3 replies to this topic

[disasterants]

On thursday, i was really bored and decided to search under every single rock in my back yard and my searching yielded results. I found a queen ant. I posted about it in the ant id request section and turns out it is a parasitic lasius (probably lasius umbratus)! i am considering whether or not to keep her since I can't find a host colony to steal brood and workers from in my yard but my grandparents live in the country and searching at their house has yielded better results in the past for ant colony hunting. so ill probably search at their house some time soon. no real hurry since she's now drinking the honey that i gave her in her enclosure... right? so I guess my question is should I try feeding her some pre-killed insects as well to 'hold her over' until I find a proper host colony to get some brood and workers to start her off? 

here's a video of her for reference sake:

 

[AntsAreUs]

I would say you don't need to feed her insects, rather something sugary. You probably don't have very good chances unless you have an existing colony with a queen. It is possible to raise parasitic Lasius spp. off of workers/brood, but a lot less likely than letting the parasitic kill the host queen.

[disasterants]

I would say you don't need to feed her insects, rather something sugary. You probably don't have very good chances unless you have an existing colony with a queen. It is possible to raise parasitic Lasius spp. off of workers/brood, but a lot less likely than letting the parasitic kill the host queen.

thanks for the info. should i put her or the other ants in the fridge before introduction?

[AntsAreUs]

 

I would say you don't need to feed her insects, rather something sugary. You probably don't have very good chances unless you have an existing colony with a queen. It is possible to raise parasitic Lasius spp. off of workers/brood, but a lot less likely than letting the parasitic kill the host queen.

thanks for the info. should i put her or the other ants in the fridge before introduction?

 

It would help without ants running everywhere and making a big mess of you struggling to contain them (from personal experience). It would help to have 10+ workers and some brood though.