37 replies to this topic

[DRpepper]

Update?

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Update?

 

All the queens died. I've not had good luck with this species so far. 

[aznphenom]

 

Update?

 

All the queens died. I've not had good luck with this species so far. 

 

Not many people do. I've given up on them. I keep them if i catch them because they fly right in front of my community. But I have very little expectation of them thriving.

[sL0wNsteady]

I had a colony that I left in my mom’s spare room. I forgot about it for a year. They were in a test tube connected to an outworld and all they had was a byformica feeder and sunburst nectar. They were still alive when I remembered.

My mom kept that house in the low 70s.

When I took them to my apartment, they ended up dying. I think because my apartment can get pretty hot.

They definitely do best when it’s cold. (I guess that’s why they are winter ants).

Once I move to a place that I better control the temp, I will try again. My dream is to have a multi queen colony.


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[TacticalHandleGaming]

I'm going to give these another shot this year. I have two bifurcated mini hearths ready just for them. Wish me luck!

[Artisan_Ants]

I have two colonies. One colony lost all it’s workers (besides one and the queen) because I didn’t move their test tube in time, and another colony is nice and healthy but no eggs. Don’t know why. Probably temperature issues which is strange. I am also attempting to catch more this year, possibly even a multi-queen setup.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

I only managed to capture one queen on flights so far. She had no wings when I found her. I'm hoping I find more soon.

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

We officially have eggs! 

 

 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

The queen is looking very healthy, and we have a nice replete!

 

 

[futurebird]

I just caught one of these queens. I have a wine fridge that I use for overwintering ants. Do you think I should put my queen in the fridge at about 55F? I can keep her cool if it's needed since I'm not using the fridge with all the other ants out of hibernation. 

 

My apartment will start getting VERY warm in the coming weeks and if that's bad for her maybe I should pack her away?

[Artisan_Ants]

Extreme heat is awful for this species. Where species like Solonopsis, Camponotus, and Formica like heat, the guys can’t even have their brood develop with it. It is still cool on my area but when it isn’t I have to put them in my refrigerator. Make sure it’s at a temp where they can still move (these guys can move in real low temperature anyways so yeah).

[TacticalHandleGaming]

I just caught one of these queens. I have a wine fridge that I use for overwintering ants. Do you think I should put my queen in the fridge at about 55F? I can keep her cool if it's needed since I'm not using the fridge with all the other ants out of hibernation. 
 
My apartment will start getting VERY warm in the coming weeks and if that's bad for her maybe I should pack her away?

Basically you don't want them to get over 75ish degrees. They have a summer estivation period they go through, make sure they are comfortable and not too hot during that period.

[Ernteameise]

Wow, it is very interesting to learn about an ant species that does not love heat and needs to be kept cool.

There is so much to learn!

[TacticalHandleGaming]

A quick little video of the colony. They recently consumed a cricket, and are doing quite well.

 

[Flu1d]

Prenolepis imparis cause absolute chaos in my yard during the cold months lol. They bully everything. Even the Solenopsis invicta are no match for them when the Preno's are on their beast mode status.

They seem super cool, but harder to keep. Especially here in Florida, where it would be a pain having to keep them in diapause for such long periods of time.

I love being able to live vicariously through you here in this journal!

[futurebird]

Lovely video. Thank you for the update. My girl is in the wine fridge at 70F for now and she seems less stressed and sits in the middle of the tube. With some luck maybe I will see some eggs, but who knows if she's mated or not. This diary is super helpful. 

[TacticalHandleGaming]

Lovely video. Thank you for the update. My girl is in the wine fridge at 70F for now and she seems less stressed and sits in the middle of the tube. With some luck maybe I will see some eggs, but who knows if she's mated or not. This diary is super helpful. 

I'm glad to be of any help. I've tried to get this species going many times now. I'm hopeful that I will be successful this year. This attempt is with kidnapped workers from an existing colony. As I had read that Prenolepis imparis will sometimes fly with workers on their backs, or even crawl back into their home colony and setup shop there. As you can see, the workers accepted the queen as their own. Caring for her, her brood, and even getting repletes.

[TacticalHandleGaming]

The colony is doing quite well. With a nice egg pile the worker is caring for.