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 Patrizio |
Queen wont lay |
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Posts: 11 08/22/2005 9:00 AM |
Ive had my queen for over a month now, maybe two almost, and i have only seen her with 4 eggs, but that was a couple weeks ago and i havent seen them since. Her back end (not sure what it is called) seems to be getting bigger and bigger,a nd t looks like there is some kind of gash in the side that was healed up.
Anybody know what is going on? |
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chazzbo77 |
Re: Queen wont lay | #1 | ||
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Henchant Posts: 1355 08/22/2005 9:18 AM
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I have had a similar problem to you. I caught about 15 Tetramorium caespitum queens from their flight. Ten of them have pupae that should eclose tonight or tomorrow, one only has eggs, and three havent even layed yet. They have been in test tubes for OVER a month. Sometimes, queen just dont lay. Her back end (abdomen) is getting bigger, so that could mean that she has many eggs in there. But with my experiences, the queens abdomen only has gotten really big was when my colony was doing very well with 1000+ workers and a steady food source was available. I let that colony go and it is now still in my back yard. They keep killing this one red ant that I would like to get an ID on though. So good luck, and theres still a chance that she MAY lay some eggs... but I wouldnt say a big chance.
P.S.- This read ant that I found is VERY large. The same size as a C. Penn. worker, some maybe bigger . The seem to like my hummingbird feeder, as they congregate there, filling thier abdomens with the sweet liquid. My T. caes. and L. neoniger were fighting and that red ant got caught in the cross fire. Her abdomen was full of the liquid and it was VERY fat. And after she was dead, I gently pusshed on the abdomen and the liquid came out of her mouth! It was pretty cool. They are a beautiful ant and I would love to get a colony. So maybe in a few days, I'll capture a specimen and get an ID. They aren't honey pot ants though, because I'm in New Jersey. But I do recall MILTA saying that there was a species of ant that fill their abdomen with a liquid making it swell like honey pot ants. (edit) Do you know what species your queen is? chazzbo77
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symbion1 |
Re: Queen wont lay | #2 | ||
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Posts: 6 09/07/2005 8:54 AM |
a queen usually wont lay due to conditions, try warmer/ colder weter/dryer
i have even got a queen to lay by altering the ambient pressure wiht a small plunger in a test tube |
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mattg |
Re: Queen wont lay | #3 | ||
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Posts: 4 09/07/2005 9:59 AM |
Some newly-mated queens abdomens grow larger for a while because they are metabolising their flight muscles in preparation for egg-laying and feeding the larvae that hatch. It's possible that your queen isn't laying because the conditions you're providing aren't correct (not humid/warm enough). Some species hibernate and the queens in these species don't always start laying eggs until after experiencing a period of cold.
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chazzbo77 |
Re: Queen wont lay | #4 | ||
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Henchant Posts: 1355 09/07/2005 12:20 PM
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I have a question. Should I hibernate my queens and colonies in their test tube in my shed or is it dangerous if the water freezes? Do they need moisture? Any help would be appreciated!
chazzbo77
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