27 replies to this topic

[KBant]

my camponotus modoc are also in that lethargic state. I've checked up on them twice since i threw them in the fridge in late october and when i checked on them i notice workers did move around within the tube from the first time i checked to the second, but for the most part they mostly looked dead and fat with their swollen gasters. i noticed some antenna movement on a couple of the workers but i tried to limit how often/long i disturbed them so i quickly put them back. my queen looked the most dead for sure. My fridge is also in the low 40s. don't worry too much, its also my first time. 

[MrILoveTheAnts]

My C. pennsylvanicus colony has been foraging for the two weeks in hibernation. I actually unplugged one of the little tupperware holes to let workers in and out in the garage. Thankfully, the queen can't fit through so there will be no mass moving operations.

They somehow caught a spider and immediately dropped back into hibernation.

They might still abandon her if they find someplace more appropriate to nest in. I've had this happen before. In fact wild colonies commonly form satellite nests.

[Connectimyrmex]

Yikes. Thanks for the heads up. I plugged the exit holes yesterday evening.

[Mettcollsuss]

One of my F. subsericea colonies has two new eggs. What should I do with them?

[Mettcollsuss]

Also, I have a semi-claustral queen. Does she require feeding during hibernation? She doesn't have food reserves to live on like fully claustral queens or repletes like colony.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Also, I have a semi-claustral queen. Does she require feeding during hibernation? She doesn't have food reserves to live on like fully claustral queens or repletes like colony.

I imagine she could go through winter without food just fine, but I wouldn't want to take that risk. I would make sure she at least had access to food. Sugar water in a cotton ball or some other carbohydrate (not pure honey) should suffice. But if she has brood, especially larva, it might be worth it keeping her warmer than everything else you are hibernating and feed her bits of dead insects too.

 

What temperatures the diapause survival strategies kick in aren't well known so if she's kept too warm she might burn through all her fat reserves and starve. An example of this would be Prenolepis imparis which has become the dominant ant foraging in parts of the US where it's gotten cold. Every enzyme in their body is designed to function at lower temperatures which is why they pretty much take the summer off or rarely forage.

[Serafine]

 

My C. pennsylvanicus colony has been foraging for the two weeks in hibernation. I actually unplugged one of the little tupperware holes to let workers in and out in the garage. Thankfully, the queen can't fit through so there will be no mass moving operations.

They somehow caught a spider and immediately dropped back into hibernation.

They might still abandon her if they find someplace more appropriate to nest in. I've had this happen before. In fact wild colonies commonly form satellite nests.

 

Or they will MAKE her fit (I've read at least two journals (I think it was three but not sure it was kinda long ago) where ants like Lasius flavus dismembered their queen to make her fit through a tiny hole).

 

An example of this would be Prenolepis imparis which has become the dominant ant foraging in parts of the US where it's gotten cold. Every enzyme in their body is designed to function at lower temperatures which is why they pretty much take the summer off or rarely forage.

Apparently new studies seem to hint that Prenolepis imparis doesn't have issues with heat but their endosymbiont bacteria (which help them break down food) do.

[Connectimyrmex]

 

 

My C. pennsylvanicus colony has been foraging for the two weeks in hibernation. I actually unplugged one of the little tupperware holes to let workers in and out in the garage. Thankfully, the queen can't fit through so there will be no mass moving operations.

They somehow caught a spider and immediately dropped back into hibernation.

They might still abandon her if they find someplace more appropriate to nest in. I've had this happen before. In fact wild colonies commonly form satellite nests.

 

Or they will MAKE her fit (I've read at least two journals (I think it was three but not sure it was kinda long ago) where ants like Lasius flavus dismembered their queen to make her fit through a tiny hole).

 

 

 

An example of this would be Prenolepis imparis which has become the dominant ant foraging in parts of the US where it's gotten cold. Every enzyme in their body is designed to function at lower temperatures which is why they pretty much take the summer off or rarely forage.

Apparently new studies seem to hint that Prenolepis imparis doesn't have issues with heat but their endosymbiont bacteria (which help them break down food) do.

 

 

rip lasius queen