Post by Wood~Ant on Oct 14, 2007 8:44:02 GMT
In the upper northern hemisphere, winter is just around the corner and ant hunting has ended for another year. But in warmer countries or those who have summer in December and January, ant hunting is just beginning; and some lucky countries are warm enough to have ants active all year round 
For those of us who will be having frost, snow and wet foggy days ahead, even if we cannot go out and search for ants, we can still enjoy any colonies that we already have. Or we may have young queens captured from this year's mating flights, who are yet to found a colony of their own.
You can always use this quiet time to have a go at making your own ant farm set up, or pop down to your local library or book shop, and look for good ant literature to buy or borrow.
As many of us keep ants that may be native to your region, and these ants may hibernate, you will find that winter always seems longer than ever. For this reason, I like to keep at least one species which does not hibernate; such as my Messor barbs or Myrmecocystus mimicus, but it is not always practical to keep an exotic ant species for one reason or another.
So guys, what will you do with your free anting time if you can't go out and find ants?
For those of us who will be having frost, snow and wet foggy days ahead, even if we cannot go out and search for ants, we can still enjoy any colonies that we already have. Or we may have young queens captured from this year's mating flights, who are yet to found a colony of their own.
You can always use this quiet time to have a go at making your own ant farm set up, or pop down to your local library or book shop, and look for good ant literature to buy or borrow.
As many of us keep ants that may be native to your region, and these ants may hibernate, you will find that winter always seems longer than ever. For this reason, I like to keep at least one species which does not hibernate; such as my Messor barbs or Myrmecocystus mimicus, but it is not always practical to keep an exotic ant species for one reason or another.
So guys, what will you do with your free anting time if you can't go out and find ants?
