15 replies to this topic

[mrrhostar]

I've recently taken my ants out of hibernation since the weather outside is consistently warm and insects were active. I've noticed lately that my ants weren't twtiching as much when they were in a hibernated state. I checked them periorically on the weekends and didn't keep them out for too long: I just checked for any minor movement and put them immediatley back. The fridge I used never dipped below 2.5°C and I knew these ants could handle temperatures below 5°C since I (during my novice days) kept them in an area of my house partially exposed to the outside. I also should mention there was a mold outbreak last Friday; some of the workers perished but the queen and others were not contaminated. However, I took them out last night and they have yet to show any signs of life. They were warmed gradually to room temperature and have yet to wake up. So, the big question: did my queen and workers die in the fridge? 

 

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Definitely dead, I’m assuming they are some sort of Camponotus species, do you live in the US? (for id)

 

Here is some questions to determine the death:

Was there water in the tube?

Did you feed them before hibernation.

Also when did you put them into hibernation?

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, Yesterday, 12:48 PM.

[mrrhostar]

I definitely did have water in the test tube and they were fed on a daily basis before hibernation. I placed them into hibernation in mid-December. While I was out for break, they survived a whole month in the refrigerator with nothing significant changing about the conditions. What went wrong? Was it because I checked on them for too often?

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

I definitely did have water in the test tube and they were fed on a daily basis before hibernation. I placed them into hibernation in mid-December. While I was out for break, they survived a whole month in the refrigerator with nothing significant changing about the conditions. What went wrong? Was it because I checked on them for too often?

Hmmm, how many times you checked?

[mrrhostar]

I mostly checked the temperature of the fridge every day. Only on Saturday did I take the ants out to inspect them for any small twitching. I put them right back with the temperature sitll maintained around 4-5°C.

Edited by mrrhostar, Yesterday, 12:53 PM.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

I mostly checked the temperature of the fridge every day. Only on Saturday did I take the ants out to inspect them for any small twitching. I put them right back with the temperature sitll maintained around 4-5°C.

Could of been the stress of you checking every day or just a spontaneous queen death, 90 percent of the queens released in nuptial flights don’t make it and even more won’t be able to survive until the next year, it could of been that your colony was just not meant to be. It happens to all of us

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, Yesterday, 1:09 PM.

[mrrhostar]

I believe there was some fluctuation in the fridge that I wasn't aware of. I feel like I can't keep a colony until I have all the proper materials. This is my second failed colony so far. I had a pretty successful one in high school, but I had killed them due to lack of knowledge on the hibernation process. How can I ensure a better outcome for hibernation next time? I've heard some have a small wine fridge so they can directly control the temperature at all times. Is this the only true way to assuredly hibernate ants, or was there something else I could have done with the refrigerator?

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Do you mean fluctuations like fluctuating to lower temperature or higher temperatures? Because if it lasted only for like half an hour or something close to that, it wouldn’t have affected them that much. I stick my ants into my garage that is set to around 5 degrees Celsius and it it fine for them because we don’t go in that often, basically stick them anywhere that is in that temperature range all year and where they will get little to no disturbances and they will be fine.

 

(Also I just noticed that you use Celsius, do you live anywhere in Canada, it will be cool if there was a new Canadian ant keeper in the fourum)

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, Yesterday, 1:32 PM.

[mrrhostar]

I feel that until I have a stable income, the best device I have is a commercial fridge. Is this really an ideal way to hibernate ants? How about a cooler? Or, should I wait until I have the capacity to buy a more regulated form of cooling and thus to try again?

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

I feel that until I have a stable income, the best device I have is a commercial fridge. Is this really an ideal way to hibernate ants? How about a cooler? Or, should I wait until I have the capacity to buy a more regulated form of cooling and thus to try again?

 If the temperature does not dip below freezing, maybe (if you have a porch or smt like that) you can stick them outside or put them in a space that is around 5* C, also what type of cooler do you have, is it a an electronic cooler? If nothing is good enough, you could still use the fridge

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, Yesterday, 1:49 PM.

[mrrhostar]

I was thinking of a general cooler, like the ones you take to the beach. So, the queen died because 1) I checked on it too much and the temperature fluctuated too rapidly or 2) it died spontaneously.

Edited by mrrhostar, Yesterday, 2:00 PM.

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

I was thinking of a general cooler, like the ones you take to the beach. So, the queen died because 1) I checked on it too much and the temperature fluctuated too rapidly or 2) it died spontaneously.

Probably 2, cuz I don’t think fluctuations is so bad and I don’t really thing checking on them will change much, unless there is a lot of vibrations when you close the fridge door

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

 

Deleted (Copy of post above)

Edited by OwlThatLikesAnts, Yesterday, 2:07 PM.

[Stubyvast]

I agree with OwlThatLikesAnts, it was probably spontaneous. I think the deaths were mainly a genetics issue, this does happen in the wild so it's not surprising. As for hibernation, I just kept my colonies in an unheated room built as an extension to the house, and they survived fine, it may have even dropped below freezing a couple of times during the night. I think that a fridge set-up should be completely fine, even if there are fluctuations in temperature. 

 

Also, if you did catch your queens in Canada or northern USA, they should be specialized for below-freezing temperatures due to a natural anti-freeze built into their hemolymph. So going back to your ants, if they died it could be either a spontaneous, genetics related problem (most likely), a mould (possibly but I don't see any moulds), or something to do with disturbances or moisture (already confirmed not the problem).

 

Either way, hopefully you can catch some more queens and give it another try this season!

[Izzy]

I find it very suspect that all of the ants, queen and workers, died. That makes me think something went wrong with temperature or water.

 

Sometimes you can still have water in your test tube, but if the water is not penetrating through the cotton ball (usually because its too big of a cotton ball for the tube) and dry on the side facing the ants then they can still die with a test tube full of water. I lost some colonies due to this when I was first starting. Checking on the queen too much wouldn't cause her to die I think, but perhaps stress her and she might potentially eat her eggs.

 

I bought a wine fridge specifically for hibernating ants, but most of my colonies are in the garage. As long as you can keep them between 0 and 15 degrees C for 3-5 months (depending on species) they should be ok.

 

I find the wine fridge is great for test tubes as sometimes in the garage with the temperature fluctuations it can cause the test tubes to leak, but as you get bigger colonies its hard to fit them all in a fridge and garage becomes a great place. But if you're just starting I don't think there is any reason to go out and buy a special fridge to keep a test tube in. You're probably fine to use the garage as I haven't had a lot of problems with leaking tubes, but it does happen from time to time. A cool basement also works great. Assuming you live somewhere with a true winter, the garage or basement are usually within a good temperature range for hibernation.

 

Random deaths do occur during diapause, but again to me its weird the entire colony died and not just the queen (if she was genetically disadvantaged).

[stricky_ants]

It’s unfortunate, but it sounds like your ants didn’t make it through hibernation. Even though the fridge stayed at a safe temperature, the dry air inside may have dehydrated them over time. Ants can handle cold, but without the right humidity, they can slowly dry out, especially over long periods. The mold outbreak last week might have also played a role, mold can weaken a colony, spread bacteria, and stress out the ants even more. If they were already struggling before hibernation, they may not have had the strength to recover once you took them out. Usually, ants start waking up within a few hours to a day after warming up, so if yours haven’t moved at all, it’s a sign that they didn’t survive. You did your best, but sometimes things just go wrong despite our efforts.