31 replies to this topic

[Loops117]

Official Guide to Hibernation

 

Hello all. I’ve decided to piece together an official guide for hibernation instead of everyone asking questions and answers being spaced out between multiple threads. I don’t know the exacts, and hibernation is still new to me. But I have done a lot of research, and would like to pass it along. This information in this thread is gathered from across the forums, and google searches.

 

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can chime in with some corrections, or any additional information that would help.

 

These are all suggestive numbers.

 

Time Period: Nov 1 – Mar 1 (Variant on location)

 

Temperature: 40-65°F (5-18°C) (Variant on location)

 

Techniques: Fridge, Wine cooler, basements, crawlspaces.

“Heated Garage for hibernation” – T.C.

 

Exceptions: Some species don’t require hibernation even though they live in colder locations were ants normally hibernate.

“There are some species of ants that are better equipped to live in cold temperatures than others. Ants that live in the lower parts of the United States do not generally have to worry about temperatures below freezing and only have to hibernate for a short period of time. Other ants that live in areas of New England and into Canada have to withstand temperatures that drop below 0. These ants are able to stay alive because their bodies produce a type of anti freeze that helps to keep them warm” – AntsMAN

 

 

Before Care

“Most species of ants eat a large amount of food in autumn to put on fat, allowing them to go without food through the winter. The entrance to the nest is closed as a result of the slowdown” – AntsMAN

 

 

Care During Hibernation

“Throughout the hibernation period, your ants won’t require any food, however they do still require water. Therefore, unless your ants are in a test tube setup, you must ensure the formicarium continues to stay moist like usual, which means you may have to check up on the formicarium on a regular basis to ensure the colony is properly hydrated. The good news is that a cold nest doesn’t lose moisture as quickly as a warm or room temperature formicarium, so you won’t have to water the nest as frequently as you’re used to during the warmer months” – AntsMAN

 

 Q/A:

 

What happens if you don’t hibernate?

Without hibernation the colony will still slow down and the queen will rest, to a certain point. Without hibernation the life span of the queen is drastically reduced. It's like running a machine non stop with no maintenance, eventually something has to break. Hibernation gives the colony a chance to recuperate, and prepare for the coming year – AntsMAN

 

 

Should i hibernate my ants in their entire formicarium, or try to relocate them into a test tube?

Depends on the size of the colony. If my colony is small enough to fit in a test tube, they usually live in a test tube and I hibernate them in that.

If they are already in a formicarium, I just leave them in and ensure it stays moist. - Crystals

 

 

Maybe drew can sticky this?

Edited by Loops117, October 27 2016 - 6:28 AM.

[T.C.]

Heated Garage for hibernation techniques also! good job!

[AntsMAN]

Without hibernation the colony will still slow down and the queen will rest, to a certain point. Without hibernation the life span of the queen is drastically reduced. It's like running a machine non stop with no maintenance, eventually something has to break.

Hibernation gives the colony a chance to recuperate, and prepare for the coming year.

 

Most species of ants eat a large amount of food in autumn to put on fat, allowing them to go without food through the winter. The entrance to the nest is closed as a result of the slowdown.

 

There are some species of ants that are better equipped to live in cold temperatures than others. Ants that live in the lower parts of the United States do not generally have to worry about temperatures below freezing and only have to hibernate for a short period of time. Other ants that live in areas of New England and into Canada have to withstand temperatures that drop below 0. These ants are able to stay alive because their bodies produce a type of anti freeze that helps to keep them warm.

 

Throughout the hibernation period, your ants won’t require any food, however they do still require water. Therefore, unless your ants are in a test tube setup, you must ensure the formicarium continues to stay moist like usual, which means you may have to check up on the formicarium on a regular basis to ensure the colony is properly hydrated. The good news is that a cold nest doesn’t lose moisture as quickly as a warm or room temperature formicarium, so you won’t have to water the nest as frequently as you’re used to during the warmer months.

[CamponotusLover]

 

Official Guide to Hibernation

 

Hello all. I’ve decided to piece together an official guide for hibernation instead of everyone asking questions and answers being spaced out between multiple threads. I don’t know the exacts, and hibernation is still new to me. But I have done a lot of research, and would like to pass it along. This information in this thread is gathered from across the forums, and google searches.

 

 

 

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can chime in with some corrections, or any additional information that would help.

