Manipulative field experiments with invasive species, such as the Argentine ant Linepithema humile, raise concerns over introducing known invaders into new areas as an experimental treatment. However, short-term introductions of invasive species may elicit insights into interactions and behaviours between the invasive and native organisms. Argentine ant nests are notoriously ephemeral and readily migrate once introduced into a field site, with potentially catastrophic results. We compared the foraging behaviour of Argentine ant nests containing queens and brood against nests containing only workers to two sugar sources, 25% sugar water and cotton aphids on Chrysanthemums, in the laboratory. We found no significant difference between the foraging behaviours of worker-only nests and nests containing queens and brood. This suggests that worker-only nests can be substituted in meaningful short-term field experiments, especially those investigating carbohydrate requisitioning, with no risk to the environment if escape occurs.