I am heartbroken to announce that the Alpha Colony has died. I cannot believe how much this hurts to witness, especially because it happened so fast. Yesterday when I went to feed them normally, I noticed the queen was laying on her side and the workers were acting slow and lethargic. Today, the queen was missing an antenna and several workers were dead in the outer world. All but two of the workers inside the test tube were dead. I will continue to feed them until they die naturally, but the colony is dead.

This hit me like a kick in the stomach. I don’t know for sure what could have caused this to happen so suddenly. I have three theories:

1. Stress from last week’s tube transfer
2. I did not properly clean the new test tube (failure to wash out rubbing alcohol, they choke)
3. My dorm was sprayed with something recently. But this is unlikely because we currently have a small-scale ant infestation going on as well.

The two leading theories suggest it is my error :(

The Alpha Colony will always live on fondly in my memories as my first ever ant colony. I loved to watch the workers go about their duties and care for the queen, and looked forward to their weekly feeding session. Rest in peace.