Messor barbarus queen not laying

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Xam123
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:31 am
Location: Brussels

Messor barbarus queen not laying

Post: # 66091Post Xam123
Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:38 am

So I got my very new colony of messor barbarus (around 25 workers) out of hibernation 2 weeks ago (they've been in there for 3 months). It's weird because they don't seem to be active and don't come out the nest and the queen isn't laying, I thought this might be because they just got out at first but it's now been 2 weeks. I tried giving them little bits of insects to see if it was because they didn't have any proteins but they aren't consuming them.
What should I do?

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UnrealSparks
Posts: 192
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2018 1:45 pm
Location: Turin - Italy

Re: Messor barbarus queen not laying

Post: # 66137Post UnrealSparks
Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:10 am

Messor Barbarus usually hibernates between late November to late February (more or less). Hibernating them earlier won't necessarily make them active in this period. This because ants usually have an "internal clock" that tells them when to rest and when to be active. So, if you see them not eating nor laying until February it should be normal.
Keeping the following colonies:
  • [2x] Camponotus Barbaricus
  • [2x] Lasius Flavus

Xam123
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:31 am
Location: Brussels

Re: Messor barbarus queen not laying

Post: # 66161Post Xam123
Sat Dec 21, 2019 5:28 am

UnrealSparks wrote:
Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:10 am
Messor Barbarus usually hibernates between late November to late February (more or less). Hibernating them earlier won't necessarily make them active in this period. This because ants usually have an "internal clock" that tells them when to rest and when to be active. So, if you see them not eating nor laying until February it should be normal.
I hibernated them earlier because I saw that they were less active and the larvae weren't growing and when I asked and searched online I found that this might mean they were in hibernation mode. Also I read that Messor Barbarus in particular doesn't have an internal clock and goes by temperature. So that's why I hibernated them so early

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UnrealSparks
Posts: 192
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2018 1:45 pm
Location: Turin - Italy

Re: Messor barbarus queen not laying

Post: # 66224Post UnrealSparks
Tue Dec 24, 2019 4:56 pm

It depends... what temperature were you keeping them when they became less active?
Keeping the following colonies:
  • [2x] Camponotus Barbaricus
  • [2x] Lasius Flavus

Xam123
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2019 4:31 am
Location: Brussels

Re: Messor barbarus queen not laying

Post: # 66386Post Xam123
Mon Jan 06, 2020 9:39 am

UnrealSparks wrote:
Tue Dec 24, 2019 4:56 pm
It depends... what temperature were you keeping them when they became less active?
I was keeping them at around 10-15 C which is from what I read a good temperature for this species (for hibernation)

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UnrealSparks
Posts: 192
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2018 1:45 pm
Location: Turin - Italy

Re: Messor barbarus queen not laying

Post: # 66398Post UnrealSparks
Tue Jan 07, 2020 12:14 pm

Xam123 wrote:
Mon Jan 06, 2020 9:39 am
I was keeping them at around 10-15 C which is from what I read a good temperature for this species (for hibernation)
For hibernation 10-15 is great, but if you lower their temperature to that range, even in late summer, they'll obviously slow down adapting to the change.

Summing everything up I'd advice you to keep them at around 15°C until February with occasional feeding, so you can see if their appetite is about to rise again. From February on you can raise the temperature normally, but next time don't put them in hibernation until I'd say mid November. They'll do great at room temperature during early Autumn.
Keeping the following colonies:
  • [2x] Camponotus Barbaricus
  • [2x] Lasius Flavus

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