4 replies to this topic

[Deanmontague]

Hi guys

I’ve had my two colonies (lasius Niger and camponotus h.) on the windowsill instead of the heated bedside drawer now for 2 weeks or so.. I’m planning to put them in the fridge for winter which is between 5-10c - my camponotus can go in now as it’s a small colony of 7 and just some eggs and larvae but my Niger colony grew quite fast and has 50-70 workers at least and had a huge batch of pupae that I’ve waited to hatch..

It’s been 2-3 weeks and there’s still maybe 8 or so pupae left, I’m conscious they should have been hibernated 3 weeks ago… but I read pupae won’t survive hibernation - should I just wait for them to all eclose or will they eclose in the fridge?

Thanks!

[Mettcollsuss]

Pupae won't survive hibernation. Ideally, you should wait until there's only 1st/2nd instar larvae to hibernate. However if it's getting late and they still have other brood, at a certain point you just have to toss them in anyway. For a 50-70w colony, losing 8 pupae isn't a big deal.

 

Also, a note about formatting ant names: the genus name is always capitalized and the species name is not (i.e. Lasius niger), and the genus name can be abbreviated if the genus being discussed has already been established, but the species name should not be (i.e. C. herculeanus).

[PurdueEntomology]

Pupae won't survive hibernation. Ideally, you should wait until there's only 1st/2nd instar larvae to hibernate. However if it's getting late and they still have other brood, at a certain point you just have to toss them in anyway. For a 50-70w colony, losing 8 pupae isn't a big deal.

 

Also, a note about formatting ant names: the genus name is always capitalized and the species name is not (i.e. Lasius niger), and the genus name can be abbreviated if the genus being discussed has already been established, but the species name should not be (i.e. C. herculeanus).

The non-viability of pupae during hibernation with Lasius spp. as you state is this from personal observations made with Lasius spp. or just a generalization regarding overwintering of pupal stage immatures with temperate species of ants? 

[Deanmontague]

I just spelt it like that because I was being lazy hah. I’ll give them another week and see what they’re down to - by 1st December I’ll put them in the fridge regardless then. Thanks

[Mettcollsuss]

The non-viability of pupae during hibernation with Lasius spp. as you state is this from personal observations made with Lasius spp. or just a generalization regarding overwintering of pupal stage immatures with temperate species of ants?

A bit of both. All the Lasius I've kept, as well as most others I've seen, only keep small larvae when preparing for hibernation so I think it's safe to say they don't "want" to hibernate with pupae, though I haven't personally tried putting them in hibernation with pupae.