Hibernation - How to care for your Pet Ants (Colony Check)

This Video is an Ant Care Guide about Ant Hibernation. Find out how this amazing insects manage to survive the harsh and cold winter climate in the wild. I also go over How to Hibernate Pet Ants, as the different ant species we keep have individual needs. All this as I go through my routine check on a few of AntsVienna Ant Colonies in their Ant Farm (Formicarium)!
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_ABOUT ANTSVIENNA_
On "AntsVienna" we introduce you to everything you need to know if you want to keep Ants as your Pets - including How to Get Started: By catching your First Queen Ant!
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Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting AntsVienna so I can continue to provide you with free, awesome ant videos & tutorials!
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[@AntsVienna]

Let me Know which Colony is your Favourite?! :) Watch more ANT KEEPER TUTORIALS here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5mTYYGkr8p3n7M

[@danihodde5542]

I like them all, but i would like to see a messor barbarus colony

[@AntsVienna]

@@danihodde5542 Thanks for the support and your messor feedback Dani!

[@danihodde5542]

@@AntsVienna i have also one messor colony but they are hidden in the dirt :(

[@AntsVienna]

@@danihodde5542 I assumed that much :) No worries - most Messor species take a Diapause after all.

[@VilleAbr]

I love all of the camponotus ligniperdus colonies!

[@leonBUSSNESMROINA]

Do you now how to make a jar ant farm

[@AntsVienna]

You want me to make one from Glas ar other material?

[@antisocial7423]

Tanks

[@AntsVienna]

np👍

[@coziplay1004]

The Camponotus Ligniperdus Specie is my Favourite. I like the way they grow their Colony because it take too long to grow them which is I love as a Beginner Ant Keeper. I love keeping ants in a small group of ants because it will not take me into panic mode while keeping them, some of Ant Specie are very fast to grow and I can't handle it as a beginner. Besides, I like the Camponotus Ligniperdus Specie because as you say they tent to keep Broods during the Winter in the Larva Stage. Their Antennas are very sharp so that they can easily know and inspect if there is something has change in the nest. It's such a Nice Video you given us I love it because it gives a lot of Great Ideas for New and Pro Ant Keepers. Keep it up sir, and I wish the Great Success for your Channel

[@AntsVienna]

Thank you for the support edcel yap! Yes, Camponotus grow slower in the beginning - which helps you as a keeper grow with your colony and adjust to their needs. Stay tuned for more vids on them ;)

[@coziplay1004]

@@AntsVienna Yes, I will

[@FizzleFX]

4:35 "they cannot see the color red" is putting it rather simple. Ants have bad eyes and the LEAST amount of receptors are in the red spectrum. So... if you use white light they can see it fairly easily. If you use just 1 color of the RGB spectrum you reduce it not just by 2/3 but chose the weakest side. When I use a flashlight = my ants are startled. When I use a red light = they don't react at all. Ofc some species have better/worse eyesight and react differently. AND not every 'red light' has the same wavelength either. Anyhow. Red light also adds a lot good contrast to see your (most likely black) ants better.

[@AntsVienna]

Absolutely true! Thanks for detailed explanation👍 I just try to keep the language(and explanations) in my videos simple

[@FizzleFX]

​@@AntsVienna naturally ♥ I thought i add some additional info for those who might want to learn a bit more :) Also... you might heard of the widespread "ants need honey-WATER and can't consume normal honey (well) because its too thick". I read up on that and the origin of this wide spread (lets be generous here and call it a) 'halth truth' is from a study from a scientist researching ants. What his paper *actually* reads is that "he has to feed many colonies and using watered down honey makes it a lot easier to feed them all - which save quite a lot of time (and makes the study possible/managable)..." - his conclusion does not state at any point ants can not eat raw honey. People read that. Picked out the key points. And forgot about the context. = 'honey water makes ant feeding possible'. [kind of reminds me of the Mandela-Effekt (which in itself is another big can of worms lol)] My experience/recommendation is: raw honey can be sticky and problematic for most (smaller ants) BUT unlike honey-water it will not start to rot at some point. Pure honey is non-pershiable. The solution: cotton soaked with honey. Takes a minute to soak in, afterward ants can slurp it out safely :) ok i rambled enough. have a fine day! ps. people also tend to 'copy paste' things like 'you must always have 25° and 60% humidity!' etc when that's also not exactly true ;p

