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Anyone know life expectancy of Formica queens?

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dgphelps	Anyone know life expectancy of Formica queens?		Lead	[-]
Posts: 322 04/10/2002 1:25 PM	Yes I know. Hard question to answer. I am pretty sure I have Formica fusca or lemani. Would anyone happen to have heard life expectancy of their queens? I have been searching all over the net and in books but have no figures. Any guestimates? One of this years projects I have made for myself is to attempt and introduce a 2nd queen to my colony. The nest I caught them in in the wild had multiple queens so I know they can live that way... Who knows if I can get them to accept another from the wild now though? I look forward to trying. Assuming I cannot I would like to have an estimate as for how long I might be able to keep this nest. Thanks. -Daniel photos of my ants and nests...
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Myrmecos1	Here's what Holldobler and Wilson report:	#1	[url]	[-]
Henchant Posts: 1983 04/10/2002 2:36 PM Doc.	Formica rufibarbis (Queen, Germany) 14 years. Formica sanguinea (Queen, Germany) 20 years. From the longevity table, pg. 169 in Holldobler & Wilson, The Ants. 1990. Harvard University Press. I'd say you'll probably get a lot of mileage out of your colony. My Formica transmontanis are now over 100 workers, and growing quickly. I've had the queen since I caught her after a mating flight a year and a half ago.
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Dr Ant	Re: Here's what Holldobler and Wilson report:	#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 5364 04/14/2002 1:59 PM Doc.	My captive Formica colonies (nitidiventris, subsericea, schaufussi) have lived up to five years in captivity, then died of mite infestations! Some of these (schaufussi) were mature colonies captured in the field, so already several years old.
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dgphelps	Re: Here's what Holldobler and Wilson report:	#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 322 04/14/2002 2:06 PM	Myrmecos1, thank you for that information. It seems like I do have a long haul ahead of me! I will be passing the 100 worker point as soon as this years first brood eclose. But, my colony was caught with 85 workers. You started with one! Congratulations. Dr. Ant, thank you too. Also, how did mites find their way into the nests? Is there anything I should do to prevent infestation? I have a plaster nest, never let food go bad in foraging area and the workers are super clean. They always remember to take out the trash! I think I mentioned it but I look forward to attempting to introduce a 2nd queen into this nest this year. The species is quite common here and the original nest had multiple queens so I think that I could be sucessful. I imagine that doing this and succeeding could mean a potential immortal colony. Add a new queen every few years to replace old ones... But, before I start thinking immortality I will attempt the implantation first! -Daniel photos of my ants and nests...
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