67 replies to this topic

[dean_k]

How cool is your fridge?

 

I know Crystals use a wine cooler which has a glass door. She can monitor colonies easily. I am thinking of getting a wine cooler myself when I get more colonies.

 

From what I read over the Internet, some species hibernate in as warm as 10c. Going below for too long kills them.

[Foogoo]

I believe the Camponotus I got from Drew are this species. I noticed that lately they haven't been taking the brood out near the heat lamp as they've been doing a few weeks earlier, which I'm assuming is a sign of nearing hibernation (there's one larva which hasn't grown much, but maybe it's just slow and a few eggs).

 

My plan is to wrap them up in a towel, leaving space for ventilation, and putting them in a shaded spot on my patio where it gets down to the 50's and 40's overnight. Hopefully that will give them the opportunity to rest without freezing.

[Gregory2455]

I do not suggest leaving them outside...

[dspdrew]

Maybe a garage or something is better. I would just make sure nothing can get to them.

[dspdrew]

Update 1-16-2015

 

I just took the hibernating colony out of the fridge today. The whole colony looks healthy, and they have a good-sized pile of larvae of all different sizes.

[dspdrew]

Update 2-27-2015

 

Since it seems these may not have hibernated long enough, I just put two of the remaining three colonies in the fridge to hibernate for a while longer. The largest colony is not being hibernated.

[dspdrew]

Update 3-17-2015

 

The largest colony's (1) brood is just not growing at all. I put this colony in the fridge today to hibernate for three months.

 

I also now have 14 more of these queens. A couple of them are still alates and have not yet removed their wings. They flew March 14th this year in Mt. Baldy again.

[Foogoo]

Update 3-17-2015

 

The largest colony's (1) brood is just not growing at all. I put this colony in the fridge today to hibernate for three months.

 

I also now have 14 more of these queens. A couple of them are still alates and have not yet removed their wings. They flew March 14th this year in Mt. Baldy again.

 

Interesting, I didn't really hibernate mine, just left it out of the heat lamp for a few weeks (55-60 degrees in my house) over winter. Since then, the larva has spun a coccoon. It's hard to tell whether the other eggs are not developing or just taking their sweet time.

[dspdrew]

Update 4-12-2015

 

I just took the first colony I hibernated (3) back out of the fridge again, as it's been about three months now. Let's hope their brood starts growing or the queen lays some new eggs now.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-31-2015

 

I just took colony #2 out of the fridge today. I will take colony #1 out in two weeks. That will be three months of hibernation for both of them.

 

Colony #3 still doesn't look like it has changed a whole lot. Today I gave them a few black Camponotus vicinus larvae, which they immediately accepted and took into their tube.

[dspdrew]

Update 6-4-2015

 

Colony #3 finally has a little pile of new eggs now. It's interesting that this happened a couple days after boosting them, and the same thing happened to my C. vicinus colony as well.

[dspdrew]

Update 6-19-2015

 

I just took colony #1, my largest colony out of the fridge. They made it through their hibernation okay, and all look healthy.

[nurbs]

Time to eat some salsa beans. 

 

Speaking of which, I didn't hibernate mine. They seemed to have done OK.

[dspdrew]

Is their brood developing? Is the queen laying eggs?

[nurbs]

Is their brood developing? Is the queen laying eggs?

 

Yup, about to post a journal for them. Just moved them to a new clean home.

[dspdrew]

Update 6-24-2015

 

Colony #2 has now laid some new eggs.

[dspdrew]

Update 1-17-2016
 
Colony #1 has twelve workers now, but if it's growing at all, it's growing extremely slow. Colony #2 I sold last week, and I have no idea what happened to colony #3. 
 
A couple days ago I put only remaining colony (1) into hibernation in my new "hibernation cabinet".
 

[dspdrew]

Update 4-28-2016

 

I just took these out of hibernation yesterday. They lost two workers and are now down to ten. All the rest look healthy and are eating.

 

I'm keeping these in an area in my apartment that stays around 80 degrees as opposed to keeping them in the room that is always 90+. This should be better for them since they live up in the mountains where it's a lot cooler.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-9-2016

 

Well what do you know, this last remaining colony (1) just laid about seven new eggs the same day all my C. laevigatus laid eggs. This was exactly eleven days after I took them out of hibernation. I don't even remember the last time this queen laid eggs. Maybe there's hope for this colony after all.

[dspdrew]

Update 5-17-2016

 

The colony is up to about 15 eggs now. Maybe hibernation worked this time.