9 replies to this topic

[Loops117]

Hello all. Lately i've had a lot of questions from my GAN customers about hibernation.

 

They have questions like

 

"Were should i hibernate them? I don't want to put them in my fridge, or buy a separate chiller for them."

"Do i even have to hibernate them? I find ants in my house all winter, do they hibernate?"

 

 

Also, a buddy of mine told me that Tetramorium stays kind of active during the winter months, is this true?

And lastly, i too find carpenter ants in my house on occasion over the winter. Is this colony not hibernating?

 

Thank you guys

Loops

[WalkerNom]

I'd really like to know what some of the more experienced people have to say about this as well.

 

Only thing I really have to offer is that some queens might not lay eggs until after hibernation, like Lasius neoniger.  I'm not sure how true that is or if anyone has experienced this with their colonies, but if it's true then you would have to hibernate for them to start a colony.

[sgheaton]

I view it as "hibernation = routine/preventative maintenance." 

Sure you could run your machine 24/7 and it will do its job..but..not...as efficiently as it could be doing. 
Instead
Run the machine for 80% of the time and then stop it to clean, go over, give it a rest, re-lube/tighten, etc you get the point.,.....  and it will perform its job very well, with good accuracy, all the time. 

With all that being said -- I'm going to resort to Colorado's natural elemental coldness of winter by simply moving the tanks to my basement. That's it. I don't know how cold it is down there but its cold. Colder than anywhere else except the fridge perhaps. I've got my wines down there and they seem fine so...wine...ants....it'll all be chillin' in the basement this year. 

[Loops117]

I figured that much, and have been telling everyone that the hibernation resets their internal clocks for each year. Otherwise they won't perform as well. 

 

The 2 species in question is Tetramorium and Camponotus pennsylvanicus.

[WalkerNom]

I think it's worth mentioning that the queen I have is (thought to be) Lasius neoniger and I just saw that she has eggs so...maybe what I said isn't true?

[Loops117]

I think it's worth mentioning that the queen I have is (thought to be) Lasius neoniger and I just saw that she has eggs so...maybe what I said isn't true?

If she flew late in the year, i don't think she'll lay at all until spring.

[Mdrogun]

I figured that much, and have been telling everyone that the hibernation resets their internal clocks for each year. Otherwise they won't perform as well. 

 

The 2 species in question is Tetramorium and Camponotus pennsylvanicus.

 

My Camponotus pennsylvanicus. love hibernation. I normally put them in my fridge. They are much better at handling lower temps than Tetramorium. Tetramorium is kind of weird, they originate from asia in a place where they didn't hibernate. In the U.S. they slowly adapted to hibernate and spread farther and farther north. Tetramorium definitely need to hibernate, none of their brood was growing and I started having massive die-offs when I tried to keep them awake until December. I would recommend hibernating Tetramorium around 50 degrees and I would hibernate Camponotus pennsylvanicus. around 35 or 40. Make sure you offer Tetramorium honey during hibernation. They will slow down and stop growing but they still like their sweets. If you have to you can hibernate your Camponotus pennsylvanicus. colony indoors since they don't rely on temperature to tell them when to hibernate. I don't recommend doing that since the queen and colony don't get as much of a break.

 

From what I understand, small colonies do hibernate the entire winter and no workers will forage but large colonies with in the case of Camponotus pennsylvanicus. can have more than 20,000 workers will still send workers to find sweets. The queen and brood will still hibernate the entire winter along with most of the workers.

[sgheaton]

Offer a honey/water mixture or during time of hibernation, straight pure honey is better? I figured fruits shouldn't be added during this time -- but what of proteins? 

 

......and what is an ant hibernating like? I'm only comparing them to a bear, which I assume just sleeps, unmoving for ..months? Same thing for ants? They just...hang out and don't move? 

[Loops117]

These are all good questions.

[sgheaton]

I meant for them to be all pertaining to hibernating tetramoriums as I'm sure each species has its own requirements for hibernation.

 

I should have specified though I suppose it can be addressed across the board. 

Edited by sgheaton, September 30 2016 - 8:58 AM.