 

 

 

These are all suggestive numbers.

 

Time Period: Nov 1 – Mar 1 (Variant on location)

 

 

Temperature: 40-55°F (5-12°C) (Variant on location)

 

 

Techniques: Fridge, Wine cooler, basements, crawlspaces.

 

“Heated Garage for hibernation” – T.C.

 

 

Exceptions: Some species don’t require hibernation even though they live in colder locations were ants normally hibernate.

 

“There are some species of ants that are better equipped to live in cold temperatures than others. Ants that live in the lower parts of the United States do not generally have to worry about temperatures below freezing and only have to hibernate for a short period of time. Other ants that live in areas of New England and into Canada have to withstand temperatures that drop below 0. These ants are able to stay alive because their bodies produce a type of anti freeze that helps to keep them warm” – AntsMAN

 

 

Before Care

 

“Most species of ants eat a large amount of food in autumn to put on fat, allowing them to go without food through the winter. The entrance to the nest is closed as a result of the slowdown” – AntsMAN

 

  

 

Care During Hibernation.

 

“Throughout the hibernation period, your ants won’t require any food, however they do still require water. Therefore, unless your ants are in a test tube setup, you must ensure the formicarium continues to stay moist like usual, which means you may have to check up on the formicarium on a regular basis to ensure the colony is properly hydrated. The good news is that a cold nest doesn’t lose moisture as quickly as a warm or room temperature formicarium, so you won’t have to water the nest as frequently as you’re used to during the warmer months” – AntsMAN

 

 

 

What happens if you don’t hibernate?

 

“Without hibernation the colony will still slow down and the queen will rest, to a certain point. Without hibernation the life span of the queen is drastically reduced. It's like running a machine non stop with no maintenance, eventually something has to break.

 

Hibernation gives the colony a chance to recuperate, and prepare for the coming year” – AntsMAN

 

 

 

Maybe drew can sticky this?

 

 

Hey great guide you got here! Also I have heard 50-65 F is actually what ants hibernate at underground, but it is usualy colder then that when they hibernate! But nothing you said was wrong either so it works great!

[Goldsystem]

Thank you for making this

Edited by Goldsystem, October 19 2016 - 1:45 PM.

[chickenman297]

Probably goes without saying that the dates would be reversed for the southern hemisphere lol. Impressive start though. Very commendable.

 

I'm in sub-tropical southern hemisphere. Does hibernation apply to the sub-tropics dependent on species? We don't get snow here, but hail is not unheard of.

[Alabama Anter]

Very cool! I live in South but have spp that requires hibernation.

[Canadian anter]

Another exception. Some species such as ponera pennsylvannica will need to eat small amounts of food. Also remember to include that some ants like Prenolepis imparis do better the other way around. Hibernating ants with dates isn't exactly the best way especially with reverse hibernation. Also, hibernating only when your ants start slowing down is another way. Some species prefer hibernation and some don't. One example is Formica which does better with hibernation regardless of where they originate while most tetramorium don't like it. While I was in Fuzhou, I preformed some experiments on different ants and even some that don't hibernate will have very high cold resistance. An example is that polyrhachis dives survivid for more than a week in THE FREEZER which suggests that even some tropical species might need hibernation

[CallMeCraven]

Thanks for compiling all of this and thanks everyone else for adding to it.

[MrPurpleB]

Thanks for the information that you gave in the post. Also thanks to those who help revise and add more information. I am looking forward to ant keeping, and the post helps a lot.

[Loops117]

Probably goes without saying that the dates would be reversed for the southern hemisphere lol. Impressive start though. Very commendable.

 

I'm in sub-tropical southern hemisphere. Does hibernation apply to the sub-tropics dependent on species? We don't get snow here, but hail is not unheard of.

 

I'm not sure, but the winter months for the Southern Hemisphere are June to August. So would that be it? Maybe someone can chime in?

[Crystals]

Good guide.  Ants are unable to read calendars, so for those whose ants like a longer hibernation, it is possible to do a 'reverse hibernation'.

I have found that ants know exactly how long 'summer' is where they originated from, but didn't seem to know exactly how long 'winter' was and could easily be tricked into thinking that spring came early. Keep in mind that all of my experiences are with species native to a growing zone 2a in Canada.

