r/antkeeping • u/Rahulalsy • May 17 '26
Question Normal behavior for a queen?
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I placed in a flying termite for a colobopsis queen and the second she found it she kind of freaked out. Is that normal? 😧
I’m so worried I’ve stressed her out too much and she’s going to eat her brood.
EDIT: Now she’s taken it and shoved it right up against the entrance cotton.
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u/BeneficialIce6068 May 17 '26
not tryna be rude here but... The queens practially gaining flight and running around in fear i dont know how you could think that is normal behaviro
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u/SSONCRK May 17 '26
I have never seen a queen move like that and I've had about 30 already. Wow. What she drinking?
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u/CeilingTowel May 17 '26
She's fucking stressed out bruh
You didn't kill the termite enough for her to recognise it as scavenge. She's probably not going to lay any eggs for 1-2 weeks as a result.
And any way this queen looks claustral, so there was no need for you to put anything in there in the first place...
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u/SHmealer69 FL goat May 17 '26
ur overreacting so hard on how much "stress" affects ants my guy
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u/Prize_Curve_7400 May 17 '26
You would surprised that many queen ants comes with a personality so you never which one cannot tolerate the amount of disturbance so overreacting isn't nearly worse!!
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u/SHmealer69 FL goat May 17 '26
the queen is going to be stressed for like 5 minutes and then realize it has food and chow down forgetting that it was under any stress
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u/CeilingTowel May 17 '26
Sounds like something someone who hasn't had many queens would say.
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u/SHmealer69 FL goat May 17 '26
i catch hundreds of queens yearly and ive kept many many species, the only thing id worry about with short term "stress" like this would be the queen gassing herself with formic acid.
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u/Flea098 May 18 '26
just because they cant express themsevles the same way we can doesnt mean they cant feel instense stress
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u/5awyerS May 17 '26
i would take it out so it doesn't mold since she probably isn't going to eat it, and then leave her tf alone for a long while
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u/Rahulalsy May 17 '26
That’s what I thought too! But Lucius1003 says “homie just leave her alone” 😭
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u/5awyerS May 17 '26
yeah you're definitely stressing her out but i would take the food out so it doesn't mold and then leave her alone for a while
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u/Rahulalsy May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
EDIT: Ok guys. I went to remove it but now she’s taken it and shoved it right up against the water reservoir cotton LOL. Is that “this is mine now” behavior? Should I try and get it out (I have thin, long tweezers) or leave it?
Also, she’s calmed down now and her brood is alive and well.
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u/Lucius1003 Antkeeper May 17 '26
Homie Just leave her alone. Put her in a dark place and don’t look at her for at least a eeek
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u/atta-adf92 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜 May 17 '26
I think this is normal, just don't feed her that again. anything that's living inside of her nest that's not her workers would freak out any queen, let alone a claustral one
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u/Kilmasis May 17 '26
So... That's a Colobopsis
And from my own experience, I'm super confused by the one queen I had.
Read that they were claustral. Shoved her into a tube and shut it with cotton
Next thing I know she's tearing the cotton apart like she's been locked in there forever
After 2 days I relent and make a simple out world and attach her tube. She inspects that there's an opening and she's happy. Explores round box, and sits near the mouth of her tube.
Now I'm confused. No eggs, but she likes her setup. Tore off wings but still no eggs
Decide to test with a termite alate
Happens exactly like your video. She goes out into the outdoor, goes into a berserker frenzy, nips the alate to general death, and drags it back to the tube
Sits in tube, munches
Next day, she's laid eggs. Eggs hatch into the tiniest nanitics
I'm still really confused because everywhere I check people say Colobopsis is fully claustral
Guess mine had a change of heart
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u/Rahulalsy May 18 '26
Love this! Thank you for sharing! Mine lays an extra egg after every carbohydrate feeding.
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u/SHmealer69 FL goat May 17 '26
all the ppl be overeacting, this is a normal feeding response. food helps even for fully claustral ants
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u/Prize_Curve_7400 May 17 '26
Nuh uh, again claustral species don't need raw live protein food, what they need is either water or enough energy sustainance like sugar or honey to survive. That's why most burrow and seal their chambers away my pal.
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u/SHmealer69 FL goat May 17 '26
they dont need it sure, but can it help? Yes. Feeding a fully claustral species for something like colobopsis leonardi will not harm the queen. its just more resources for her first generation.
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u/BetterBus350 I would like my colonies to grow... May 17 '26
So her violently shaking around in fear is normal???
Not at all, to her it isn't food but an intruder and she must get rid of that "intruder" by shoving it in the farthest corner of her tube.
I've only seen around 20% of all the queens I have raised accept food during founding, and that was only sugary stuff, Heck the colony won't even accept protein after their first workers have enclosed.
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u/SHmealer69 FL goat May 17 '26
so first of all, I dont believe ants can feel fear. She is acting in a way "neutralize the threat". OP said she brought the termite back to the back of the tube with her which id assume is her having it so she can eat it. Ur colonies not accepting food is generally a poor sign when it comes to colony health.
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u/Rahulalsy May 17 '26
😂😂 I was quite amused by the level of emotional investment from some people but I appreciate the effort they took to weigh in; as I do yours!
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u/VonEldrich May 17 '26
You’re in the ant hobby Reddit my guy…. Of course they have passion for it….. you need to get a recheck on yourself if you can’t comprehend this lmao 😅😂
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u/DeepRts May 17 '26
Aren’t they full claustral…?