4 replies to this topic

[Antsinmycloset]

So I have my wine cooler setup, and have been running it the last couple days to see how it handles daily temperature fluctuation. Seems rock solid, even if I can only dial it to 50°F (booo). I'd like to run how I plan on packaging them up past you guys, though. My largest Camponotus I'll probably just throw in still inside the outworld. With ~15 obese little workers and larvae ready for spring, I really don't want to chance any problems. Same with my doomed Lasius claviger experiment.   

The rest are Myrmica queens, Camponotus  queens with one or two workers and no larvae, or fully claustral. The Camponotus only rarely forage, and the Myrmica seem to spend more time in the outworld than the test tube. Would plugging them back up in a test tube and ditching their outworld until spring be a bad idea? They all seem as happy as possible. Ditching those outworlds would also allow me to put water bottles in the wine cooler for insulation.

Oh, one last thought. I've been kicking around the idea of making generic nestmates and placing one end in a test tube. This would be mostly for hibernation. Has anyone tried anything like that?

Edited by Antsinmycloset, October 24 2016 - 8:53 AM.

[NightsWebs]

You really should post these questions directly to Crystals she is the queen of Ant hibernation!

[Crystals]

For colonies under 50 workers, if I can plug up their test tube, I do so.  I only have so much room in my wine cooler as well.

I do let larger colonies forage during hibernation and leave sugar water with them (I usually just attach a test tube to the tubing on the formicarium to save on space).  Some like Camponotus don't ever touch it, but some like Lasius have a terrible sweet tooth and snack a lot.

For semi-claustral species, I attach a tiny foraging area the size of a golf ball to the test tube and have sugar water available.  I just get those golfball sized paint/bead storage containers from a dollar store.

Keep an eye on the cold air vent and try to avoid putting any ants against it, or if someone must go there, choose a more cold tolerant species like Lasius.

[Antsinmycloset]

Sounds good, thank you. First time hibernating, so I'm probably overthinking things, but better safe than sorry I suppose.

One last thing: I'm having trouble finding too much information on invertebrate hibernation. How do you deal with gas exchange? I'm sure 50 ants don't need anywhere near the o2 of a turtle, but will opening the wine cooler door once or twice a week be enough for healthy gas exchange? Maybe some pieces of airline tubing tucked in the seal? I'm finding my choice of wine cooler to be a little underwhelming and am worried that an aquarium pump could be a little too much.

[Crystals]

I have a glass door, so I don't have to open mine up to inspect my ants.

I open it about once every 2 weeks just to hydrate my larger nests. They should suffice for your ants as well considering I have several hundred Camponotus in that cooler if they are hibernating.  If you are worried, you can open it every couple of days.  Ants don't use that much oxygen while hibernating - look at the ones I have here in winter, they are under the ground with a layer of snow and ice on top. Not much air circulation occurs considering how well they block up their nest.