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[Works4TheGood]

I've been catching more queens as the cold season approaches here in State College, PA.  I've been keeping all queens that haven't laid any eggs yet in my unheated basement at room temperature.  However, the rule of thumb is to keep founding queens between 80 and 85 degrees, but that's not what it's doing outside.  So, am I doing the right thing by keeping them at room temperature in my basement?  Or should I put them back in my incubator until I decide to put them into official hibernation?

 

[drtrmiller]

Queens that fly at this time of year may become distressed at the temperatures you mentioned.  Lasius, for example, require only a tepid temperature for the development of brood.

 

Emulating the average climatic conditions in your region will generally yield the best results, especially as many ants that fly late in the year in northern regions will not progress too far before diapause.