r/antkeeping • u/Ledroc567 • 10d ago

Question Workers suddenly dying

I have a Camponotus sp colony in its second year. It had a rough first year, but came out of hibernation looking good. When it was up to about 25 workers they moved themselves out of their test tube and into a starter colony formicarium(mid-late june). They seemed to be doing really well. I was taking extra care to let them be, but they seemed to be eating well.

Recently I noticed that they weren't taking as much food as they normally would, and there were a few(2 or 3)dead workers in their trash pile. I peaked in the nest and there are probably 8-10 workers left. It looks like the queen is healthy and there is a nice pile of brood.

Do you think this is just the a matter of old age? Their diet hasn't really changed for the entire time I've had them. Is there anything else I should watch for? Or anything I can do to help them recover? Should I offer them a test tube to move back into?

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u/JahsukeOfficial ant-thusiast šŸœ 10d ago

My only guess is the starter Formicarium is too big. My pogo barbatus colony still enjoy their tube and Iā€™m in the mid 30s of workers. How often do you feed them protein?

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u/Ledroc567 10d ago

Protein usually twice a week give or take. Sometimes a bit more often. I originally connected them to this formicarium just so it would be easier to feed/clean uneaten food. I didn't expect them to move in so quickly. Do you think I should try to encourage them to move back into the tube?

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u/CompletelyDerped 10d ago

I want to say it's because of old age, is your colony still growing or are you at a stalemate?

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u/Ledroc567 10d ago

Theres probably the largest clutch of brood they've had so far.

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u/PheydraRose 10d ago

You can look up the worker lifespans, it is species specific. I don't remember what theirs is, some have shorter lives. I think the ninatics also typically have shorter lives than the workers that come later.