Antdemocracy's Lasius niger colony #2

[antdemocracy]

As I mentioned in the 2015 flights thread, I caught 8 Lasius niger queens-5 still with wings and 3 without. Following the journal of another member, I decided to place the 3 queens that had shed their wings (thus definitely mated) in one test tube. The idea being that the colony is much more likely to be successful as all 3 queens should lay eggs and the strongest of the 3 queens will survive. Sounds harsh, but my understanding is it increases the chances of the colony getting off to a good start.

Having just returned from a week away I was eager to see my new queens. It turns out the 5 queens with wings....still have their wings attached and have laid no eggs, so I can only assume they have not mated. The test tube with the 3 mated queens has now been reduced to just 2 queens. I have no idea if she was killed or died of natural causes. The good news is there is a relatively big pile of eggs being cared for by one of the queens by the moist cotton wool.

I am particularly excited and hopeful about this colony as it is the first time I've caught queens during their nuptial flights

I also have a Lasius niger male in a test tube that I kept to study. Does anybody know whether it's possible that this male could mate with one of my winged queens if I placed them in the same test tube? (They're from different colonies), or is it entirely dependent upon the external environment and conditions?

Thanks for following guys

[antdemocracy]

Just checked on my 2 queens, the eggs are developing well and are almost larvae now. I am slightly concerned though, as their test tube is filthy and black looks like it needs changing (where the cotton wool meets the water) I've never seen a test tube, even with workers, looking as filthy. Will it be ok to try and connect a fresh tube and hope the queens move in along with their brood? Or should I really wait until some workers have arrived? I really didn't want to disturb them and risk stressing them out. Thanks.

@dayshaddow. I placed the male in a tube with a female but nothing has happened between them

[Wood~Ant]

Black mould can be a problem in closed test tubes. Try taping a second clean one to the end of the dirty one, and if they move into the clean one then you can remove the dirty tube; but make sure they take any brood before removing it.

[antdemocracy]

Aug 23, 2015 15:53:51 GMT Wood~Ant said:

Black mould can be a problem in closed test tubes. Try taping a second clean one to the end of the dirty one, and if they move into the clean one then you can remove the dirty tube; but make sure they take any brood before removing it.

Ok thanks wood, I will do that as soon as possible then. Never seen a test tube so dirty so I was quite surprised.

[antdemocracy]

The first workers have arrived I last checked about 12 hours ago, so these 2 girls are just a few hours old.
I am particularly happy as these are the first 2 queens that I have ever actually caught myself. Had a few problems initially as I had to change their test tube and pretty much scoop the eggs, larvae and cocoons into the fresh tube as 2 successive test tubes got moldy and dirty very quickly for some reason. Their latest tube still looks fresh so I'm hoping I won't have to disturb them too much.
It looks like there's around 8-10 close to eclosing. There's also lots of larvae and eggs, so I'm assuming the Queen(s) have laid a second batch at some point? After the numerous problems I've had with other colonies in the past(I seem to have really bad luck)I'm really hoping this colony will be successful