11 replies to this topic

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Is it just me, or the queen ants I capture nowadays die pretty quickly for example: I had a myrmecina americana queen but she died after the third day (probably infertile) and some other queens I find, just die on the spot after arriving.

So am i doing something wrong?

Please give me tips on how to stop them from dying.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Also I remember AntDrew commenting about me buying ant colonies and instead of doing that I should use the species in my area, but right now the queens I catch are mostly dying and I cannot find any crematogasters where I live

[cooIboyJ]

Are there pesticides in your area? If the area is getting treated then the ants could be dying from that.

[AntsGodzilla]

Is it just me, or the queen ants I capture nowadays die pretty quickly for example: I had a myrmecina americana queen but she died after the third day (probably infertile) and some other queens I find, just die on the spot after arriving.

So am i doing something wrong?

Please give me tips on how to stop them from dying.

It's hard to find a good queen, some infertile, others killed by pesticides, and some of them are simply bad.

[cooIboyJ]

 

Is it just me, or the queen ants I capture nowadays die pretty quickly for example: I had a myrmecina americana queen but she died after the third day (probably infertile) and some other queens I find, just die on the spot after arriving.

So am i doing something wrong?

Please give me tips on how to stop them from dying.

It's hard to find a good queen, some infertile, others killed by pesticides, and some of them are simply bad.

 

Yes, when I started ant keeping and went out to find some queens at the pool I caught eight queens and only one of them was fertile or didn't die. (P.S. the queen that survived is my brachymyrmex patagonicus queen (see my brachymyrmex patagonicus journal))

[AntsGodzilla]

 

 

Is it just me, or the queen ants I capture nowadays die pretty quickly for example: I had a myrmecina americana queen but she died after the third day (probably infertile) and some other queens I find, just die on the spot after arriving.

So am i doing something wrong?

Please give me tips on how to stop them from dying.

It's hard to find a good queen, some infertile, others killed by pesticides, and some of them are simply bad.

 

Yes, when I started ant keeping and went out to find some queens at the pool I caught eight queens and only one of them was fertile or didn't die. (P.S. the queen that survived is my brachymyrmex patagonicus queen (see my brachymyrmex patagonicus journal))

 

Going off catching ants in the pool, this summer I caught over 30+ tetramorium immigrans queens and only three of them started colonies.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Sooooooooooooo....

there are no pesticides in the area, they majority of them just die, like die

during transport and other times they live for like a few weeks and then they decide to die

 

I'm guessing they do it for genetic reasons

[RushmoreAnts]

Yes, most queens are genetically unfit. According to AntWiki, a mature colony may release hundreds or thousands of queens every year. Only one or two of those in ideal conditions will found a successful colony. That's anywhere between a 99% death rate and a 99.9% + death rate. Most queens die, this is true. It's natural.

 

Nuptial Flights and Mating - AntWiki

[Mushu]

Yes, most queens are genetically unfit. According to AntWiki, a mature colony may release hundreds or thousands of queens every year. Only one or two of those in ideal conditions will found a successful colony. That's anywhere between a 99% death rate and a 99.9% + death rate. Most queens die, this is true. It's natural.

 

Nuptial Flights and Mating - AntWiki

I do believe that's including predation,etc. The percentage of survival is probably higher if not including some natural conditions, like if the queen was caught right after mater or digging a founding chamber. 

 

Did you feed your Myrmecina americana queen protein, as they are semi claustral. You do need some luck if you don't have many queens.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

 

Yes, most queens are genetically unfit. According to AntWiki, a mature colony may release hundreds or thousands of queens every year. Only one or two of those in ideal conditions will found a successful colony. That's anywhere between a 99% death rate and a 99.9% + death rate. Most queens die, this is true. It's natural.

 

Nuptial Flights and Mating - AntWiki

I do believe that's including predation,etc. The percentage of survival is probably higher if not including some natural conditions, like if the queen was caught right after mater or digging a founding chamber. 

 

Did you feed your Myrmecina americana queen protein, as they are semi claustral. You do need some luck if you don't have many queens.

 

I did but she just died

Also I remember AntDrew commenting about me buying ant colonies and instead of doing that I should use the species in my area, but right now the queens I catch are mostly dying and I cannot find any crematogasters where I live

Also what about this? Why is it recommended to find queens

[Canadian anter]

Hi! Since you're in Canada, I should note that if these queens are from us, we typically provide refunds or reshipments for queens which fail to thrive.

[RushmoreAnts]

 

Yes, most queens are genetically unfit. According to AntWiki, a mature colony may release hundreds or thousands of queens every year. Only one or two of those in ideal conditions will found a successful colony. That's anywhere between a 99% death rate and a 99.9% + death rate. Most queens die, this is true. It's natural.

 

Nuptial Flights and Mating - AntWiki

I do believe that's including predation,etc. The percentage of survival is probably higher if not including some natural conditions, like if the queen was caught right after mater or digging a founding chamber. 

 

Did you feed your Myrmecina americana queen protein, as they are semi claustral. You do need some luck if you don't have many queens.

 

I agree, although "probably higher" could mean only a 5% survival rate. In my experience queens typically have a 30-50% survival rate in captivity, unless the species is super hardy like Tetras or super sensitive and not suited for captivity.