15 replies to this topic

[prettycode]

I have a camponotus queen that bore one worker and laid about about 15 eggs. Most of the eggs turned to larvae, but they don't appear to have continued to grow since then (over the last 6 weeks).

 

Her and her single worker seem sluggish, hardly ever moving. She even fell over on her back when I moved the test tube slightly and was on her back for a good 10 seconds before she righted herself, like she's moving in slow motion.

 

They aren't eating any food I've given them since the worker arrived either.

 

The suggestion I got from a Facebook ant group was to hibernate them, so that's what I plan on doing--putting them in a cool dark place, only checking on them to make sure they have water.

 

My question is about these eggs and larvae. What happens to them during hibernation? Will they die? Will they grow? Will they stay in a stasis of sorts, and begin growing again once she's out of hibernation?

Edited by prettycode, September 25 2015 - 12:13 PM.

[Huch]

Pennsylvanicus and novaeboracensis do what you describe. I hibernated them in a refrigerator for several months, but they stayed in this state for several months after I woke them up. I ended up having to get rid of them.

[Mdrogun]

I've seen this problem often(I have a Camponotus pennsylvanicus. colony that has about 150 workers)This queen might be a dud.

[prettycode]

Pennsylvanicus and novaeboracensis do what you describe. I hibernated them in a refrigerator for several months, but they stayed in this state for several months after I woke them up. I ended up having to get rid of them.

 

I've seen this problem often(I have a Camponotus pennsylvanicus. colony that has about 150 workers)This queen might be a dud.

 

Yeah, this is really frustrating. This is the third camponotus queen I've had that acts this way, out of the four total camponotus queens I've had. Very sluggish, hardly ever moves--even when I disturb them, and when they do reanimate, it's like they're moving at 5% speed.

 

They'll lay a ton of eggs, but none, or just one, will end up eclosing. The rest of the eggs don't continue developing past first larval stages. If they do have a single worker, the worker doesn't appear to actually do anything for her--just sits idle 24/7.

[Jonathan21700]

This is absolutely normal. After hibernation the larvae will start developing.

[Crystals]

I see this with my Camponotus colonies all the time.  They usually overwinter larvae.

There are many accounts of it in my journals.

[William. T]

Camponotus do overwinter larvae.

[Mdrogun]

This is absolutely normal. After hibernation the larvae will start developing.

I don't think so, I've never had this happen. He also said that the worker just sits around. Mine never did that.

I see this with my Camponotus colonies all the time.  They usually overwinter larvae.

There are many accounts of it in my journal

I don't, I've never had this happen. He also said that the worker just sits around. Mine never did that.

[Crystals]

What is your location first of all?  Do you get snow?

 

Northern species with a definite winter will overwinter larvae.  They will stop foraging and generally have distended gasters waiting for winter.

 

Southern species are different.

[LC3]

Seems like Western and Eastern Camponotus seem to vary as much as Southern and Northern ones, even of the same species hard to exactly pinpoint a universal law for them (except they grow slow )

Edited by LC3, September 25 2015 - 4:20 PM.

[Mdrogun]

What is your location first of all?  Do you get snow?
 
Northern species with a definite winter will overwinter larvae.  They will stop foraging and generally have distended gasters waiting for winter.
 
Southern species are different.

Sorry I was not clear. I meant that my camponotus larvae never stops growing. I kept them awake a month too late last year and their larvae still grew. I agree that they do overwinter larvae though. What is happening here seems really weird. My Camponotus workers were always crazy and very tentative to the queen. I think someone had this problem earlier actually. We decided that there was some bacteria that was beneficial to the ants that they were not getting. I think the guy ended up getting rid of his Camponotus. I don't think this is normal at all from what pretty code has described.

[prettycode]

What is your location first of all?  Do you get snow?

 

Northern species with a definite winter will overwinter larvae.  They will stop foraging and generally have distended gasters waiting for winter.

 

Southern species are different.

 

I'm just south of you (I think), in Seattle, WA.

[LC3]

Washington state is under B.C, Alberta (where Crystals lives) is located north east of Washington state. 

[drtrmiller]

I've had a similar experience with northern Camponotus species.  I found that the amount of attention required in getting them started was more than I could offer, though as others have mentioned, there is also some variation in behavior within the species.

 

I suggest finding one with the genes you prefer, and assuming you collected them locally, release the others, or try refrigerating them for some months as suggested, and trying again with them next year.

Edited by drtrmiller, September 26 2015 - 3:18 AM.

[Crystals]

Yeah, you have one of the northern hibernating species then.  The desert species in California are a whole different ball game.

 

I have found with my local northern species that they do not care about the weather outside your window, so don't bother to try to time them.  They will let you know when they want to be hibernated (no pupae, little foraging, distended gasters, hanging out in a cooler section of the nest, etc).  They only need 3-4 months of hibernation; you can give them more, but I don't see much improvement over the 4.5 month mark.

[James C. Trager]

Our temperate region Camponotus overwinter first-instar larvae in diapause (arrested development). Hibernate them until the first of March, and they'll begin developing again.