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Hibernation, and when to start in PA
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:21 am
by TOTHEMOON11
I am relatively new to the ant keeping community, i mostly just watched for the past year and a half. I have decided to start my own colony. As on now i have two companoras queens, one with 4 workers, and a dozen or more pupa and lots of eggs. and another one with 2 workers, 1 pupa and a few eggs. I was wondering when i should hibernate them. It is September now and it is unusually cold for this time of year, should i hibernate them now or wait till the snow comes. Im only asking because i don´t want to sole any more queens, (i started with upwards on 15) they doth are in test tube setups, and are fed in a small bin i have created.
Hoping for feed back
Re: Hibernation, and when to start in PA
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 1:02 pm
by idahoantgirl
TOTHEMOON11 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:21 am
I am relatively new to the ant keeping community, i mostly just watched for the past year and a half. I have decided to start my own colony. As on now i have two companoras queens, one with 4 workers, and a dozen or more pupa and lots of eggs. and another one with 2 workers, 1 pupa and a few eggs. I was wondering when i should hibernate them. It is September now and it is unusually cold for this time of year, should i hibernate them now or wait till the snow comes. Im only asking because i don´t want to sole any more queens, (i started with upwards on 15) they doth are in test tube setups, and are fed in a small bin i have created.
Hoping for feed back
The general rule is to wait until you stop seeing ants outside.
Re: Hibernation, and when to start in PA
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 8:18 am
by TOTHEMOON11
I believe i should leave them in the test tube for hibernation correct? I have there tube laying in a plastic outword were i feed them should i take them out and close off the tube for hibernation?
Re: Hibernation, and when to start in PA
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:05 am
by Batspiderfish
Yes. If they are really low on water, it might be a good idea to move them to a fresh test tube while you have time. Water is one of the few limiting factors for hibernating ants in a test tube. I try to check on my ants every couple of weeks to make sure that nobody is running out. They will be fine for a while after the reservoir has vanished, but this is one of the few disadvantages to test tubes. Sometimes you'll want to take the ants out of hibernation early if the cotton bung looks completely dry, but if you can, leave them there until you start seeing ants outside again.