16 replies to this topic

[Bearcoon]

Ok so I've caught a Number of Ant workers from an ant hill near my house and i want to get a queen this summer of the same type but i need to know what kind they are so i can properly prepare.

Please tell what kind they are as well as wether they are Fully-Claustral, Semi-Claustral, Parasitic.

 

Also any advice is welcome this will be my first colony ever.

 

[Chromerust]

Well we really can't help you without a description and some pictures. Make a new post in the Ant ID sections with photos and I'm sure we can help you ID them.

[Bearcoon]

sorry i thought that id Put in Pictures

 

 

I will try and get some better pics and post soon

[dspdrew]

Not sure if this is supposed to be an ID request or what. Either way I fixed your title; it seemed to be missing spaces.

 

Also, this thread will help you figure out how to post a picture.

 

http://www.formicult...to-post-photos/

[Miles]

I can't view any of the pictures on this thread.

[Bearcoon]

The pics show up to me and this sites uploader won't exept them

[Bearcoon]

 

 

did that work???

[dean_k]

That head shape..., Pogonomyrmex?

[Ants4fun]

To answer your question, I would agree with Dean. But I don't believe you understand the concept of how to raise an ant colony. You cannot just put some workers and a queen of the same species. I suggest you read this. http://www.formicult...ners/#entry1409

[dspdrew]

I think he is just trying to get an ID on the ants, so he can hopefully find a queen of the same species later.

 

@Bearcoon Like the others mentioned, that does look like Pogonomyrmex sp., but your location is one of the most important parts of an ID request. If you give us your location we can probably help you better. The best thing to do is post the information listed in the pinned topic in the Ant ID Requests subforum.

[Ants4fun]

Ok, well when he said that he was 'making' a colony in the title, and that he already collected the workers, I thought he implied that he was just putting them together. Anyways, then yes we will definitely need to know your location

[Bearcoon]

I just collected some workers to get an id on the type of ant and in the summer I'm going get a queen of the same type But I'm NOT going to put them together 

 

So ya i just want an ID and some advice on a Formicarium and How to care for that Type

[Bearcoon]

Location: Northern Utah

 

also I'm kind of new to ant keeping so please say the full name and not just part

Edited by Bearcoon, March 12 2015 - 9:35 AM.

[Ants4fun]

Ok, sorry for the misunderstanding. They are a Pogonomyrmex, also known as the harvester ant. They queens usually either fully claustral or semi claustral. They usually fly in the late summer. Also, they like substrate in their test tubes.

[Bearcoon]

I'm like super new to this so what do i do for substrate and how would i make a formicarium that would work well for them

[Crystals]

From what I have seen Pogonomyrmex can be somewhat challenging to get through the founding process since they do not seem to do the best in test tubes.

If you are only going after a handful of queens and don't mind watering once a week or so, you can try making nests with just one-two chambers.  The nest can be made out of firebrick (K-23 refractory brick), grout, ytong, etc.  Or you can buy some of the smaller formicariums designed for founding queens (I am sure some here will list some).

I have seen some people use plain agar food gel in 1/3 of their test tube to make up for substrate.  http://www.formicult...et-ups/?hl=agar

 

In this link are several ways to make formicariums - admittedly they are meant for larger colonies, but you can downsize them to just 1-2 chambers.  Look in the Tutorial Section.

http://www.formicult...of-handy-links/

[dspdrew]

If we had a care sheet created for Pogonomyrmex, I would certainly direct you there, but since our care sheets section is kind of new, we haven't gotten one yet. For now, you should check out this post (http://www.formicult...chnique/?p=2850).