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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2012 23:27:11 GMT 1
I don't know why 7 out of the 10 queens I collected have died!
I followed all the advice, housing them in test tubes with water and cotton wool plugs.
I fed them wit honey water
Some have mould in
Only one looks healthy and is nursing her larvae
I really don't want to lose her!!!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2012 0:09:55 GMT 1
maybe its the honey water promoting the mold? i would think just water would be the best like in the wild, but then im just a Newbie in this world
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Post by Myrm on Oct 2, 2012 6:37:58 GMT 1
maybe its the honey water promoting the mold? i would think just water would be the best like in the wild, but then im just a Newbie in this world Yes, the sugar content can cause mould. It's a common occurence in test tube supplied ants.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2012 17:39:20 GMT 1
Thanks for the replies. So what can I do? If I move them to different test tubes I'll be separating them from their eggs won't I?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2012 19:47:39 GMT 1
not realy if you tip them slowly from one tube to the other. if that is possible that is
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2012 9:11:45 GMT 1
Sometimes if you disturb the nest, they become aware and grab their eggs in their mouth for a quick getaway. If they do that you might be able to slip her and the eggs into a new place.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2012 22:08:10 GMT 1
Thank you guys! I've moved one of them into a plaster nest and she is much happier. The others I have replaced their water and cotton wool. Hopefully they grabbed their eggs like Charlie said they might- thanks Charlie! Still no sign of more development in the healthiest queen though. I'm sure they are larvae now but they seem to be taking ages considering I caught her in August. I'm rather concerned they won't pupate and hatch before she needs to hibernate!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2012 1:30:12 GMT 1
My queens are giving me the same concern- eggs not hatching, though luckily for me we are entering Summer here so no risk of hibernation. It was mentioned (maybe on this post or another one in the forum) recently that keeping the habitat warm can stave off hibernation. If you have a heat source, I think there's a better chance of the eggs developing normally too (it can get cold in an ant farm). So if you have egg developing fears, maybe get some sort of small, warmish heat source for your queen As a side note, a similar thing happened to me a week ago, where my queen ditched her eggs and started stressing like mad for a few days. I held out my longest but eventually put her in a new home. Took a few days but she's back to normal now. No eggs laid since but we'll see how we go!
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