5 replies to this topic

[chatogaster]

Help!

 

My Camponotus herculeanus queen is in the founding stage, but her first larvae practically stopped growing.

 

The timeline was something like this, with pictures below:

- 10 June - captured

- 7 July or earlier - eggs

- 21 July or earlier - larvae, small

- 26 July - larvae are now medium, so noticeably bigger, about 0.5-0.6 queen's head length

- 2 August - no substantial growth

- 14 August - no substantial growth

- 2 September - no substantial growth, still about 0.5-0.6 queen's head length

- 8 September - no substantial growth

 

Same species queens captured by a fellow ant keeper in the same area two weeks earlier had their first workers July 18th, so less than two months after being captured.

 

I should probably mention my queen is lightly injured - missing a few sections of one antenna and bits of a front leg. Not sure how it happened and if it affects her ability to take care of the brood.

 

I'm keeping her in an 18mm test tube, in the dark, in about 24C, with minimal disturbance.

 

I started feeding her last week, Sunburst Nectar and protein. Not sure what else could I do. Surely it's too early to hibernate. I'm from Copenhagen and it's already down to 15C outside, but she should raise at least one set of workers this season, no?

 

Any diagnosis and suggestions would be super appreciated!

 

21 July:

 

26 July:

 

2 August:

 

14 August:

 

2 September:

 

8 September:

Edited by chatogaster, September 8 2017 - 7:53 AM.

[Serafine]

https://en.wikipedia...iki/Hibernation

[chatogaster]

https://en.wikipedia...iki/Hibernation

I'm not sure what are you trying to say  Are you suggesting they have hibernated? Are you suggesting I should hibernate them?

I'm aware of the phenomenon, that's why I mentioned it in the post. What, I think, speaks against the explanation that they hibernated is:
- The larvae stopped growing in the very middle of the summer, both calendar- and temperature-wise.

- They have access to water and temperatures aren't too high, so it shouldn't be aestivation either.

- Other queens of the same species from the same area had their larvae grow normally.

- The queen is active and is grooming the larvae.

Edited by chatogaster, September 8 2017 - 9:21 AM.

[Serafine]

Camponotus larvae take a very long time to develop and pupate, because of this it is not uncommon for these ants to go into hibernation early. Having workers that just emerge before hibernation and then die over the winter due to lack of reserves is not a good strategy.

I know several german Journals where Camponotus ligniperda colonies have gone into hibernation preparation (little activity, no brood growth) up to four weeks ago.

So yes, your ants are preparing for hibernation - the fact that the larvae look sort of shrunken (not like fat filled balloons) supports this (they lower their amount of body water to make their glycerol anti-freeze work better). It doesn't mean you have to put them into the cold yet, but you shouldn't expect any more growth this year.

(I'd recommend to offer the queen some sugar water or honey before you send her into hibernation, she looks kinda slim, which may also be the reason she decided to wait instead of expending her scarce resources on brood development when winter is coming).

Edited by Serafine, September 8 2017 - 1:16 PM.

[chatogaster]

I see, that makes sense, thanks a lot!

 

I'm still surprised there is such a difference in behaviour between queens from the same species and area, but - as you say - maybe that's due to this specific queen having fewer reserves for some reason.

 

I'm feeding her Sunburst Nectar, will also try protein.

 

When would you recommend hibernating her? Denmark has a bit more moderate climate than Germany, with negative temperatures only between mid-December to mid-March.

 

Some time in November then? Or on some cue from the queen?

[MegaMyrmex]

Hibernation time! I think it's happening all across the northern hemisphere because I can see prenolepis imparis workers coming out of their break.