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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 10:48:42 GMT 1
Hi again all
I caught my Lasius queens on the 20th August and housed them in test tubes. They have laid eggs and I'm giving them a little honey water but none of their eggs have hatched yet. I thought it should have been three weeks? Anyone able to shed some light?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 10:59:33 GMT 1
If you caught them on the 20 September then that means its only been two days? Eggs will take a week or so to hatch into larvae (can be sped up with heat) Also, there is no need to feed your queen at this point as she will be using her fats for nutrition.
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Post by Myrm on Sept 22, 2012 11:05:25 GMT 1
If you caught them on the 20 September then that means its only been two days? Eggs will take a week or so to hatch into larvae (can be sped up with heat) Also, there is no need to feed your queen at this point as she will be using her fats for nutrition. Excellent reply, AntBoy. Couldn't have answered it better myself. Well done.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 11:50:28 GMT 1
OOpS I meant 20th August!!!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 11:51:29 GMT 1
Ah thats more understand able. Do you know what stage of development they are at? And thank you Myrm! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 12:00:52 GMT 1
I caught my queens (3xL.Niger, 1xL.Flavus) on the 8th of August and the first nantics emerged yesterday, so it took mine about six weeks to develop.
Observations: The L.Niger with the smallest brood had nantics first - two on the same day. The L.Niger with the largest brood doesn't have any cocoons turning dark yet (as they do when about to emerge). The only L.Flavus has the most undeveloped brood. Someone told me before that these generally develop slower than L.Niger, I estimate it'll be another week or so before the nantics arrive.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 12:12:31 GMT 1
Yeah I've noticed that flavus brood takes longer to develop compared to their cousins. Maybe it's because they are aphid farmers that mostly live underground whilst Lasius niger colonies need to forage for food before winter kicks in.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 14:42:01 GMT 1
ah a couple more weeks to wait then. Thank you everyone xx
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2012 18:51:37 GMT 1
No problem. xx
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