2 replies to this topic

[Antsinmycloset]

All of the other colonies have entered "hibernation mode", but my Aphaenogaster are still foraging with all they zeal they've ever had. Their larvae appear to grow as large as possible, and I can't readily see any pupae. That sure sounds like hibernation, but do they generally overwinter such mature larvae? They don't seem to be slowing down with egg production at all, either, so there's plenty of younger brood.

I don't want to put the colony into hibernation prematurely, but I'm not really sure what I'm seeing here. Aphaenogasters are dog-piling balls of filth, so it's possible I'm just having trouble seeing their naked pupae. They've made the test tube so dirty...

[sirjordanncurtis]

If they're still active, I would just hold off on hibernation, to be safe, since if they still have so much brood left, it wouldn't make sense for you to have the eggs killed over winter. It's possible that the larvae have stopped growing and they're just waiting for the eggs to catch up. In any case, wait a little longer.

[Antsinmycloset]

For the record, the smallest brood never did mature. The large larvae/pupae eclosed around November 26th and were, unexpectedly, all queens. While brood development had clearly stopped, the workers never really stopped hunting or foraging, and were active in their outworlds right up until hibernation in mid-December.

Despite being provided a heating cable, my room must have been cold enough to significantly slow down their rate of maturation. The Aphaenogaster were wild caught (extracted from a deck that was being replaced), and must have been both older and far more toasty than I realized. I felt confident at the time, but now I'm wondering if there were tons of workers in the rest of the boards/soil I missed.

Who knows what I'm going to do with those queens in spring... I guess they can all hang out in the wine cooler for a few months while I make up my mind.