Woohoo! Both A and B have larvae! It is hard to see A and her eggs/larvae as she is in the outworld now, but I manage by shining light in through the outworld and the cellophane covered test tube.
Some photos of B and her larvae :-)
I emailed a man from the CSIRO here in Canberra to see if they could help me identify my queens. He thinks they may be Nylanderia queens. This genus, which was recently split from Paratrechina, is rather common in the Canberra area. They are ground nesting, usually under rocks or logs. Colonies can be quite large and the workers are very active.
He suggested that I provide a protein source such as a broken up fly for the larvae and a sugary food for the queen such as diluted honey or a small piece of fruit. So being the good ant keeper I am, I set out on a hunt for a bug for the larvae. I caught a hoverfly and broke it up and gave it to B (no point in giving it to A as she has completely blocked herself and her larvae off in her test tube).
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