Comments on: Ant Farm Update #4: The New Class

By: hm8

hm8 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:57:29 +0000

Haha, the severed head is still attached to the queen’s leg. Funny stuff.

I hope this time it turns out as a success!

By: Frank the SciencePunk

Frank the SciencePunk — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:43:06 +0000

I have indeed poked a little den for her, which she likes hiding in, pictures to follow…

By: didilydumm

didilydumm — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:56:00 +0000

I beg to differ, i think this queen’s fertile. Lasius niger queens shed their wings after mating. BTW Honeybees mate during spring, but Lasius niger (the common garden black ants) mate between July and August in ‘nuptual flights’ with winged queens forced out of their original colonies and clumsily flying around (and being a general nuisance) during a really hot day in the summer.

Frank, have you tried poking a hole through the gel for the queen to reside in? These gels look fairly viscous and hard, perhaps she can do with a helping hand? I know some people keep their queen in a cotton wool sealed test tube, and water is provided by keeping the cotton wool moist? Queens have enough food resources to last them through hibernation in the winter and into spring, so there’s no real need to feed them.

I yapped on abit too much, i hope this helps :)

By: Frank the SciencePunk

Frank the SciencePunk — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:24:06 +0000

Thanks for the info Audrey – sounds like ants are similar to bees. But I’m interested to know why you think my queen hasn’t mated? Her wings had fallen off already when I caught her…

By: Audrey

Audrey — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:50:57 +0000

Queens have wings and mate with a male (also has wings). THey mate during a brief flight, often in spring. The males die quickly (alas) and the mated queen crawls away to start a colony. Her wings will fall off. She begins to lay eggs and voila! So begins a new colony. Most ants are females. They do all the work, including fighting, tending young, digging, etc. Which brings us to the sad part…

It is unlikely that your “queen” has actually mated with a male. She will probably not lay any eggs, but will die like all other ants, in about 1 to 3 months. So sorry to burst your blue gel bubble.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:23:59 +0000

Looking good now then. Hopefully the queen will dish out some workers and it’ll all come to life. I reckon you need to get #2 ant carcass off the leg though, and perhaps dispose of the bodies/evidence.

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:06:18 +0000

Spayced’s response was close enough to a second for me.

By: Anoop

Anoop — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:11:04 +0000

@Ian Shouldn’t some one HAVE to say “I second” or “seconded” to use “3rded” : )

But I do agree this ant on ant action is most excellent!

Coming soon….BB-ant-cam!?

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:46:20 +0000

3rded. The ant stuff makes for great reading.

By: spayced

spayced — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:12:13 +0000

I’m with Robert, i love this ant drama.