Hibernation Questions

[CamponotusLover913]

I have a small c. pennsylvanicus colony in a test tube, and it's almost time for hibernation in New York. There is some brood that should hatch shortly, but will hibernation affect the other ants' ability to help them hatch? Additionally, will I need to provide extra food for the newly hatched workers?

[AntsLuxembourg]

Hey,

Just add a droplet of honey a few days before hibernation. Remove it before putting them away. For the unhatched workers as far as I know they should be able to withstand the hibernation. If it's eggs or larvae they may not survive it but here it depends on the species.

[Alaydia]

My understanding is, when they brumate, the growth and development of the brood all but stops. My two C. Penn colonies are snoozing away in the crispier drawer of my fridge and doing just fine. I anticipate that, come spring, they'll wake up hungry, but I'm prepared for that. The advice I was given, and it was good, was to gradually cool them, move them to a cooler location, then a bit cooler and into the fridge when they're pretty much all sleeping. I check up on mine every couple of weeks or so and, as expected, did not see any real change in the brood. Makes sense. In the wild, they can't go out and forage when there's snow and ice on the ground, so why would my girls be any different?

Side note, I was going by the activity of wild ants outside to judge when to start brumating. There are zero ants out now except on the rare very warm day, and those are only a scarce number of workers near known nests. I'm down in Pennsylvania. If you're in New York, I'm frankly surprised your girls are still awake!