3 replies to this topic

[TheGamblingAnt]

Hey guys,

This is my first year trying to keep ants, so far I caught a couple small colonies where I saw the queen when I flipped over a rock so I scooped up the workers I saw and the queen.. as well as a few queens by herself that I've found which I have in founding test tube setups. I'm curious about how hot is too hot? Sometimes during the summer upstairs in my house it can get into the low, possibly mid 90s during the day since I don't typically turn the air conditioner on upstairs. Are mid day temps in the low to mid 90s going to be a problem for any of the ants? All the ants I will be keeping are native to Wisconsin where I live. I've got a few prenolepis imparis queens and I know they don't really like the heat.. but will this be problematic if they're warm during the day and cool down at night? None of the ants will be exposed to direct sunlight.

[ANTdrew]

As with most things, this will depend a lot on species. Ground dwelling ants probably prefer to dig deeper in the summer to escape lots of heat. An ant that lives in dead trees, on the other hand, will be more exposed to high temperatures in the summer. Prenolepis are a species that digs insanely deep down, so they won’t like such high temps.

[TheGamblingAnt]

What are the consequences though? Like prenolepis imparis who won't like the heat, will the die? Brood die? Stop laying eggs? I just don't know how big of a deal it'll be. Most days won't get that warm but it will happen. Most days (during the day time) id guess between 85-90 degrees.

[rptraut]

Hello GamblingAnt;

In my colonies it seems the queen, eggs and larvae prefer cooler temps than pupae, cocoons and workers. I think the mysterious death of only the queen in a colony is often due to overheating. In one instance, where I know the test tube was overheated, the only dead ant was the queen. Try to provide a colony with a warm and dry area and a cool moist area. Will the heat kill your queens? That’s a gamble you’ll have to take!
RPT

Edited by rptraut, June 5 2025 - 8:13 PM.