Update 1-4-2021
I'm happy to see this journal entering its fourth calendar year! Since joining GAN last spring, I've had far more interest in queen ant sales. Several customers are already asking for new colonies, so I decided to start up a few of my new Crematogaster cerasi queens yesterday, 1/3. This is about three weeks earlier than I usually start these, but they have been hibernating since early October.
I will put these in a plastic box and wrap them in a towel. I run a loop of heat cable under one side of the box to create a nice mini-greenhouse effect. This technique works like a charm for me every winter. This species takes about six weeks to get nanitics in conditions like this. It will be fun to have some cute mini- colonies soon!