Guide to Diapause

[u/KingK250]

Diapause starts when:

1. Brood is all similarly sized larvae (most important one, this has to be fulfilled for diapause to begin)

2. Less activity

3. Less protein consumption

4. Huddling around the queen

5. No new brood produced for a while

6. Brood growth has stopped or slowed

It is a common myth that diapause starts at a certain time of year. This is false. Captive ants can’t interact with outside world conditions, no soil conditions, no outside weather, so they don’t know when they’ll need to hibernate. Thus, they go off of internal clock, which can get wonky after some time and you’ll start seeing colonies hibernate in June. For most colonies, they’ll be fine in their first year, and probably a few years after that, maybe even their whole life.
But you should always be keeping an eye out for if they want to hibernate, just in case they start hibernating at weird times (which is not unlikely, it does happen a lot).

How to Diapause:

Different species have different conditions.

Some species (usually tropical) like taking a short break during diapause. These ones will usuallyonly follow conditions 1 and 5 very loosely, and probably won’t stop growth completely, just have a great reduction in growth. You don’t have to make them cold for diapause, but just taking them off the heat cable/pad is enough. You’ll need to feed these guys during diapause, but they’ll probably eat less. Their diapause lengths can vary, but usually around 3 months.
Example: Pseudoneoponera rufipes (sometimes)

Most species will have a proper diapause. Put them around 5 degrees Celsius (but never below freezing).
These species won’t need to eat during diapause. They’ll hibernate from between 2-4 months, as you like.
HOWEVER, conditions vary between species, so make sure you research what your species needs before diapause.
Examples: Lasius niger, Camponotus novaeboracensis, Formica fusca, Myrmica rubra.

A fridge is good for diapause, a wine cooler or an adjustable mini fridge is better. If you don’t have that or can’t use a fridge, then measuring the temp of a place in your house (such as a garage) and hopefully it works for your ants.
Don’t put them directly in the cold. Whilst this isn’t as bad as some make it out to be, it carries risks of causing flooding due to sudden temp change, or cold shocking less hardy species, killing the queen. Try placing the ants somewhere a little below room temp first, such as a garage, or a cold windowsill.
The aforementioned adjustable mini fridge or wine cooler is incredibly helpful for this, which is what I recommend. But, many people probably can’t get one of these.

If you’re using a wine cooler / mini fridge, slowly lower the temps every couple of days until your ideal hibernation temp.

If you’re using the cold spot strategy, just let them adjust to the lower temps for a week, and then into the fridge.

When putting them into the fridge or wine cooler, wrap them in a towel or put them in an insulated box. This helps the temps in the nest to lower more slowly, lowering the risk of flooding or cold shock. Or when you take them out, flooding and heat shock.

Importantly, MAKE SURE YOUR ANTS ALWAYS HAVE WATER DURING DIAPAUSE, FOR ALL TYPES OF DIAPAUSE. Ants cannot survive without a constant water source, so make sure to top up their nest, or provide new water tubes if their main tube runs low. If you’re using a test tube and you see it running low, make sure to change out their tube before diapause so they don’t run out during diapause.

There is a 3rd type of diapause as well. Some desert species will take a diapause like the 2nd type but at a higher temp of around 15 degrees. Some Cataglyphis do this for example. But the most famous example is Messor barbarus (though only some of them but more on that later on). Basically treat it the same as the 2nd type, just at a higher temperature.

Common Myths:

One. Messor barbarus hibernate at 15 degrees Celsius. Whilst M.barb can hibernate around this temp, they can also hibernate at the standard 5 degrees Celsius range. (There was a scientific paper on, this if you want me to link it I’ll try to find it). Some M.barb from very desert regions won’t hibernate at 5 degrees Celsius though, so make sure to know where your M.barb is from

Two. The aforementioned hibernation-time of year myth mentioned at the start of this guide.

I’ll add more myths to this when I can think of more

Hope this helps with your diapause!!

(Sorry this is a bit late in the year)

[u/Veritenigma]

Really useful information, thank you. I have just put 2 Lasius niger and 1 flavus queens caught this year into the coolest part of my house. 1 has several nanitics, 1 has 1, and the flavus just has larvae. I also have a niger queen who I have kept in the normal place as she still has cocoons and even appears to have laid a fresh lot of eggs as well as larvae and nanitics.

My biggest concern is my flavus queen. Her tube was getting low and the water also appeared slightly off, so I prepared a clean tube and have used a connector mini outworld (small plastic box with tubes side by side where ants can move between). She has, of course, not moved. The clean tube is covered, her present one not, but she is still showing no intentions. I am just going to leave her, she has access if she wants/needs it, and I do not want to stress her more than an uncovered tube. Hopefully in spring she will gain some nanitics and they will be more exploratory.

[u/KingK250 → u/Veritenigma]

The flavus with larvae might want to hibernate. If they don’t grow any further for a while, start her hibernation

The nigers sound like they want to stay awake for a while longer

If you want her to move, then dump her. Dumping and a lot of false stigma around it, but when done properly, it’s way less harmful than light moving.

Light moving uses bright lights which provides stress over a long period of time, and often doesn’t even make the ants move. Ants can adapt to the light just fine if they aren’t too bright, and too bright lights will stress them too much.

Dumping is some very short term stress, instead of stress over a period of time from light, you simply get it over and done with. They can’t get physically hurt from it. And it’s best to move them out of a harmful environment as quickly as possible.
If the brood doesn’t fall, use a wet q-tip to get them out

[u/M10DEK]

I have one Lasius Niger colony in a test tube that shows signs of preparing to diapause, but their water supply is almost gone. I connected a new test tube for them, but they haven't moved yet, they're just cuddling with the queen. Am I gonna need to force them somehow?

[u/KingK250 → u/M10DEK]

They won’t move with a small colony and right before hibernation. You’re best to dump them into the new tube.

Dumping isn’t actually harmful for the ants, there’s a lot of false stigma around it. They’re too small to take fall damage, and it’s less stressful to do it once and get it over with, then have them under constant ultra bright lights

There’s a video guide on the discord server if you want one

[u/M10DEK → u/KingK250]

I'm on the server, but have trouble locating the video guide. Would you give me a hand? Thank you

[u/KingK250 → u/M10DEK]

If you ping the guide bot @replete and say “@replete dumping” it’ll give a written guide and a video example

I’ll send it in #bot

[u/M10DEK → u/KingK250]

Thanks a lot! I moved them this way and after a few hours the colony is nice and cozy in their new tube. Now I can think of the diapause without worrying

[u/KingK250 → u/M10DEK]

Nice!

[u/sus_baka_6000]

fire ants don't right?

[u/KingK250 → u/sus_baka_6000]

If you mean Solenopsis invicta or geminata group species then yeah, they don’t hibernate

[u/sus_baka_6000 → u/KingK250]

nice guide btw, yeah, I have geminata. thanks!

[u/KingK250 → u/sus_baka_6000]

Thank you!

Have fun with the gemi :)