13 replies to this topic

[Dbiggerstaff11]

Last Week, I discovered a 9-Queen Polygnous S.Invicta Colony. I grabbed 1 queen, 2 workers, and some brood, and put them in a test tube that contained dirt. When I got home, I put them in a plastic tank filled with dirt. I believe that the queen has laid more eggs since her capture. I also have a spoon filled with honey beside their test tube. What do I feed them? They haven't touched the honey yet, and I'm worried about their survival. This is my first ant colony and I have no feeder insects available. Please give me advice and help!

[Spamdy]

They don't need honey, only water, these queens are fully claustral meaning they just need water for survival during the founding stages.

[Martialis]

That queen probably won't survive without her former numbers.

[Dbiggerstaff11]

Spamdy, This Queen is not in her founding stage, however thank you for the advice.
Martialis, I was afraid of this answer however I plan to at least help this queen survive

[Superant33]

Give them fruit flies or other small arthropods. A drop of sugar water every couple of days will help. This is a very easy species to raise. You can be successful by starting with one queen and a few workers. They grow rapidly however. You can also try capturing a larger worker force and introducing them to the queen. Make sure you chill the workers first. This method has worked for me with invicta every time. And if they all die, no worries. They are invasive and deserve a slow agonizing death.

[Spamdy]

Lol sorry, so then try feeding them various insects not just honey.

[Dbiggerstaff11]

Give them fruit flies or other small arthropods. A drop of sugar water every couple of days will help. This is a very easy species to raise. You can be successful by starting with one queen and a few workers. They grow rapidly however. You can also try capturing a larger worker force and introducing them to the queen. Make sure you chill the workers first. This method has worked for me with invicta every time. And if they all die, no worries. They are invasive and deserve a slow agonizing death.

Ok, I'll try introducing more workers to them. I gave them a small mealworm I got from some turtle food. They haven't seemed to notice it yet

[Dbiggerstaff11]

Give them fruit flies or other small arthropods. A drop of sugar water every couple of days will help. This is a very easy species to raise. You can be successful by starting with one queen and a few workers. They grow rapidly however. You can also try capturing a larger worker force and introducing them to the queen. Make sure you chill the workers first. This method has worked for me with invicta every time. And if they all die, no worries. They are invasive and deserve a slow agonizing death.

Would this work since I already have existing workers?

[Superant33]

It's always worked for me. Make sure you chill the new workers first.

[Dbiggerstaff11]

It's always worked for me. Make sure you chill the new workers first.

Just for clarification so I don't kill my queen,
You had a queen with few workers of the species solenopsis Invicta, so you gathered wild workers of the same species, chilled them down, then placed them near your Queen and her workers. Then the two "colonies" met and the queen accepted them as her own even though she had some workers already.
Is this correct?

[Superant33]

Yes. There is research on this. It works for invicta. For your peace of mind, you should look it up.

[Dbiggerstaff11]

Yes. There is research on this. It works for invicta. For your peace of mind, you should look it up.

Ok, I will

[Alabama Anter]

No offense here but that decision of grabbing 1 queen and 2 workers instead of the whole colony was quiet stupid. If you were to capture a wild colony, grabbing as many workers and brood is the key. Solenopsis species in general do horrible without a worker force after founding. I personally recommend going back to that particular place and releasing them or collecting the majority of the colony.

[AntswerMe]

No offense here but that decision of grabbing 1 queen and 2 workers instead of the whole colony was quiet stupid. If you were to capture a wild colony, grabbing as many workers and brood is the key. Solenopsis species in general do horrible without a worker force after founding. I personally recommend going back to that particular place and releasing them or collecting the majority of the colony.

Agreed. Captured colonies rarely succeed if not enough workers, brood, etc. are taken. They are already under tremendous stress from the whole ordeal, and not having enough of a ground force is a sure way to kill off the whole colony for a queen who needs so much. They should release the colony or take most if not ALL of the workers and brood.

Edited by AntswerMe, May 15 2017 - 6:38 PM.