 

For example, my location gets 7 months of snow. My ants go full tilt for about 4 months before going dormant, at which point I put them in my wine cooler (I found 10C to work well for all species I found locally). Instead of letting them hibernate for 7 months, all of my colonies were fine with 3-4 months of hibernation.  Being able to vary the hibernation time allows us to somewhat choose when we want our colonies active.

 

I once did some experimentation with about 70 young Camponotus herculeanus colonies (1 queen + 2-10 workers).  All went into hibernation at the same time. I took some out at the one month point, but they remained dormant (I put them back in the cooler and removed them from my test). I took some out at 2 months, they slowly became active, but none of the colonies grew much - very low brood numbers.  I took some out at 3 months and they did well enough that nothing looked out of place. I took some out at the 4 month mark and these colonies experienced the best growth.  I took some out at the 5 month mark, but they didn't do any better than the colonies that only hibernated for 4 months. The ones that I left for 6 was about the same as the 5 month one. 7 and 8 months actually did a tiny bit poorer, possibly because the ants had absolutely no reserves left after all of this time.

Considering that the ants up here freeze solid in winter in the wild, my test is not reflective of what happens in a wild nest since I hibernated these colonies at 8C (46F) when outdoor temperatures can easily hit -40C (-40F).

 

I have found some species do better with a bit more hibernation, while others do fine with less hibernation. It seems that colonies with semi-claustral queens seemed to prefer a slightly shorter winter.

Myrmica - 3 months was ideal

Lasius - preferred cooler hibernation temps and 4-5months of hibernation

Formica - 3-4 months was ideal

Leptothorax - 3 months (those over 5 months started seeing queen and worker deaths)

Camponotus - 4 months is ideal

 

Shipping ants within Canada is allowed, and I did have a Crematagaster species from Ontario for a while (growing zone 3b - so a much warmer location) and that colony did exceptionally well with a 3 month hibernation.  So do take a look at your local winter conditions and try to base your best guess off of that.

 

I have been asked how I know my colonies are ready for hibernation, and I simply watch my colonies. The species with social stomachs will have distended gasters and the colony will slow or even stop foraging altogether.

Please keep in mind that some species, like Camponotus, Lasius, and Myrmica will overwinter larvae. If any of my colonies have eggs or pupae, I will leave them alone, but if they just have larvae that simply aren't growing and the colony isn't doing anything then I will put them into hibernation.

 

Most colonies do not require food during hibernation, but I always offer water and weak sugar water/hummingbird nectar solution.  I normally just fill up a test tube with it and slide it over the tubing connecting to the formicarium. This also helps prevent escapees during hibernation. I have had colonies of Camponotus chew through the cotton plugs and get loose in my cooler. I do not offer protein.

 

One thing to keep in mind is to ensure that the nest does not dry out in hibernation. If it does dry out, you can very easily loose your entire colony even if they have access to water. I usually end up checking my nests every two weeks in hibernation. If you put a drop of water on top of the glass and condensation forms on the inside piece of glass in the nest, then it is plenty humid. Another bonus to offering a test tube of sugar water is that if the nest dries out unusually fast, the colony will move into the humid test tube.

 

I will add this thread link to the List of Handy Links.

[T.C.]

Good guide.  Ants are unable to read calendars, so for those whose ants like a longer hibernation, it is possible to do a 'reverse hibernation'.

I have found that ants know exactly how long 'summer' is where they originated from, but didn't seem to know exactly how long 'winter' was and could easily be tricked into thinking that spring came early. Keep in mind that all of my experiences are with species native to a growing zone 2a in Canada.

 

For example, my location gets 7 months of snow. My ants go full tilt for about 4 months before going dormant, at which point I put them in my wine cooler (I found 10C to work well for all species I found locally). Instead of letting them hibernate for 7 months, all of my colonies were fine with 3-4 months of hibernation.  Being able to vary the hibernation time allows us to somewhat choose when we want our colonies active.

 

I once did some experimentation with about 70 young Camponotus herculeanus colonies (1 queen + 2-10 workers).  All went into hibernation at the same time. I took some out at the one month point, but they remained dormant (I put them back in the cooler and removed them from my test). I took some out at 2 months, they slowly became active, but none of the colonies grew much - very low brood numbers.  I took some out at 3 months and they did well enough that nothing looked out of place. I took some out at the 4 month mark and these colonies experienced the best growth.  I took some out at the 5 month mark, but they didn't do any better than the colonies that only hibernated for 4 months. The ones that I left for 6 was about the same as the 5 month one. 7 and 8 months actually did a tiny bit poorer, possibly because the ants had absolutely no reserves left after all of this time.

