137 replies to this topic

[Swirlysnowflake]

hello everyone~ I've been looking for wasps for a few months now, and finally came across a prehibernation huddle of polistes aurifer. i caught two of the 20-ish queens, and i put them into 2 knitter keepers with pieces of cardboard and flowers and honey water and plain water. this journal is for them and possibly any other wasps that i catch! 

Edited by Swirlysnowflake, November 5 2020 - 11:33 AM.

[ZTYguy]

Ooooooo. Can't wait for the next update. That is a beautiful queen.

[TennesseeAnts]

I think you'll have to hibernate them for a couple weeks before they'll build a nest. I have a couple Polistes carolina queens, and I'm leaving them in ny garage for a couple weeks before I set them up for nest building. I think I'll put two in one critter keeper, and one in the other.

[Swirlysnowflake]

I think you'll have to hibernate them for a couple weeks before they'll build a nest. I have a couple Polistes carolina queens, and I'm leaving them in ny garage for a couple weeks before I set them up for nest building. I think I'll put two in one critter keeper, and one in the other.

yep, i transferred them from the deli cup into 2 knitter keepers and i put those into my garage to hibernate  the cardboard was just so that they can hang on to something while hibernating if they wanted

Edited by Swirlysnowflake, November 2 2020 - 8:23 AM.

[Swirlysnowflake]

heres a slightly better pic of one of the queens. there probably will not be many updates on them until january when i’m going to take them out 

Edited by Swirlysnowflake, November 2 2020 - 9:13 AM.

[TennesseeAnts]

CE3FFBF8-4CEA-432B-92A0-57F6E908A079.jpeg
heres a slightly better pic of one of the queens. there probably will not be many updates on them until january when i’m going to take them out

Very pretty queen! Mine're gonna come out in December. Then I'll put them into nesting boxes.

[KitsAntVa]

I was thinking of keeping solitary velvet ants. And maybe trying to mimic their reproduction in the wild by finding a colony to set up. Hopefully I don't die.... just kidding but their sting really hurts from my experience and others.

[KitsAntVa]

Also swirly are you XxSpiderQueenxX from arachnoboards its funny that i see that thread and we started talking about ants on it and like 3 days later i see this.

Edit: nvm You literally changed your profile pic to the picture you just posted. that answers my question.

Edited by KitsAntVa, November 2 2020 - 10:24 AM.

[Swirlysnowflake]

Also swirly are you XxSpiderQueenxX from arachnoboards its funny that i see that thread and we started talking about ants on it and like 3 days later i see this.

Edit: nvm You literally changed your profile pic to the picture you just posted. that answers my question.

ahaha yes i am, and i accidentally changed my pfp to the wasp pic, i meant to click on another photo XD 

does my pfp still show as the wasp? that pic is kinda gross lol

Edited by Swirlysnowflake, November 2 2020 - 12:31 PM.

[Swirlysnowflake]

I was thinking of keeping solitary velvet ants. And maybe trying to mimic their reproduction in the wild by finding a colony to set up. Hopefully I don't die.... just kidding but their sting really hurts from my experience and others.

that would be cool! totally make a journal or something if you do.

though, the males of velvet ants fly and i have literally never seen one 

[ZTYguy]

Luckily only the females sting I believe from experience.

[ponerinecat]

You should probably give them a more confined area for hibernation, like some bamboo tubes or a clump of moss. I've seen Vespula hibernate in between cracks in wood, so you can probably just stack some wood chips in the corner for them to dig into,

[Swirlysnowflake]

You should probably give them a more confined area for hibernation, like some bamboo tubes or a clump of moss. I've seen Vespula hibernate in between cracks in wood, so you can probably just stack some wood chips in the corner for them to dig into,

I have a pretty thick layer of spaghnum (is that how you spell it?) moss spread across the bottom, as well as a piece of cardboard folded up so there is like a crack in between for the wasp to sit, is that good? Also the wasps seem to be sitting upside down on the lid a lot, and one is wedging itself into this small space between two pieces of the plastic of the lid. Is that normal?

[KitsAntVa]

Luckily only the females sting I believe from experience.

Yes only females sting but they hurt a lot. Like... A LOT.

[ponerinecat]

 

You should probably give them a more confined area for hibernation, like some bamboo tubes or a clump of moss. I've seen Vespula hibernate in between cracks in wood, so you can probably just stack some wood chips in the corner for them to dig into,

I have a pretty thick layer of spaghnum (is that how you spell it?) moss spread across the bottom, as well as a piece of cardboard folded up so there is like a crack in between for the wasp to sit, is that good? Also the wasps seem to be sitting upside down on the lid a lot, and one is wedging itself into this small space between two pieces of the plastic of the lid. Is that normal?

 

Yeah that's good. I've noticed Polistes like to stay elevated, she's probably just trying to find a place to hide.

[Swirlysnowflake]

i had put the kritter keepers in my garage, but they were still very lively and active and it wasn’t that cold in there so i moved them outside where it is colder, though i put them inside another tank so they wouldn’t get knocked over. they have settled down now and aren’t running around as much, though i don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. 

on another note, they look so adorable when they clean their legs lol

[Swirlysnowflake]

ummmm do they always tuck their wings underneath their bodies while hibernating? Because the queens are sitting in their kritter keepers very very calmly, but their wings are folded parallel over their backs. They arent splayed outwards like normal, just straight and side by side. are they hibernating?

[ZTYguy]

Probably they are fine and its just to fit in tight spaces.

[TennesseeAnts]

ummmm do they always tuck their wings underneath their bodies while hibernating? Because the queens are sitting in their kritter keepers very very calmly, but their wings are folded parallel over their backs. They arent splayed outwards like normal, just straight and side by side. are they hibernating?

Yup, that's what the queens do when they've entered their hibernation state.

[Swirlysnowflake]

does anyone know the earliest that i can bring them out of hibernation