mysterious thing in the nest

[shirevallyman]

Lasius niger colony growing well but I have a strange object in the nest, a small round black abdomen which is partially see through.
The workers carry it from inside the nest to the outer egg chamber, I've fed them a few spiders and bugs but nothing black. So my questions are does the queen shed her skin? If not then could the spider body have changed colour? Finally and sadly is it possible that the queen is dead and the workers are feeding her to the brood? The only way I have to be sure is waiting to see any fresh eggs in the nest as I have not seen her since she moved in. 

[Wood~Ant]

This sounds a bit odd, as what you've seen might be just a bit of dead insect; but if it looks the same size as a queens gaster, then it may be that she has died as you have already said? 
Only time will tell; and a lot of careful observation of the colony to see if the queen is still there? 

[shirevallyman]

Its a similar size to the queen, but I have not seen any other parts I.e legs head or midriff, hoping it is just a bit of spider, if I see fresh eggs then I am okay. Any tips on how to draw a queen out of her chamber to the outer of the nest, as I've never seen her since she moved in?

[Zarbi]

May 30, 2013 9:05:57 GMT shirevallyman said:

Any tips on how to draw a queen out of her chamber to the outer of the nest, as I've never seen her since she moved in?

The only way is to dig slowly and do a queen search, but this will mean saving all the brood and workers in a container and then putting them all back, assuming you do find the queen alive if she's not been seen since you got her. How long is it since you last saw your queen? 

[shirevallyman]

Problem is the nest is in a milk bottle so no real access. Brood has increased in number every week since they moved in 2 months ago which is when I last saw the queen, but I have not seen new eggs in 4-5 days

[Remson]

I would say it was your queen as I had the same thing last year. One of the queens I caught died for some strange reason leaving bout 15 workers and a small pile of brood I later found her abdomen at the far end of the tub and the rest of her in the test tube they were living in

[shirevallyman]

Right had a good look at the nest this weekend, I've only got 2 fairly new eggs at the moment have not seen any other new eggs for around the last week or more, could be possible that my queen has died. What are the indications that the colony has lost the queen?

[shirevallyman]

want to know for sure before I start to replace them

[shirevallyman]

also if I do replace my colony, do I need to replace the digging mix in the nest?

[Wood~Ant]

Jun 3, 2013 15:17:01 GMT shirevallyman said:

also if I do replace my colony, do I need to replace the digging mix in the nest?

No, the soil you already have is fine.

[shirevallyman]

Do you know any signs I could look out for that tells me if the queen is dead?

[Jenny]

Egg production stops, but to find out properly then you need to access the nest for a body, e.g. break the bottle open and investigate it slowly. It's the only way you will know for sure! Next time, you need to site them in something with a lift off lid or screw top container. 

[shirevallyman]

only have two fresh eggs couple of weeks old 4 larve and 10 cocoon. Going to keep an eye might see some new eggs but doubt it at this stage, how long would you wait before replacing them

[Jenny]

You'll have to use your own discretion, and common sense. It's a question nobody can predict.

[shirevallyman]

cheers its hard to know what to do, going to give them some more time hopefully I will see fresh eggs