Female Lasius Niger Alate- Advice Needed

[TenebrousNova]

Just went into the back garden and saw a swarm of L.Niger workers crowded around something. I thought it was just a fly, but it turned out to be a virgin queen. She was being physically attacked by the workers, and was trying to fight back. I'm in the habit of carrying a prepared test tube everywhere, so I put her in.

She is in fine condition, but upset. She still has her wings, so I'm not sure what I should do with her.

There are three explanations I can think of:

A) She simply wandered out too early and into a rival nest's territory.
B) She is the herald of a early nuptial flight.
C) She is in fact mated, but has yet to remove her wings.

What do you guys think? I'm unsure about letting her go, after her ordeal earlier. I'm hoping by some chance that she is fertilized, but I didn't see any drone alates nearby.

[lotsofants]

I agree with Green ant, you may as well put her in a test tube because she just maybe be mated because I have already got one mated queen this year

[TenebrousNova]

She's now missing one of her wings, and a antennae. Looks like those L.Niger were violent towards her after all.

[lotsofants]

So are you going to keep her?

[TenebrousNova]

Just checked on her. She has shed another wing, and only has one left. She is very unresponsive and does not move or flinch when the test tube is taken out of the cupboard, but she opens her mandibles in a threatening manner if I disturb her too much.
I'm not sure what to make of her. Either she is completely calm and fearless, or she is somehow hurt from her encounter with hostile L.Niger workers.

[Wood~Ant]

The chances of a winged female Lasius queen being mated now are very slim. While not impossible, it is highly improbable.
My advice is to keep her in a warm dark place and see if she lays any eggs, but even then if she is unmated, she may lay eggs which are infertile, so it's just a case of wait and see.

During late July and early August Jen and I collect dozens of Lasius flavus and L. niger queens from the very big nests around here, as thousands of alates take to the skies to mate. June is just too early for most British ants, as even Formica species fly in late summer with the exception of F. rufa; and one Lasius species flies in Autumn as late as mid October.
So don't despair, as in another 5 to 7 weeks time we will be quite literally falling over newly mated queen ants ;D

[TenebrousNova]

She still has the wing on her left side, and is showing no signs of settling down. She's trying to get through the cotton and out of the test tube, which has some damp cotton at the other end.

She must be unmated, because my own Lasius Niger queen began settling down within a day of her capture. I can't let her go, because it is pouring down with rain today and the nest in my garden seems to dislike her. I may as well keep her and see if she lays eggs anyway, but any brood raised would probably become drone alates.
There were certainly no drones, dead or alive, in my garden yesterday when I found her.

[TenebrousNova]

She probably decided to fly at the wrong time and ended up in my garden, where she was confronted.

[TenebrousNova]

Nope, it was still weather and lots of sun.

[TenebrousNova]

Here she is, I let her come out to try her on some honey, which she did eat.
She was busy exploring my watch when I took the photo.



You can see that she is missing the antenna on her right.

[TenebrousNova]

She has died.
Well, she was injured. At any rate, there will be thousands of them before we know it.

[TenebrousNova]

I know only too well what you mean.

[Deleted]

Must of been an alate / virgin Queen. Sorry for your loss.