Hibination for Lasius niger

[RuinedDrone]

HI,

Our colony of Lasius niger is about 20 workers and the queen. My question is do they need to hibinate or will to colony continue to grow if kept inside at room tempture?

I was a bit conserenred as i think the first batch of eggs after the nanitics did not hatch, there was a large brood but the numbers did not grow to more than about 10 for the first 2 or 3 months after the first nanitics apeared. its only in the last few weeks the numbers have started to incress so not sure if its best to keep them active to grow more numbers or put them away some where quiet and leave them.

I assume it is best to hibinate them. I have an unheated summer house so coudl place them in there, its dry and watertight + they are inside a foamboard house so while it will get cold it is not likley to freeze.

[AntsLuxembourg]

Hey,

If possible it's always best to hibernate the colony. The only reason for not hibernating your ants would be that your antsetup as become so big that you cannot move it in a cool place or put it into a fridge. Just put them for some days in a cool spot at 16°C and then put them in a fridge for the next months. They will not do anything at all anyway. For example mine had a big batch of eggs and brute and they haven't developped at all in the past few weeks. This tells me that they have pause and they will not do anything until it's time again.