5 replies to this topic

[Ferox_Formicae]

I recently obtained a fairly larger colony of Camponotus nearcticus from under a piece of bark on the trunk of a pine tree. There are may workers and a single queen, like in most Camponotus. I am keeping them in a CD case with some dirt in it. I do plan on gluing a piece of bark to the plastic so it will be like their original nest. I had to freeze them three times to chill them enough to move them, bu now, the queen in hibernating. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was dead, but she still twitches her feet and the workers make a huge clump around her. Why is she hibernating but the rest of the colony is not?

Edited by CloudtheDinosaurKing, November 15 2018 - 6:30 AM.

[Antking117]

I recently obtained a fairly larger colony of Camponotus nearcticus from under a piece of bark on the trunk of a pine tree. There are may workers and a single queen, like in most Camponotus. I am keeping them in a CD case with some dirt in it. I do plan on gluing a piece of bark to the plastic so it will be like their original nest. I had to freeze them three times to chill them enough to move them, bu now, the queen in hibernating. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was dead, but she still twitches her feet and the workers make a huge clump around her. Why is she hibernating but the rest of the colony is not?

How do you know that they are not hibernating? In my experience the workers still move around get sugar water and such. They do not normally act as the queen does and just sit around and do nothing.

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

I recently obtained a fairly larger colony of Camponotus nearcticus from under a piece of bark on the trunk of a pine tree. There are may workers and a single queen, like in most Camponotus. I am keeping them in a CD case with some dirt in it. I do plan on gluing a piece of bark to the plastic so it will be like their original nest. I had to freeze them three times to chill them enough to move them, bu now, the queen in hibernating. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was dead, but she still twitches her feet and the workers make a huge clump around her. Why is she hibernating but the rest of the colony is not?

How do you know that they are not hibernating? In my experience the workers still move around get sugar water and such. They do not normally act as the queen does and just sit around and do nothing.

 

Well the queen is acting normal now and I know the workers are not hibernating because they are still foraging and moving extremely quickly.

[Antking117]

 

 

I recently obtained a fairly larger colony of Camponotus nearcticus from under a piece of bark on the trunk of a pine tree. There are may workers and a single queen, like in most Camponotus. I am keeping them in a CD case with some dirt in it. I do plan on gluing a piece of bark to the plastic so it will be like their original nest. I had to freeze them three times to chill them enough to move them, bu now, the queen in hibernating. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was dead, but she still twitches her feet and the workers make a huge clump around her. Why is she hibernating but the rest of the colony is not?

How do you know that they are not hibernating? In my experience the workers still move around get sugar water and such. They do not normally act as the queen does and just sit around and do nothing.

 

Well the queen is acting normal now and I know the workers are not hibernating because they are still foraging and moving extremely quickly.

 

All I can say is make sure you have them cold enough and that is all you can really do, if they refuse to hibernate there is not really anything you can do. They might just skip a season possibly?

[Ferox_Formicae]

 

 

 

I recently obtained a fairly larger colony of Camponotus nearcticus from under a piece of bark on the trunk of a pine tree. There are may workers and a single queen, like in most Camponotus. I am keeping them in a CD case with some dirt in it. I do plan on gluing a piece of bark to the plastic so it will be like their original nest. I had to freeze them three times to chill them enough to move them, bu now, the queen in hibernating. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was dead, but she still twitches her feet and the workers make a huge clump around her. Why is she hibernating but the rest of the colony is not?

How do you know that they are not hibernating? In my experience the workers still move around get sugar water and such. They do not normally act as the queen does and just sit around and do nothing.

 

Well the queen is acting normal now and I know the workers are not hibernating because they are still foraging and moving extremely quickly.

 

All I can say is make sure you have them cold enough and that is all you can really do, if they refuse to hibernate there is not really anything you can do. They might just skip a season possibly?

 

Most ants in my area are not hibernating yet. I still see several species out and active, but I think that members of the genus Camponotus are as my largest colony of Camponotus castaneus is slowing down and not foraging any. Then again they do have repletes so they may not have any need to forage. Winters are pretty mild here so some ants may not hibernate. Last February it went up into the 90s! But then in March it was 17 one morning. I'll have to wait and see how it goes with these girls. They're doing good so far and are all still clumped around the queen like a bunch of Army Ants!

[Antking117]

 

 

 

 

I recently obtained a fairly larger colony of Camponotus nearcticus from under a piece of bark on the trunk of a pine tree. There are may workers and a single queen, like in most Camponotus. I am keeping them in a CD case with some dirt in it. I do plan on gluing a piece of bark to the plastic so it will be like their original nest. I had to freeze them three times to chill them enough to move them, bu now, the queen in hibernating. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was dead, but she still twitches her feet and the workers make a huge clump around her. Why is she hibernating but the rest of the colony is not?

How do you know that they are not hibernating? In my experience the workers still move around get sugar water and such. They do not normally act as the queen does and just sit around and do nothing.

 

Well the queen is acting normal now and I know the workers are not hibernating because they are still foraging and moving extremely quickly.

 

All I can say is make sure you have them cold enough and that is all you can really do, if they refuse to hibernate there is not really anything you can do. They might just skip a season possibly?

 

Most ants in my area are not hibernating yet. I still see several species out and active, but I think that members of the genus Camponotus are as my largest colony of Camponotus castaneus is slowing down and not foraging any. Then again they do have repletes so they may not have any need to forage. Winters are pretty mild here so some ants may not hibernate. Last February it went up into the 90s! But then in March it was 17 one morning. I'll have to wait and see how it goes with these girls. They're doing good so far and are all still clumped around the queen like a bunch of Army Ants!

 

I try to copy what the temperature is outside except when it goes below freezing obviously, I do this by putting my ants in a cage that is next to a window, it keeps them cold and i have a heater that detects when it drops to 40 and turns on a heater so it stays above 40. But winters here are very cold, it was 17 degrees yesterday. I would guess that the colony may not need to hibernate if they refuse to. Again, not much you can do to force them to hibernate.