Getting success from Lasius niger queens

[Stapleburger]

Hello all,

As discussed in my introduction, I have been trying for many years to get Lasius niger queens ("the condemned" as my wife calls them) that I run around collecting each summer to have successful broods.  As I don't know anybody locally that is interested in ants I have struggled on my own with this for a long time; some of my queens have lasted a couple of years, but never anything more than a few eggs.

I am hoping that your greater experience will help me to see what I am doing wrong.  To do this I think that the best thing to do is talk you through exactly what I do;

• I notice that the nuptial flight is happening so I run around like mad collecting the queens.  I know the difference between a males and a queen, and I always go for the ones without wings as these have mated.
• I put the queens in individual test tubes - These aren't the normal ones, but ones that I get from work.  I work in environmental science, and our laboratory sends us lots of these for free, so I figured that I might as well use them, rather than pay for them!
• The test tubes are a little larger, at around 100mm long and 28mm in diameter

• I put a piece of cotton wool soaked in water in the test tube, then put them in a dark box in my office room.
• It is worth saying that the office is not particularly well heated - it is 14 degrees in here at the moment.
• I then leave them there and, once a week, I inspect each of the test tubes to see if there are eggs or any further developments (although this hasn't ever happened!)

From what I can read on line, this all looks pretty reasonable stuff.  Maybe I am checking them too much? I just do not want there to be developments and me to miss them and the brood starve.

Thanks in advance for your advice

 

[Zarbi]

You could try putting the odd newly mated queen in a small container with some damp soil, as ants in the wild dig out a nest or burrow into a crack in the ground. This is an alternative to using the test tube and cotton wool idea. 

[Stapleburger]

yes, this may be worth a try - I suppose the down side is that I will not be able to keep my eye on what is happening very easily.

I started off with around 8 queens this year and I am down to one now!

[Joona]

Lasius Niger queens will sometimes work together in the wild to establish a colony, you could maybe put 3 or 4 queens in the same tube, they will eventually kill all but one but it would be a strong start to the colony. Other then that all I do is put the test tubes in a shoe box in my airing cupboard and leave them in complete dark for 2 months.

Not all mated queens make it in the wild but I'd say you should be getting more success in captivity. My nigers from this year have around 20 workers now and tons of brood.

[Stapleburger]

Thanks for the tip about putting a few queens together - that is definitely worth a try too.

So you would leave them for two months and not look at them at all? I always get panicked that some brood will have developed, I will not have noticed and then the queen will eat them because she needs the energy and so I check them every week. but maybe this is too much and I am disturbing them. I must have started with a dozen this year, and I'm down to one now.

I am also at a disadvantage, because we do not have an airing cupboard as we have a combination boiler. Also, my house is old and really cold too. If I built a heated enclosure do you think it would be too early to try and bring my black ant queen out of hibernation already (this is something I am thinking of doing for my messor barbs)? If this is ok, what temperature do they need to start laying?

Thanks again for your time

[crockatt]

Hi and welcome, I am no expert, but from what I have read, you seem to be doing everything right, I would be inclined to agree that maybe you need a little more warmth, you may just need to wrap a towel round them, also some queens may not lay until after hibernation, personally I found a lem queen and had given up hope and expected her to die in hibernation and she laid eggs within days of coming out. do not give up, good luck.

[Joona]

I'd leave her in hibernation, do not forget out side gets much colder then a house and they are fine. As for next year you could try putting some straw in a box and put the test tube in there to act like insulation. Also Lasius niger queens normally do not need food until the first workers.

[planetacors]

In fact, I had two queens together for a time, and they did it really well.

[Stapleburger]

thanks again for everyone's advice. I'll give these ideas a go as soon as the next flight happens.