Rundown On What To Do When You Find a Queen - AntsCanada Tutorial #16

If you're amidst an ant nuptial flight,
and a queen alate may come in sight,
there are things to know, but calm your fright
cuz AntsCanada's here to help you get it right.
We've created a poem to answer some questions,
On caring for queens and some queen care suggestions,
Because a lot of you caught queens on ant hunting sessions
And for that we send you a warm Congratulations!
First keep in mind that the best situation
Is to capture a queen alate during ant copulation
This way you're certain there's insemination
And she'll give you a great colony due to her fertilization.
Useless to you are the unfertilized queens,
And since ant sex is determined by the number of genes
without a male's sperm to complete the whole scheme,
only male ants can be born from any virgin queen.
So if the queen ant you catch gives birth,
To an egg which becomes a pupa with girth,
And out comes a male alate as her very first,
Then it's impossible to make any colony work.
If you find a queen alate with wings still attached
Doesn't mean she's unfertilized. She's still a good catch!
She may still have mated and just hadn't detached
the pair of wings used when she was romantically matched.
Also make sure you indeed have a queen
Males look more like wasps with big eyes for the seeing
smaller jaws and sometimes gaster shaped like a bean,
check google images to see what I mean.
When you catch her, you must bottle her up,
And transfer her into a proper setup,
AntsCanada formicaria and you can't screw up,
or in a test tube, where her colony can start up.
We recommend, you house your queen ants solo
Even a quote unquote polygynous species could end in sorrow
It's not worth the risk and if you dunno,
watch some of our videos on pleometrosis, bobo!
Lots of people keep their queen ants in the light,
We at Antscanada have found it sometimes too bright,
for the queens who need peace and darkness just right,
in an undisturbed place or AntsCanada nest site.
Plus having dark-loving ants is really very smart
because ants that are conditioned to like living in dark,
are easier to migrate if they need a fresh start,
into a new nest, by covering the glass part.
During this time you don't need to give food,
She has all the nourishment needed to raise her own brood
What's more important now is not spoiling her mood
and offering her meals may just scare her, not good!
If you want you can offer her a tiny honey drop,
created with a toothpick, cuz a super huge plop,
can drown your queen ant, so just a tiny, tiny dot
Will be enough to fill up her tiny, tiny crop.
Some people like to feed their queen ants insects,
Again not necessary as she has energy in her thorax,
Plus you don't want mold to grow and make things complex
She's a fasting queen ant, not a raging hungry t-rex!
The only exception are semi-claustral queens,
They'll need a proper setup so they can go out when they need
to find food themselves, they hunt and they feed,
during the founding process, above ground she'll be seen.
Examples of queens that are a semi-claustral kind,
Are Pogonomyrmex, Myrmecia, and Myrmica queen finds,
Check our FAQ ant database, compiled by experienced ant minds,
to see if your queen needs food and special hunting time.
Egg laying times may take about ten days,
but sometimes a queen takes more than ten days,
laying in the Spring next year, sun ablaze,
In the world of ant keeping, patience is key always.
Keeping your queen two degrees warmer,
Will cut the waiting time to much, much shorter,
for quick growth from egg to full grown daughter,
simply have a heating cable touch one tiny corner
Try not to bother her, but watch her abdomen,
in two weeks if it's ballooning, you'll know a family's happenin'
But don't worry too much if her butt isn't fattening
She still may be pregnant, skinny queens, don't be chuckin' em!
If you choose the test tube route,
and the cotton gets moldy or water runs out,
Attach a new test tube for the ants to scout,
Eventually they'll move in on their own no doubt.
Moving your colony into their new nest,
Can happen at any stage but we feel that it's best,
To wait for some workers so the risks are less
Cause you won't have to touch them, and make a big mess.
Remember to hibernate your ants each year,
To give a break from egg-laying to the queen you hold dear,
Plus the cold weather will cause her to be eager,
to produce more eggs when warm weather draws near.
Caring for a queen is easier than you think,
With these neat tips you'll have a colony in a blink,
We know a lack of confidence will soon begin to shrink,
with AntsCanada.com. Need help? Click the link.
We truly hope this poem has been of assistance,
At unsolving mysetries and answering your questions,
Remember if you fail, reach for ant-like persistence,
Love your pet ants, and ant love will go the distance.

Poem by AntsCanada
Visit AntsCanada.com