Hibernation!

Hey guys. For a small amount of us, it's either hibernation time or you're waking up soon. Either way, it's going to be a great next few weeks for me as i'll be waking up my ants during the next month and a half.

With this being said, does anyone else hibernate their insects? Interested to see who else does this.

For me it really depends on what it is and how much it means to me. I hibernate all of my ants. Also I am required to put all of my moth cocoons through hibernation time so they will emerge in the spring. However I could hibernate my earwigs and they would get a longer life span, however I do not as they are very replacable if a few were to die.

Not much hibernation in my area of the south with our temperatures,, the Nantucket pine tip moth larvae continue eating. The adults can have several generation each year.
Insect rod

Oh wow. i'm gonna have to look into moths more. What do you guys do with them after they emerge? Pin them? Let them go? With all my different bugs, i've been teaching him about metamorphosis. A butterfly or moth would be another great example.

Loops117 wrote:Oh wow. i'm gonna have to look into moths more. What do you guys do with them after they emerge? Pin them? Let them go? With all my different bugs, i've been teaching him about metamorphosis. A butterfly or moth would be another great example.

Depends on the person. I personally just like to raise them and let them go. Other people have these sheds and let them go in there. The moth lives in the shed and the windows are like a wire mesh so it can breed with other moths outdoors through the wire mesh. Then once they die they pin them. Then some people raise them and as soon as they emerge pin them. I am not quite sure I could do that though.

Yeah, i couldnt kill an insect for art.

The only bugs I really like to keep are beetles. I like to study any of them by whatever means. I do kill a few but not many, other than mosquitoes, fire ants and a few other real pest. Any potential use for love bugs, anything eat them.
Brings up an interesting thought (experiment), I wonder if fire ants will eat them. We have plenty of insects, even i`m an insect.
Insect rod

Fireants will eat anything =D

Then,Will ant eaters eat fire ants?
Insect rod

I guess you could say my son's cocoon is hibernating....if it is still viable that is. When do they emerge?

I sort of "hibernate" our Beta Splendas. What I mean is, I feed them less frequently when it is colder in the house. Once we get warmer temps and the house gets back into the 70s then I will feed them more often. We keep the house at 68 through winter. 74-75 through summer.