[@GabsAmeisen]

Haha mein Winterruhe-Checkup ist gerade fertig gerendert :D The more Watchtime of NON-Subscribers you have, the better. Imagine you only had sub-watchtime - it would mean your videos are found only if one directly searches for you and subscribes before watching a video! So, more non-sub-watchtime -> more watchtime from recommended clicks, KZbin-Homepage etc. -> more growth ;)

[@AntsVienna]

Haha - cool! Dann bin ich mal gespannt. ;) Danke für die Watch-time Tips

[@D4N_HAS_MOVED]

Sadly I live in Indonesia and there's no seasons this is not really helping me for keeping my fire ants also i don't have a basement

[@AntsVienna]

hello there. The good news is that fire ants don't need hibernation - so you have ant action all year long! 😉👍

[@D4N_HAS_MOVED]

@@AntsVienna By the way I bought but my dad not want to

[@AntsVienna]

@@D4N_HAS_MOVED haha - Did you buy in secret?

[@D4N_HAS_MOVED]

@@AntsVienna no i lie only like 4 times not 10

[@michiplayz7591]

I subbed giveaway 😮

[@AntsVienna]

Giveaway Nest is in the works - Check Instagram for Details😉

[@khoaphamanh4757]

Hi, vielen Dank für ein Video für Winterruhe, ich möchte fragen, ob ich die Ameisen in der Winterruhe füttern soll, zum Beispiel Insekten oder Honigwasser?

[@AntsVienna]

Hallo. Während der Winterruhe (oktober-ende März) sind die Ameisen bei 10-12°C zu halten. Am besten Keller oder eigener Kühlschrank. Solange sie in Winterruhe sind wird Ihr metabolismus (die meisten körperfunktionen) gedrosselt und sie benötigen daher wenig bis kaum energie - daher auch KEIN Futter. Falls du sie jedoch nicht mehr im Reagenzglass hast musst du sie alle 14 Tage befeuchten. Hoffe dies hilft dir weiter - hier hast du eine Playlist mit weiteren Anfänger infos, sowie Tipps für fortgeschrittene 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXqpqIWEhqqErLc

[@mlangford9986]

Camponotus Ligniperdus is my favourite. I started keeping them and C. Herculeanus in 2019 - great ants to observe even with small numbers. Looking forward to your videos this year, keep up the good work :)

[@AntsVienna]

Nice Mark! Yes, they are optically pleasing ants, more so when the first majors get born :) I might be posting irregularly lately, but will continue to bring videos to you guys - thanks for the support!

Keep it up! Looking forward for more videos from you, don't stop! Would you like to be KZbin friends? :]

[@AntsVienna]

Thanks for the support Trap Town! The more the merrier :)

[@antssea9192]

Nice video! I really like the Camponotus Ligniperdus! I like campontus in general so no surprise I picked em

[@AntsVienna]

Thanks Ants SEA! Well, no surprise in this case :)

[@maartenh.9953]

You had me at 83,6%... we are the 16,4%! 😂 Btw, i love all Camponotus species! And let me react to your question with a another question, what would be your next colony if u could pick anyone?

[@AntsVienna]

Thank you for the support and the Camp. vote Maarten! I am playing with the idea to get a Messor for a while now... But I will ask everyone what YOU wish to see next in the giveaway event, so stay tuned ;)

[@maartenh.9953]

AntsVienna I’m getting 3 messor barbarus gyne’s tomorrow, wanna have one? I’m all in for channel support 😁👍🏻

[@AntsVienna]

That would be awesome! Can I consider that a donation?🙃

[@maartenh.9953]

AntsVienna Yeah absolutely! As long as u give me a shout in the video 😉

[@AntsVienna]

Nice, I planned to do that anyway ;)) Please PM me on Instagram, so I can give you my address.

[@fharni]

My basement has 15°C. Is this too high for hibernation?

[@AntsVienna]

It dependes on what Ant species you are hibernating. If you keep for example Messor Barbarus then hibernation at 12-15°C is ideal. But Lasius Niger, Flavus etc. need 5-8°C. Feel free to join our Discord Server (Link in videos description) if you need help anytime :)

[@AL3NOD1]

Yes! Youre back keep up the great work dude :) my favourite colony has to be you're camponutos Ligniperdis (Hope i spelt that right) they are simpley gorgeous and youre Camera work makes it all the better

[@AntsVienna]

Thanks Ants UK! The nests I makle certainly help with filming. I am also HUGE fan of Camp. Ligniperdus😄

[@Arnecrypt]

The formica fusca! Just because they have been through a lot and i love the formica fusca species!

