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Prenolepis imparis, commonly known as the winter ant, false honey ant, or false honeypot ant, is a species of ant in the genus Prenolepis. [1] The species is found in North America, from Canada to Mexico , nesting deep within the ground.
They usually do so when the temperature is warmer and will re-emerge in the late summer or early fall. [5] Mosquitoes also are reported to undergo aestivation. [6] False honey ants are well known for being winter active and aestivate in temperate climates. Bogong moths will aestivate over the summer to avoid the heat and lack of food sources. [7]
Black-headed sugar ants are nocturnal foragers of food. [15] The species is sometimes considered a household pest since ants can enter human homes at night in search of food. [20] During the day, these ants are not active and have exhibited sleep-like behaviours until it is night. [21]
Insect winter ecology describes the overwinter survival strategies of insects, which are in many respects more similar to those of plants than to many other animals, such as mammals and birds. Unlike those animals, which can generate their own heat internally ( endothermic ), insects must rely on external sources to provide their heat ...
Ants are active all year long in the tropics; however, in cooler regions, they survive the winter in a state of dormancy known as hibernation. The forms of inactivity are varied and some temperate species have larvae going into the inactive state ( diapause ), while in others, the adults alone pass the winter in a state of reduced activity.
Banded sugar ants are the dominant group of nocturnal ants in their range. Workers are mostly encountered at dusk when they are foraging for food on marked trails or on Casuarina and Eucalyptus trees. [26] [27] These ants also forage during the day, but they are more frequently seen at night. [28]
Winter brings less daylight and colder temperatures, which can disrupt sleep. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is more common in winter due to the lack of sunlight, causing sleep disturbances.
Harvester ants foraging in hot, dry conditions lose water, but obtain water from metabolizing fats in the seeds they eat. Positive feedback on foraging activity, from returning foragers with food, allows the colony to regulate its foraging activity according to the current costs of desiccation and the benefits based on current food availability.