Considering that the ants up here freeze solid in winter in the wild, my test is not reflective of what happens in a wild nest since I hibernated these colonies at 8C (46F) when outdoor temperatures can easily hit -40C (-40F).

 

I have found some species do better with a bit more hibernation, while others do fine with less hibernation. It seems that colonies with semi-claustral queens seemed to prefer a slightly shorter winter.

Myrmica - 3 months was ideal

Lasius - preferred cooler hibernation temps and 4-5months of hibernation

Formica - 3-4 months was ideal

Leptothorax - 3 months (those over 5 months started seeing queen and worker deaths)

Camponotus - 4 months is ideal

 

Shipping ants within Canada is allowed, and I did have a Crematagaster species from Ontario for a while (growing zone 3b - so a much warmer location) and that colony did exceptionally well with a 3 month hibernation.  So do take a look at your local winter conditions and try to base your best guess off of that.

 

I have been asked how I know my colonies are ready for hibernation, and I simply watch my colonies. The species with social stomachs will have distended gasters and the colony will slow or even stop foraging altogether.

Please keep in mind that some species, like Camponotus, Lasius, and Myrmica will overwinter larvae. If any of my colonies have eggs or pupae, I will leave them alone, but if they just have larvae that simply aren't growing and the colony isn't doing anything then I will put them into hibernation.

 

Most colonies do not require food during hibernation, but I always offer water and weak sugar water/hummingbird nectar solution.  I normally just fill up a test tube with it and slide it over the tubing connecting to the formicarium. This also helps prevent escapees during hibernation. I have had colonies of Camponotus chew through the cotton plugs and get loose in my cooler. I do not offer protein.

 

One thing to keep in mind is to ensure that the nest does not dry out in hibernation. If it does dry out, you can very easily loose your entire colony even if they have access to water. I usually end up checking my nests every two weeks in hibernation. If you put a drop of water on top of the glass and condensation forms on the inside piece of glass in the nest, then it is plenty humid. Another bonus to offering a test tube of sugar water is that if the nest dries out unusually fast, the colony will move into the humid test tube.

 

I will add this thread link to the List of Handy Links.

Wow! Your work is so impressive! You put a lot of thought into your posts!

[Loops117]

I have a question.

 

Should i hibernate my ants in their entire formicarium, or try to relocate them into a test tube? I see benefits to both ways.

Edited by Loops117, October 27 2016 - 5:09 AM.

[Crystals]

I have a question.

 

Should i hibernate my ants in their entire formicarium, or try to relocate them into a test tube? I see benefits to both ways.

Depends on the size of the colony. If my colony is small enough to fit in a test tube, they usually live in a test tube and I hibernate them in that.

If they are already in a formicarium, I just leave them in and ensure it stays moist.

[Loops117]

 

I have a question.

 

Should i hibernate my ants in their entire formicarium, or try to relocate them into a test tube? I see benefits to both ways.

Depends on the size of the colony. If my colony is small enough to fit in a test tube, they usually live in a test tube and I hibernate them in that.

If they are already in a formicarium, I just leave them in and ensure it stays moist.

 

Thank you, and i was hoping you would be the one to answer this.

[antnothinglikeit]

this post is just what I was looking for. So thank you for this.

This is my very first time catching and raising a colony. So thanks in advance for all the patience with answering my many questions in chat. I have two different queen Camp. sp. I have had them since Aug 26th.(posted them ID thread) They look healthy however have never produced any larva. Through chat I was recommended to put them in hibernation. This was done September 25th. I check on them once a week and noticed they still are twitching. I guess my question now is do I leave them alone till January or have I tricked them enough that if I pull them out they might start a young brood in time to try to hibernate again.

[Solenoqueen]

When should I start hibernating my myrmecocystus colony? And how... ironically I didn't understand most of the guide, sorry 

[Alabama Anter]

When should I start hibernating my myrmecocystus colony? And how... ironically I didn't understand most of the guide, sorry

I don't think they hibernate. But someone with more experience will jump in

[Connectimyrmex]

Err, a bit late?
They don't hibernate. Most warm-climate species never even go through any sort of diapause.