6 replies to this topic

[AntswerMe]

I did something pretty dumb today. I was trying to move all the Camponotus floridanus workers that were in my outworld into their formicarium today for cleaning (it was extremely dirty), and was unable to do so by herding the workers into a tube and then attaching it to the formicarium. So, I decided to do something risky and put the outworld in a refrigerator for a few minutes to chill out the workers so that I could move them into the tube by hand. This did not work because the workers did not become cold and slow enough to work with. So then I did something stupid and put them In the freezer for a few minutes (which was far too long). When I took the outworld out, all of the workers looked dead. Over the course of a few minutes many of the workers began to thaw out and "come back to life." However, of the 50-60 workers present in the outworld, about 20-25 of them do not seem to be coming back, and I'm afraid they have perished. (Total colony population was about 120-130 prior to outworld being put into freezer).

So that's that. That's a mistake I'll never make again. Poor ants.

Edited by AntswerMe, June 9 2017 - 9:46 PM.

[T.C.]

Yep, that is pretty dumb. (No offense) Ants can't go from room temperature to freezing. Camponotous species can handle it, but only if the temperature is slowly dropped over a period of a few days.

Edited by T.C., June 9 2017 - 10:11 PM.

[AntswerMe]

Yeah dumb indeed. I wasn't trying to freeze them completely, just slow them down. Sadly I left then in there a little too long.

[Aquaexploder]

I wish your ants the best of luck.

[AntswerMe]

Thanks.

[123LordOfAnts123]

Camponotus floridanus is already fairly cold sensitive as far as Camponotus goes.

If they're not reviving after a short time then they're as good as dead.

[AntswerMe]

Dead they are. I may feed their carcasses to some of my other ants, as to not waste them.