Thats a shame R3dfox, all of my black ant queens died now as well. I'm not sure if you know, but the queens have to have flown first, and the best way to tell that is if they have no wings. Only catch them once they have shed the wings.
I bought some really cheap little contairs (slightly bigger than test tubes) with lids on, put some sugery water in the bottom, then plug it with a ball of cotton wool, leaving about 2/3rds of the container for the queen. Put one queen in each, and then leave them in a dark warmish place. They should lay, and in a month or two you may have workers and eggs. Leave them in there for a while longer. When the workers are grown a bit you could then put the whole container into a glass tank, or one of those cheaper plastic ones, which you have half filled with soil. take the lid off the container, and place it into the tank. Dont tip the ants out though. The container is their secure home, and they will move into the rest of the tank when they are ready to. Hope that helps for this coming year...