtful that is the case.

Thanks in advance

[ANTdrew]

If you read Wegmier’s Lasius journal, it seems he had a similar issue. Some ants may take a break in growth midsummer. Some warmer areas in the nest may help the larvae to grow faster. Beyond that, I don’t know.

[FelixTheAnter]

Wegmier is a Dutch word. I'm also in the Netherlands, could something like this be a regional thing?

[ANTdrew]

He’s from Germany, but who knows?