34 replies to this topic

[Will230145]

Formica with terrible grip? When I caught my queens I needed to wait for my test tubes to arrive so I left them in a container with a baby powder barrier and I found some roaming around the floor randomly the following day. One even made its way into my shirt somehow...

 
This is just from my experience, and only with F. subsericea. F. subsericea queens just seem extra clumsy (especially when fattened up or are about to lay eggs).

Well That’s great!! She can barely climb on the side of the test tube without falling off. She has been cleaning her taster A LOT so I hope that means baby ants soon! Fingers crossed

[Mettcollsuss]

It's likely that she will.

 

If she still doesn't lay, you may want to try hibernating her.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, December 30 2018 - 3:59 PM.

[AntBread]

 

Ok, I’m just trying to figure out something she will like. She does terrible in test tubes and my mini hearth is already inhabited...

 

Yeah, I have noticed that Formica queens have terrible grips, so smooth test tubes might not be the best for them. But you could try adding a bit of sand (or other substrate). TarHeel Ants' Genesis Test Tube Inserts would also be a good alternative. Another reason she might not be doing so well is because you haven't hibernated her. Of the many F. subsericea queens I've caught, about half of them refused to lay until after hibernation. Formica don't keep brood over winter, so queens won't lay unless they're certain they'll be able to raise nanitics before winter.

 

EDIT: Heating also helps a lot.

 

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

[Mettcollsuss]

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

Interesting. All of my Formica stop laying a couple months before hibernation.

 

They lay a MASSIVE batch or two in the spring, then another one or two before stopping before hibernation. They usually lay a new batch right as the last batch is eclosing or sometimes a week or two later. Their brood takes 1-2 months to develop depending on caste, conditions, etc. Although it's usually closer to two months, as the majority of workers are majors. This is all just from my observations, though.

[Will230145]

 

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

Interesting. All of my Formica stop laying a couple months before hibernation.

 

They lay a MASSIVE batch or two in the spring, then another one or two before stopping before hibernation. They usually lay a new batch right as the last batch is eclosing or sometimes a week or two later. Their brood takes 1-2 months to develop depending on caste, conditions, etc. Although it's usually closer to two months, as the majority of workers are majors. This is all just from my observations, though.

 

 

Antbread, my queen won't settle down either. But, she keeps standing over a lump of sand or eggs, fingers crossed their eggs. Discord told me to maybe find some brood, but i tried that and she just put them to the side and they dies. But I do think that i squished the brood on accident  

[AntBread]

 

 

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

Interesting. All of my Formica stop laying a couple months before hibernation.

 

They lay a MASSIVE batch or two in the spring, then another one or two before stopping before hibernation. They usually lay a new batch right as the last batch is eclosing or sometimes a week or two later. Their brood takes 1-2 months to develop depending on caste, conditions, etc. Although it's usually closer to two months, as the majority of workers are majors. This is all just from my observations, though.

 

 

Antbread, my queen won't settle down either. But, she keeps standing over a lump of sand or eggs, fingers crossed their eggs. Discord told me to maybe find some brood, but i tried that and she just put them to the side and they dies. But I do think that i squished the brood on accident  

 

Formica Subsericea ants are not slave-makers and do not take foreign brood (some formica sp. ants do). F. Subsericea will most likely just eat other eggs so I do not think that putting brood from other colonies with your queen will be beneficial (apart from food). When I first caught my queen, she didn't settle down until her first workers arrived. Your queens behavior is fairly normal and she may just feel a bit unsafe without her workers. I would suggest that you cover her nesting chamber so that it remains dark, heat her appropriately, offer her some honey, and try to ignore her for a week or two. My queen at the beginning constantly ate her eggs because I kept on checking up on her. Eventually, I sort of lost interest and just supplied her with food once a week. When I finally checked back up on her 3 months later I was surprised to find that she had produced 3 workers. 

[Will230145]

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

Interesting. All of my Formica stop laying a couple months before hibernation.
 
They lay a MASSIVE batch or two in the spring, then another one or two before stopping before hibernation. They usually lay a new batch right as the last batch is eclosing or sometimes a week or two later. Their brood takes 1-2 months to develop depending on caste, conditions, etc. Although it's usually closer to two months, as the majority of workers are majors. This is all just from my observations, though.

 
Antbread, my queen won't settle down either. But, she keeps standing over a lump of sand or eggs, fingers crossed their eggs. Discord told me to maybe find some brood, but i tried that and she just put them to the side and they dies. But I do think that i squished the brood on accident  

Formica Subsericea ants are not slave-makers and do not take foreign brood (some formica sp. ants do). F. Subsericea will most likely just eat other eggs so I do not think that putting brood from other colonies with your queen will be beneficial (apart from food). When I first caught my queen, she didn't settle down until her first workers arrived. Your queens behavior is fairly normal and she may just feel a bit unsafe without her workers. I would suggest that you cover her nesting chamber so that it remains dark, heat her appropriately, offer her some honey, and try to ignore her for a week or two. My queen at the beginning constantly ate her eggs because I kept on checking up on her. Eventually, I sort of lost interest and just supplied her with food once a week. When I finally checked back up on her 3 months later I was surprised to find that she had produced 3 workers.

