6 replies to this topic

[Manitobant]

One of the most disappointing parts of being an antkeeper in Canada is that you have to hibernate your ants for almost half the year, and I’m sure many other Canadians will relate. I know hibernation is essential for most ant colonies but is there any Canadian species that can go without it or not develop any bad side effects from staying out?

Edited by Manitobant, April 7 2019 - 4:15 PM.

[YsTheAnt]

Tetramorium immigrans doesn't require it, if you have those in your area.

Other than that, none come to mind. If you like having some colonies active all year round, look into reverse hibernation. It takes a year to get going but is worth it in my opinion.

[ANTdrew]

Sorry, man. As luck would have it, you live in one of the coldest major cities on earth. I would look into reverse hibernating like YS said. Chrystals has written about it on here; she also lives in a very cold part of Canada. Just stay patient - it's needed in so many aspects of this crazy hobby. Soon enough, you'll be deciding where you want to live. Maybe somewhere further south could be part of your life plan.

At the same time, hibernating is kind of a nice break. I pulled out my colonies just a few weeks ago, and I already sort of wish I could put them back in the fridge, lol. You don't necessarily need to hibernate the full length of your winter, too.

[Serafine]

Reverse hibernation is actually a pretty great idea. That way you can have twice the amount of colonies you'd normally have space for because half of them will always be in their hibernation quarter.

[Manitobant]

Soon enough, you'll be deciding where you want to live. Maybe somewhere further south could be part of your life plan.

believe me, I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’m thinking about moving down to AZ where a lot of the other hardcore entomologists live or study. I would have to change my name to Arizonant though! Also, do you have a link to the reverse hibernation thread?

Edited by Manitobant, April 8 2019 - 12:29 PM.

[Lazarus]

As some have pointed out, I too welcome the downtime during hibernation to plan and build for the next year. Sure I miss seeing the "little ones" during that time, but I only hibernate for 4 months so it's not that bad (especially since I got a small fridge just for the ants).  The idea of 'reverse hibernation' is new to me so I'll have to look that up. It would be nice to have perhaps one active colony during the winter.

[BeginnerAntKeeper]

Well here in the tropics there is no hibernation so it’s feeding and taking care of the ants all year!