9 replies to this topic

[AZantz]

Hi everyone, I go by AJ and I'm trying to start my first ant colony, very excited to try and catch some of the species of ants in some of the parks near my home, so far I'm pretty sure there are novomessor cocrelli and pogonomermyx rugosis at the park I'm visiting, any pointers about catching, caring for these guys would be awesome! I know both these species will be slow going and that's what I'm after.

 

looking forward to hearing from yall

[Acutus]

Hey AJ!! Welcome!! Don't know anything about those species so I can't help but you'll find peeps here that can!! Try looking in the Ant Journals section for any of the species you are interested in. There's a ton of info!

 

Good Luck with your Ant colony!!!

[Manitobant]

Welcome to the forums! Arizona happens to have the most ant diversity in the United states and is the dream location of most antkeepers! Besides the ants you mentioned, you should also keep an eye out for myrmecocystus (honeypot ants) odontomachus clarus (trap jaw ant) and solenopsis xyloni (fire ant) the latter is always usually flying and a hardy species but grows extremely quickly. Some rarer ants you should look for are acromyrmex versicolor (desert leafcutter ant) cephalotes rohweri (turtle ant) and if you ever get the chance to visit organ pipe national monument look for atta mexicana, which is basically a bigger and much faster growing version of acromyrmex. In order to catch queens, simply look under rocks or dig up tiny little mounds known as founding chambers. Novomessor cockerelli is a very easy to keep species while pogonomyrmex rugosus is a little harder because the queens are semi claustral, meaning they need to be fed while raising their first batch of workers. The easiest species that I would reccomend for a beginner are novomessor, veromessor, pheidole, solenopsis (be cautious of their speed though) and camponotus which can be found in the mountains. Good luck!

Edited by Manitobant, May 21 2019 - 6:44 PM.

[AZantz]

Thanks so much for the info and the warm welcome! I was excited to find out so many species reside here in AZ. honey pot ants would be epic but for now I'm pretty set on trying to catch a Novomessor queen, I'm fascinated by the behavior of the workers I've caught so far, is there somewhere to ask specific questions about ant behavior?

[Manitobant]

Thanks so much for the info and the warm welcome! I was excited to find out so many species reside here in AZ. honey pot ants would be epic but for now I'm pretty set on trying to catch a Novomessor queen, I'm fascinated by the behavior of the workers I've caught so far, is there somewhere to ask specific questions about ant behavior?

well, you might have to wait to catch a novomessor queen as flights occur in july. Luckily, a few amazing species that are great for beginners are currently flying right now, those being the polygynous (multi queened) brachymyrmex, the mountain dwelling and slow growing camponotus, pheidole, which are extremely polymorphic (different sizes of workers) and odontomachus, which isn't really for beginners but is one of the coolest ants in Arizona with spring loaded jaws. Most of these ants can be dug up from founding chambers or found under stones. Also, you can follow some ant keeping journals for some good insight into the behavior or different species

Edited by Manitobant, May 22 2019 - 8:23 AM.

[AZantz]

oh man i gotta get out there and start looking thanks again for the insight, hopefully ill post pictures of my first queen soon!

[NickAnter]

In California Novomessor fly at like 5 in the morning, and then seemingly disappear. From what I have read, they are slow growing, but very active and entertaining, which you already seem to know.

[NickAnter]

And I am pretty sure that P. Rugosus is fully claustral, same as Novomessor. Drew said so in his journal on them.

Edited by NickAnter, May 22 2019 - 2:15 PM.

[AZantz]

Hey thanks nick for the info, I'll start checking earlier in the morning, I'd love to catch any queen really just happened to find these novo and Pogonomyrmex's at the park near my house if anyone in the greater phoenix area knows any spots I'm all ears.

[Herdo]

Hey, and welcome to the forum. I too live in the suburbs of Phoenix (Glendale) and have managed to find a ton of Pheidole every year, sometimes 15 or more a day in my pool.

This usually occurs sometime late June through July. That's when you'll find a lot of species flying.

You can check out my Pheidole journal for more specific info. http://www.formicult...-may-28th-2017/

My daughter was born in 2017 so I took a break from antkeeping, but now I'm hoping to get back into it this year.

Let's keep each other updated on any nuptial fights in the area!