I don’t mean of other species, I have another Formica Subsericea colony outside under a rock (her original colony) and tried giving her brood but I think it was dead

[AntBread]

 

 

 

 

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

Interesting. All of my Formica stop laying a couple months before hibernation.
 
They lay a MASSIVE batch or two in the spring, then another one or two before stopping before hibernation. They usually lay a new batch right as the last batch is eclosing or sometimes a week or two later. Their brood takes 1-2 months to develop depending on caste, conditions, etc. Although it's usually closer to two months, as the majority of workers are majors. This is all just from my observations, though.

 
Antbread, my queen won't settle down either. But, she keeps standing over a lump of sand or eggs, fingers crossed their eggs. Discord told me to maybe find some brood, but i tried that and she just put them to the side and they dies. But I do think that i squished the brood on accident  

Formica Subsericea ants are not slave-makers and do not take foreign brood (some formica sp. ants do). F. Subsericea will most likely just eat other eggs so I do not think that putting brood from other colonies with your queen will be beneficial (apart from food). When I first caught my queen, she didn't settle down until her first workers arrived. Your queens behavior is fairly normal and she may just feel a bit unsafe without her workers. I would suggest that you cover her nesting chamber so that it remains dark, heat her appropriately, offer her some honey, and try to ignore her for a week or two. My queen at the beginning constantly ate her eggs because I kept on checking up on her. Eventually, I sort of lost interest and just supplied her with food once a week. When I finally checked back up on her 3 months later I was surprised to find that she had produced 3 workers.

I don’t mean of other species, I have another Formica Subsericea colony outside under a rock (her original colony) and tried giving her brood but I think it was dead

 

Still most queens do not take brood from other colonies even if they are of the same genus. 

[Will230145]

What you said about Formica queens not laying eggs during the winter is not entirely true. I also have a Formica Subsericea queen with 3 workers and they just recently laid eggs. Some of the eggs have already turned into larvae. I am considering hibernating this species when they grow larger (20-40) because I have tried several times to hibernate them and they would never "sleep". I just keep them in a mini hearth with a heating mat underneath to keep them warm and it encourages the queen to lay eggs during the winter. (I also caught my queen quite late in the year around September).

Interesting. All of my Formica stop laying a couple months before hibernation.

They lay a MASSIVE batch or two in the spring, then another one or two before stopping before hibernation. They usually lay a new batch right as the last batch is eclosing or sometimes a week or two later. Their brood takes 1-2 months to develop depending on caste, conditions, etc. Although it's usually closer to two months, as the majority of workers are majors. This is all just from my observations, though.

Antbread, my queen won't settle down either. But, she keeps standing over a lump of sand or eggs, fingers crossed their eggs. Discord told me to maybe find some brood, but i tried that and she just put them to the side and they dies. But I do think that i squished the brood on accident

Formica Subsericea ants are not slave-makers and do not take foreign brood (some formica sp. ants do). F. Subsericea will most likely just eat other eggs so I do not think that putting brood from other colonies with your queen will be beneficial (apart from food). When I first caught my queen, she didn't settle down until her first workers arrived. Your queens behavior is fairly normal and she may just feel a bit unsafe without her workers. I would suggest that you cover her nesting chamber so that it remains dark, heat her appropriately, offer her some honey, and try to ignore her for a week or two. My queen at the beginning constantly ate her eggs because I kept on checking up on her. Eventually, I sort of lost interest and just supplied her with food once a week. When I finally checked back up on her 3 months later I was surprised to find that she had produced 3 workers.

I don’t mean of other species, I have another Formica Subsericea colony outside under a rock (her original colony) and tried giving her brood but I think it was dead

Still most queens do not take brood from other colonies even if they are of the same genus.

So many quotes

But that’s sad, I was hoping I could boost her but oh well

Edit: seems like quotes are broken?

Edited by Will230145, December 31 2018 - 6:44 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

In my experience, F. subsericea is usually pretty receptive of brood boosting (boosting with pupae is the best option), as long as it's that same species. You may want to try chilling the queen and brood together for 5-10 minutes, as she'll be more likely to accept it that way.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, December 31 2018 - 7:14 AM.

[AntBread]

In my experience, F. subsericea is usually pretty receptive of brood boosting (boosting with pupae is the best option), as long as it's that same species. You may want to try chilling the queen and brood together for 5-10 minutes, as she'll be more likely to accept it that way.

I guess it can work...

[Will230145]

In my experience, F. subsericea is usually pretty receptive of brood boosting (boosting with pupae is the best option), as long as it's that same species. You may want to try chilling the queen and brood together for 5-10 minutes, as she'll be more likely to accept it that way.

I guess it can work...

Ok, I can try that if she has no brood or workers by spring

Edit: I have to wait till spring for colony’s to start producing again, but if anyone has a F. subsericea colony would you mine giving me a few pupae?

Edited by Will230145, December 31 2018 - 10:40 AM.

[Will230145]

So she finally has started laying and has kept eating and laying them, I sometimes hate Formica how they act

[Will230145]

Not the best but hey it shows you the eggs  

Edited by Will230145, March 15 2019 - 11:01 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Mine has a few larvae and around 15 workers.