Weird idea to keep ants warm.

[loupgaroupgris]

Hello, I am having issues with my queen ants not producing enough eggs for months now. I suspect that they are in a state of hibernation due to the cold temperature. I am considering using a hot water bottle covered in a cloth and placing it inside a lunch box with more cloth to warm up the test tubes. Do you think this is a good idea or too risky? I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

(They are not establish colonies by the way.)

[RubyAntKeeper77]

That might work it, might kill them though.
I recommend getting a heating mat or finding a less cold place to keep them.

Try giving your queens a drop of nectar/protein each then cotton seal it. (To help them get going)

How long have you been waiting for the workers?
(The bigger the ant the longer the wait)

Did the queens get caught or bought?
(If you caught them they should be comfortable in that temp)

[loupgaroupgris]

That might work it, might kill them though.
I recommend getting a heating mat or finding a less cold place to keep them.

Try giving your queens a drop of nectar/protein each then cotton seal it. (To help them get going)

How long have you been waiting for the workers?
(The bigger the ant the longer the wait)

Did the queens get caught or bought?
(If you caught them they should be comfortable in that temp)

One I caught last year, the other 3 months ago. The one I caught last year as 3 workers but I feel like she should have more at this point. the other one as none. I gave them some honey, where could I get liquid protein? And what kind?

The one from 3 months ago is Camponotus novaeboracensis and the one from last year is Camponotus pennsylvanicus I think. But not sure she's small.

[loupgaroupgris]

Should I just try the lunchbox thing with a few cloths to keep them warm like that?

Also can powdered, non flavored, protein you mix with water work?

[RubyAntKeeper77]

You can try the lunchbox idea, I don’t know if it will kill the ants though.

I don’t know if that will work, but you can usually get like cricket paste to feed them, or you can just give them really small amounts of protein, like a chopped piece of ham, and no bigger than the ants themselves until the colony gets bigger.

[jakew102938]

The heat retention of water is relatively low compared to something like iron. So it wouldn't stay warm too long. If you want to add insulators, you can add some fiberglass in there to help maintain the length of sustained heat so you're not changing the water every hour after it cooled down.