4 replies to this topic

[ant007]

Your opinion, please ?.

Received September 10 Two test tubes with a colony Camponotus Japonicus. In one there were 3 workers, in the second 7. Ate syrup, larvae of Ulomoides dermestoides. September 20 gave honey. Ate a large amount.

   The colony with 7 workers froze. It grouped around the queen and stopped eating. I thought it was diapause! Lowered the temperature to +15 degrees and left alone.

In another colony, two workers died and the queen ate an egg-laying; I dropped the test tube !!!! I decided to transplant one ant from another colony .. the queen is one, eats yogurt, syrup, cottage cheese

 I looked into the test tube “in diapause”, the queen on the eggs. !! Put in a thermostat +25 and gave a yolk with honey.

Your opinion??

[Manitobant]

I don't think they do, though it would be helpful to lower the temperature for a few months, but not by too much

[Aaron567]

Assuming the colony came from Japan, Korea, or anywhere of similar climate/latitude, then yes, they'll need a period of diapause. From what I understand, you lowered a colony's temperature to 15C and the queen continued to lay eggs. If this is the case, they may need to be lower than 15C or they aren't quite ready for diapause yet. 

[ant007]

Diapause is a reaction to stressful external factors, when any activity threatens to weaken the strength of the colony. My mistake was to give pure honey in an unlimited amount, causing "Energetic Overheating" - the queen's fading, transmitted to the working ants.

Japanese Camponotus does not need wintering, but it is very capricious and falls into diapause. I inadvertently provoked the colony to overheat. But lowering the temperature I corrected the error. Two weeks were enough for the colony to go out of stress to the working state and the queen began laying.

[ant007]

Assuming the colony came from Japan, Korea, or anywhere of similar climate/latitude, then yes, they'll need a period of diapause. From what I understand, you lowered a colony's temperature to 15C and the queen continued to lay eggs. If this is the case, they may need to be lower than 15C or they aren't quite ready for diapause yet.