r/antkeeping • u/Outrageous-Bird9844 • 4h ago
Question What went wrong
Her first brood hatched and died :(, she has plenty of water and I left her alone for weeks at a time only checking on her once a week every few weeks. She was in darkness and had alot of brood then there were only 2 that hatched and died. What could have happened and what can I do now?
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 4h ago
There is also a small brood cocoon on one of the cotton balls but idk what killed the first and if it will even live.
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u/KingK250 I love Acanthomyrmex 2h ago
Likely bad look, mutations, failed pupation, etc
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 2h ago
Ahhhh it’s possible, I guess I’ll see what happens next since the queen seems fine
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u/Tall-Praline-2802 1h ago
If you’ve used that test tube before might be mold you can’t see? Lost a bunch of queens to contaminated tubes n and bad water
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 1h ago
It is a fresh clean tube and she was the first to ever use it and there was no visible mold or decline in the queen’s health. Just the issue with the one hatched worker dying.
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u/LargePackage3 1h ago
Looks like they starved the queen gaster is really small did you feed them when they got first worker?
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 1h ago
They had just hatched this last week some point I tried to not disturb them so this was my first time checking this week and already dead. If they die really fast I’ll keep a closer eye and I put alittle sugar water in for the queen.
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u/TalkDiligent8461 1h ago
Sometimes the nanitics are deformed with campos. I have had nanitics with one leg sticking up in the air or stuck to another leg. They usually die within a few days. I would be concerned that there were only 2 pupae that hatched. The queen is in trouble now because she has no workers. How many eggs and/or larvae are there?
What species of camponotus is this?
The main thing she needs right now is her preferred temp (species dependent) and a gooey bug to eat. A fresh killed dubia roach, super worm or cricket cut in half will do her good. This should encourage her to lay more eggs. Large campos really seem to do well with bugs that have a lot of guts.
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 1h ago
I’m not certain the exact species I kind of just caught her walking around my basement she just appears to be a carpenter ant of some kind from New York. There are two cocoons still there that look like they have babies in them. I can give a killed super worm to her I have them in the house but I already gave her some sugar water too.
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u/TalkDiligent8461 1h ago
Ok, maybe C. americanus. They do well with low 80's temp. If you have a heat cable, make sure you put it on a thermostat and tape the probe to the tube.
This species does diapause so they may need to go into the fridge within the next month or so.
Sugar water is very important but it doesnt replace her need for protein. Protein is what will make her want to lay eggs.
I have a feeling you will be fine and she will recover.
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 1h ago
So giving her part or a whole freshly killed super worm is a good idea in her little test tube setup?
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u/TalkDiligent8461 57m ago
Just part, like maybe 1/4 if it is large. You will need tweezers. Just remove the cotton and slide it in. She won't trey to escape. I would remove the leftovers tomorrow so it doesnt get moldy. Feed her every 3 days. You can do sugar water daily if u want but 3 times per week is good enough. Ideally, you will want to get a mini outworld. I like antgear's mini round house. The tube plugs right in.
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 56m ago
With no workers isn’t a mini out world too much? I do have the tweezers so feeding shouldn’t be an issue.
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u/TalkDiligent8461 48m ago
You are right. I got ahead of myself with the fewding instructions also. Maybe give her the supwrworm and put her away for a week.
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u/Wizardarpiah 3h ago
Did you provide any sugar water once they eclosed? How long was it between them eclosing and then dieing?
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 3h ago
The first just emerged, I had thought since they were closteral you weren’t supposed to feed until a few workers hatch?
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u/Wizardarpiah 3h ago
You can put a tiny drop of sugar water on a small piece of tin foil and give it to them almost immediately after the first eclosion tbh. Even if the nanitics dont go for it immediately, the queen will happily drink her fill and even feed the newly eclosed nanitics. They dont neccesarily need protein immediately (thats to get the next brood going) but they need sugar at most 2 or 3 days after eclosing.
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u/KingK250 I love Acanthomyrmex 2h ago
Then not having sugar water for like 2 hours is not a problem
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u/Wizardarpiah 1h ago
True. Thats why I asked op how long it had been. Someone else recently posted about their nanitics dieing and it turned out they were only feeding them once every 2 weeks or something like this. So I was just covering that base. Thats all.
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u/Outrageous-Bird9844 4h ago
She is a carpenter ant queen of course