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[xTNxANTMANx]

So this topic is a little late but this past year I had 2 C. pennsylvanicus colonies. They both went into hibernation just fine and everything was going according to plan. Once taken out of hibernation though exactly four months later, within a week both the Queens died. No workers, just the queen in each colony. I'm thinking it is because I didn't give them a long enough adjustment period raising the temperature slowly over a longer time frame of say a week. All of my smaller species including my Formica colonies, adjusted just fine. They were all kept in a dorm room size mini fridge and all I did was unplug it and let it warm up on its own over the course of a couple days. My question is, could that possibly be the reason the Queens died so suddenly? Personally I think it was my mistake not giving them enough time to adjust being as they are bigger in size. I would just like to know what everyone else thinks. Sadly I didn't find a replacement Queen(s) this year but I also didn't really look as I have approximately 8 other colonies and also keep over 100 tarantulas along with other inverts. Thank you in advance for any one who gives their opinion on this.

[Jamiesname]

Since I can't see anyone offering up a definitive answer to this question due to so many unknown variables, here's my theory. . .

I had over a dozen Camponotus sp in hibernation last year, with over half being C. pennsylvanicus. I've never had a problem just pulling them out of the fridge and leaving them on the counter to warm up. However, I do think it's a good idea to ease them back into warmer temps; I'm going to do that from now on.

I personally think, and this is only my opinion, is that four months of hibernation in captivity is too long. I know in they do it in the wild, but we can never offer them the same resources and other benefits that their natural environment does. I hibernate all my ants 90 days max. Often times I even pull my weaker colonies (1 yr old or less, or less than usual worker force) out after 60 days. It's like an early spring, and the ants don't know any different.

Your queen is obviously a large ant, so it's also obvious that she requires more resources than the workers as a result based solely on that observation, multiply that based on her level of production and 4x+ the amount of resources as a worker isn't too far fetched. My point here is that 120 days is very likely more strenuous on your queens than your workers, and she simply can't make it that long without eating for that long.