The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

As ants are entering hibernation soon queens stop laying and all egg/lavea stop growing which might be the cause of your problems. Make sure your feeding them a sugar source and a protien source along with access to water 24/7. During hibernation try to keep your ants at a temperature around 8°C (your sunroom might be too hot). They only need water during this time. When hibernation is over your colonies will hopefully have a growth spurt as queens normally lay a load of eggs after hibernation along with the colony accepting more food.
Hope this helps.

BandINorth wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 23, 2018 8:57 am

Thank you for the advice. I still dont understand why throughout the summer they havnt gotten more than 6 workers. I wish i could put them in something bigger. Gonna have a hard time finding a place around 8 degrees Celsius to put them. Ill do my best.

It really depends on species. Some species (such as those from the genus Camponotus) are very slow growing at the beginning. Their growth spurt happens later. The less common species tend to not grow very big, and are slow growing all their life. So if you could tell us the species, and if you don't know post pics, that would help a lot.

Hey Brand North,

Just curious about the status of your colonies as we're coming in to spring since your post regarding your queens and workers. I'm starting my first colony with a formica queen and five workers that are starting to come out of hibernation. Are they up and laying eggs yet?