Stapleburger
Callow Ant 
Posts: 53 
Country: England
Pets: Chickens, Quails and Ants
Likes: 15
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Post by Stapleburger on May 18, 2015 11:16:10 GMT
Yesterday I found my messor barb. queen dead - she had been dragged out into the outworld. I am heart broken because she represents over a year of hard work. I thought I had done the difficult bit of getting the colony up to 30 ish and this was going to be the population explosion year.
I am sure this is something that you have all dealt with.
I wanted to ask if you know of any common reasons why queens would just die after only a year.
I know that we can only speculate why its happened. She has no obvious injuries, but any advice to try and limit the possibility for this happening again would be greatly appreciated.
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 18, 2015 14:23:29 GMT
It is a mystery why a queen suddenly dies, especially if her workers and brood are alive and well. I doubt old age is the factor, but it may have been an internal illness or even something she ate which caused a disease? Sorry to hear of your loss as this means the end of the entire colony.  |
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Stapleburger
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: England
Pets: Chickens, Quails and Ants
Likes: 15
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Post by Stapleburger on May 18, 2015 19:38:09 GMT
yeah, the colony is doomed - gutted. Its strange because there are no other deaths in the colony. I have noticed that the colony has been very subdued over recent weeks. But, as soon as the queen died, they have started digging like mad and are 10x more active. Its very strange.
However, today I have cheered myself up by ordering a new queen with a decent sized colony from Ants Kalytta. They had one with a large group of workers, so I will not be moved as far back again. Everywhere had queens with 1 to 4 workers except Kalytta and CG Ants, who had decent colonies. I came one button away from ordering the from CG colony, then I thought I should check seller reviews, and changed from CG to Kalytta after reading them!
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 18, 2015 21:59:19 GMT
Good choice, as he does send nice sized colonies of healthy ants.
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Stapleburger
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: England
Pets: Chickens, Quails and Ants
Likes: 15
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Post by Stapleburger on Jul 14, 2015 9:17:00 GMT
oh, my new queen has died now. I really do not know what I'm doing wrong. Its very frustrating  |
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Post by Antkeeper on Jul 14, 2015 21:47:13 GMT
oh, my new queen has died now. I really do not know what I'm doing wrong. Its very frustrating Tell Ants Kalytta and they might send out a new Queen? Worth a try. I have had a miss with a Queen Messor barbarus myself, from CG ants. She would not lay eggs, (possible infertile or temps not high enough), but sorry about your losses. |
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Stapleburger
Callow Ant
Posts: 53
Country: England
Pets: Chickens, Quails and Ants
Likes: 15
|
Post by Stapleburger on Jul 15, 2015 12:56:04 GMT
I've had the colony about 45 days, so I'm sure its not Kalyttas fault. I will get another and try again
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