[@AntsVienna]

Yes, this Queen has endured a lot so far... I hope her life gets a bit easier this season😅 Thanks for the comment & support - will continue to cover my colonies in future videos!

[@grexodus5493]

Awesome video! I really like Formica Fusca!

[@AntsVienna]

Thank you GreXodus! Yes, Formica Ants sure are special :)

[@TheWagcat]

Great video, look forward to watching the next 👍🙂

[@AntsVienna]

Thank you for the support Paul! Next one is planned for mid-March😉

[@vvm7792]

I dont want to come in your basement

[@AntsVienna]

Haha - You don't have to acompany me physically😂👍

[@nitolchowdhury5106]

I live in Bangladesh

[@AntsVienna]

That is pretty far away from Europe. The ants you can natively find there sure have other hibernation cycles - if at all

[@cityants1166]

I put my campos in hibernation recently 👍

[@AntsVienna]

Nice, what species of Campos?

[@cityants1166]

@@AntsVienna herculeanus

[@AntsVienna]

@@cityants1166 Yes, I've put my Ligniperdus in hibernation too a few weeks ago

[@reegonfall8866]

Diacamma rugosum

[@AntsVienna]

These are some cool Ponerini👍

[@archismanr]

Do all ants hibernate ??

[@AntsVienna]

No, it depends on where you live. If winters are cold with snow etc. then the native ants species probably all hibernate. In Asia and America however there are lots of species that do not need hibernation. Hope this helps you out!

[@archismanr]

@@AntsVienna Thanks as i live in india so i asked.

[@AntsVienna]

@@archismanr In that case try to google on the ant species you have to find out more. ;)

[@mindchops346]

Bit late don't u think😂

[@AntsVienna]

True. I could have made it before the winter, but I wanted to combine it with the current state of the colonies real time.

[@airsnail8829]

I’m in texas so the worst it gets is 35 f

[@AntsVienna]

Ok, here in Austria it gets up to -15 Celsius in winter 😅

[@airsnail8829]

Oh no wonder you hibernate!

[@airsnail8829]

Also is hibernating needed?

[@AntsVienna]

@@airsnail8829 It depends on the natural environment and conditions the Ants come from. Most European species hibernate, while those from South East Asia don't.

[@AntsVienna]

@@airsnail8829 It's best to check ant care guides about the species you keep. So you can provide them the optimal environment to live in

[@fodrocksuk.forestofdeanroc5686]

Hi. I have one camponotus ligniperdas queen who has 2 larvi. She has been in an open test tube in her ant house since November when she arrived. If she only has 2 larvi, do i need to buy her some more workers? Or will that be ok?

[@AntsVienna]

Hello there and congrats for your queen. :) No, you never 'buy' workers, because adding workers to a colony that are not from it's queen will result in fights and deaths! Your queen should do fine. Keep her at about 8°C (fridge or basement) until the end of March. After that you can keep her in room temperature (22-26°C) again. For the larvae to grow faster you can try to up the temperature to 28°C, but only AFTER hibernation (start of April). Hope this helps you out. :)

[@fodrocksuk.forestofdeanroc5686]

Thank you that is really helpful. I have her test tube on top of sand in a cuboid shaped ant enclosure. Is this correct? I don’t have a basement so do you literally mean put her in the fridge?

[@AntsVienna]

The enclosure seems fine to me. Camp. Ligniperdus have an endogenic Biorhythm, which means they automatically stop brood (larvae) development during the winter months (hibernation). So you should have put your queen in the fridge (if it the temperature is not less than 5°C) since October! Have a look here to learn more about the species: www.antstore.net/shop/en/ants/Ants-from-Central-Europe/Camponotus-ligniperda.html

[@fodrocksuk.forestofdeanroc5686]

I live in the Uk, so hopefully where my queen ant is ( on my kitchen windowsill -covered so she is in the dark) is quite cold. It has been freezing outside. I will find out my fridge temperature and move her. Thank you for the info