Finding and collecting ants in winter is difficult. During annual cold weather spells, most ant species retreat deep underground, often far deeper than the nest chambers would be during the warmer months. Ants begin excavating these deeper chambers towards the end of summer in preparation for their winter retreat. If there is snow, this is going to cover the ground and make identifying potential nest sites near impossible.
Other factors also make it much more difficult to locate and collect ants in winter; The number of individual adult ants in a colony will be greatly reduced at this time of year. Many of the adult worker ants will expire due to the weather as well as often reaching the end of their natural lifespan during the cold season. The ant's metabolism is influenced by the temperature. Ants (and insects generally) are far less active during cold weather; the colony practically enters a hibernation phase.
So even if you know the whereabouts of an ant nest despite the snow cover, the lower number of individual ants and greatly reduced colony activity is going to make locating the queen(s) very difficult.
My advice; wait until spring!
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