10 replies to this topic

[cobratank]

Is mid-70s an acceptable temperature for Solenopsis invicta? I don't feel comfortable with heating elements . Will they grow?

 

EDIT: Phone autocorrect fixes.

Edited by cobratank, June 26 2017 - 8:17 PM.

[FeedTheAnts]

I think that would probably be a doable temperature, so yes, they will grow, but it just won't be as fast as it could if they were brought to a natural outdoor summer temperature of say, 80 degrees. It is fine but probably not ideal, just make sure it does not drop below 70 degrees. Most ant keepers keep their ants in a non heated or air conditioned room, so that it is the proper temperature year round.

Edited by TennesseeAnts, June 26 2017 - 5:29 PM.

[cobratank]

I think that would probably be a doable temperature, so yes, they will grow, but it just won't be as fast as it could if they were brought to a natural outdoor summer temperature of say, 80 degrees. It is fine but probably not ideal, just make sure it does not drop below 70 degrees. Most ant keepers keep their ants in a non heated or air conditioned room, so that it is the proper temperature year round.

Thank you so much! I keep them in my office in my basement. There is no AC or heating in that room.

[drtrmiller]

Queens will starve to death before they get workers at anything less than 80 f.

[cobratank]

Queens will starve to death before they get workers at anything less than 80 f.

Should I feed her honey at this point? She has well devoleped larve currently.

[AntswerMe]

Mid 70s temperatures should be fine. They just won't grow as fast as usual.

Edited by AntswerMe, June 27 2017 - 2:09 PM.

[AntswerMe]

Queens will starve to death before they get workers at anything less than 80 f.

80°F? I've had many Solenopsis invicta queens get to the worker stage in temperatures less than that without feeding.

[drtrmiller]

The optimum temperature is stated to be 30°C, which is about 86°F.  Temperatures at the lower end are not only suboptimal, but may very well result in some queens failing to rear brood.
 

"At temperatures below 24°C and above 35°C, queens fail to rear adult workers. Therefore, when soil temperature averages less than 24°C, colony founding stops. At the other extreme, queens can tolerate occasional daily highs of 45°C (Tschinkel, 1993a)."

Resource allocation, brood production and cannibalism during colony founding in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 33:209-223

Edited by drtrmiller, June 27 2017 - 6:25 PM.

[BMM]

24°C is about 75°F, not 80.

[cobratank]

 

The optimum temperature is stated to be 30°C, which is about 86°F.  Temperatures at the lower end are not only suboptimal, but may very well result in some queens failing to rear brood.
 

"At temperatures below 24°C and above 35°C, queens fail to rear adult workers. Therefore, when soil temperature averages less than 24°C, colony founding stops. At the other extreme, queens can tolerate occasional daily highs of 45°C (Tschinkel, 1993a)."

Resource allocation, brood production and cannibalism during colony founding in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 33:209-223

 

Thank you drtmiller, I will try to get my temps up. My Formica and Camponotus ants will benefit from it. 

Edited by cobratank, June 27 2017 - 7:40 PM.

[Saltynuts]

 

Queens will starve to death before they get workers at anything less than 80 f.

80°F? I've had many Solenopsis invicta queens get to the worker stage in temperatures less than that without feeding.

 

 

 

Same here.  Got a queen with many workers now and TONS of eggs, and they are basically room temperature (76 degrees f. or so).  

 

But all you guys indicating that they do better in temperatures higher than 80 degrees got me wondering.  For sure, I've had some queens that have laid eggs that have not hatched for a LONG while.  And I have lots of queens that are not laying eggs.  They could be infertile, but I mean a LOTS.  I probably have 20 queens and only 1 or 2 are laying eggs (besides the couple that have already have had tons of eggs hatch, which continue to lay).  Could this because of the lower temperature?  If so, this puts me in a bit of a bind.  I could put them outside or in the garage, but it pretty routinely gets over 90 degrees, and often over 100 degrees, here in Houston.  Won't this fry my ants?   I can't think of any "in between" place to keep them.

 

Thanks!