11 replies to this topic

[neutralmouse01]

I live in New England and am very new to keeping ants. I found a queen (I think Lasius Americanus) in a wheelbarrow a few days ago- she still had wings at the time. Not knowing what to do with her, I put her into a makeshift terrarium in a Tupperware box filled with potting soil and rocks, along with a cotton ball soaked in sugar water. She has since removed her wings and was running around for a while, but is now hanging out in a corner of the terrarium under a rock. She’s been there for a while without moving much. I can’t see any eggs when I check on her, though I don’t know what they would look like.

From what I’ve read on this forum, it seems like it’s better to keep her in a test tube until she has some brood, but I’m not sure if she’s already nesting under the rock and if it’s OK to remove her from the terrarium at this point. I’m also not completely sure she’s healthy since she doesn’t move very frequently except to occasionally groom herself.

Does anyone have any tips for moving forward? I can include pictures when I go home later today.

[FelixTheAnter]

I would suggest using a paintbrush to gently guide her into a test tube. Make sure you set up the test tube properly, you want it to be 2/3 full with water, with the cotton pushed far enough in that the side she has access to is just slightly damp. Check if there's any eggs under the rock she's been nesting in, and if so, VERY carefully move them into the tube if you can. If you can't, don't worry too much. She should lay more.

Put the test tube somewhere dark, or put a red test tube sleeve over it, and then...leave her alone As tempting as it is, don't check on her for a while. At least a week or two. She's probably been very stressed by you constantly checking to see what she's up to (no offense meant - many of us have done the same thing as new ant keepers!)

It's very normal for her to not move around at all. In fact, if she's been running around, you know she's stressed. Once they find a spot to nest, they hunker down and really don't move for weeks beyond a little bit of grooming and tending to eggs/pupae/larvae.

[FelixTheAnter]

Lasius species tend to be fully claustral, meaning they choose a spot to nest, and don't leave it. They don't require any food during this time, they live on what they've stored in their body.
If you can find more queens, I'd get them. Not every queen will be successful, so it's good to have a backup or two

[ANTdrew]

Based on timing alone, I’m almost certain you found a Prenolepis imparis queen alate. Just scoop her up and put her in the tube. No harm will come to her, especially since these are very slow to lay eggs and raise brood.

[neutralmouse01]

Thanks for the advice FelixTheAnter and ANTdrew! Looks like you’re right about the species. She’s now in a test tube with water/cotton- no eggs yet, but I’ll plan to leave her be for a while.

[FelixTheAnter]

Good luck!! Fingers crossed for you

[AntsCali098]

Feel free to use care sheets on this species like this one. Good luck!

[FinWins]

Also because you're new I thought I might chime in and give you a big disclaimer. Raising a colony takes a lot of time and for lasius sp. you should wait until the colony has at least 50 - 100 workers before considering a nest larger than a test tube. In the mean time however once the queen gets her workers you can put them in a tubs and tubes setup.

[ANTdrew]

Also because you're new I thought I might chime in and give you a big disclaimer. Raising a colony takes a lot of time and for lasius sp. you should wait until the colony has at least 50 - 100 workers before considering a nest larger than a test tube. In the mean time however once the queen gets her workers you can put them in a tubs and tubes setup.

The queen is definitely not Lasius, so he will need to wait even longer.

[Flu1d]

She is a claustral queen, meaning she will want to hide in a secure, safe place to lay eggs. If she has not laid any yet, moving her to a test tube half filled with water and plugged with cotton is a good place for her to start her founding. It can sometimes take a week before you find any eggs. They will be a small white, off white, sometimes orangeish or yellowish batch. You will know if you see them.(I do not know the exact color of a L. americanus queen, however these are the colors I have seen batches of eggs be for various queens).

She is probably perfectly healthy.. She may just be getting used to her new spot. Be very careful when transferring her to a tube. I like to use a cottonball and try to either scoop her on it or get her to attach to it and then plug the end of the tube with it, being extremely careful not to crush her as I connect the cotton to the tube. Sometimes you can nudge her along with the cotton and get her to run into the tube, or even scoop her. Careful doing this.. this is an easy way to catch your queen, however its also very easy to accidently crush her.

Edited by Flu1d, April 14 2023 - 6:32 PM.

[ICE_Age_2]

I live in New England and am very new to keeping ants. I found a queen (I think Lasius Americanus) in a wheelbarrow a few days ago- she still had wings at the time. Not knowing what to do with her, I put her into a makeshift terrarium in a Tupperware box filled with potting soil and rocks, along with a cotton ball soaked in sugar water. She has since removed her wings and was running around for a while, but is now hanging out in a corner of the terrarium under a rock. She’s been there for a while without moving much. I can’t see any eggs when I check on her, though I don’t know what they would look like.

From what I’ve read on this forum, it seems like it’s better to keep her in a test tube until she has some brood, but I’m not sure if she’s already nesting under the rock and if it’s OK to remove her from the terrarium at this point. I’m also not completely sure she’s healthy since she doesn’t move very frequently except to occasionally groom herself.

Does anyone have any tips for moving forward? I can include pictures when I go home later today.

There is 0 L. americanus in England
Lasius niger group species is aids to id

[ANTdrew]

He did not find an alate Lasius queen in April. The timing is impossible. It is obviously Prenolepis.