21 replies to this topic

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

Hello! I have spent this whole summer (around a month or so) searching high and low but with no luck at finding a single queen. I have set up a baby pools and searched through forests, on sidewalks by lakes and elsewhere. I have seen huge colonies by my house and in the forest by my house so lack of colonies isn't a problem. It has been a VERY humid summer in Wisonsin where I live and rain is very consistent. PLEASE If anybody has any knowledge on what is going on I would love to hear what you did to solve it. My patience is running out very fast and I am planning on digging founding chambers as a last resort option. I have found multiple queens in a single day last summer but not a single one the entire summer this year. Thank you for reading and ANY tips or advice is greatly appreciated.

 

 

TL:DR can't find any queens even with humidity, rain and big colonies around. 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I wrote this very late in the night so forgive me if I have any spelling errors and grammar errors 

[ANTdrew]

It can be very frustrating when you’re starting out. Stay patient and don’t give up. Queen season is far from over especially up north like you are. Learn what specific species you have and the times and conditions of their flights. There are several very experienced members on here from WI; I recommend PMing them for advice. Finally, PLEASE don’t take the shortcut of digging up an established colony. This is a very destructive practice that probably won’t end well for you.

Edited by ANTdrew, July 4 2019 - 2:35 AM.

[ANTdrew]

I bet you might be able to find Tetramorium queens looking very early on hot humid mornings.

[SuperFrank]

Blacklighting is far and away the simplest and most effective method used by many people to catch queens. All you need is a flourescent blacklight (a Hyper Tough brand 24" flourescent blacklight can be bought at Walmart for $11, works like a charm) and a white sheet/tablecloth/etc. Simply set up the blacklight on the sheet at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise you want to turn it on just as the sun is going down and leave it on for few hours, checking it every 10-30 minutes or so. At sunrise I turn mine on 1-2 hours before the sky gets light and leave it on until the sun is fully up. I have caught hundreds of queens and seen thousands more this way.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

Blacklighting is far and away the simplest and most effective method used by many people to catch queens. All you need is a flourescent blacklight (a Hyper Tough brand 24" flourescent blacklight can be bought at Walmart for $11, works like a charm) and a white sheet/tablecloth/etc. Simply set up the blacklight on the sheet at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise you want to turn it on just as the sun is going down and leave it on for few hours, checking it every 10-30 minutes or so. At sunrise I turn mine on 1-2 hours before the sky gets light and leave it on until the sun is fully up. I have caught hundreds of queens and seen thousands more this way.

Ok so I have had a blacklight lamp style setup shining on my wall outside (its almost perfectly white so it mimics a sheet I believe) for around an hour now and have only managed to attract some mosquitos, moths, fireflys etc. but no queens. This is REALLLLYYYY adding to my suspicion that there are close to zero nuptial flights happening near me. I will let it sit for two more hours and tomorrow for around three hours to see if anything shows up. Oh and I forgot to mention I am checking the light every 15-20 minutes.

[Martialis]

 

Blacklighting is far and away the simplest and most effective method used by many people to catch queens. All you need is a flourescent blacklight (a Hyper Tough brand 24" flourescent blacklight can be bought at Walmart for $11, works like a charm) and a white sheet/tablecloth/etc. Simply set up the blacklight on the sheet at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise you want to turn it on just as the sun is going down and leave it on for few hours, checking it every 10-30 minutes or so. At sunrise I turn mine on 1-2 hours before the sky gets light and leave it on until the sun is fully up. I have caught hundreds of queens and seen thousands more this way.

Ok so I have had a blacklight lamp style setup shining on my wall outside (its almost perfectly white so it mimics a sheet I believe) for around an hour now and have only managed to attract some mosquitos, moths, fireflys etc. but no queens. This is REALLLLYYYY adding to my suspicion that there are close to zero nuptial flights happening near me. I will let it sit for two more hours and tomorrow for around three hours to see if anything shows up. Oh and I forgot to mention I am checking the light every 15-20 minutes.

 

 

Where are you located?

 

 

Excellent weather for blacklighting is when there are low winds, high humidity, and temperatures at or above 75 F at sunset. I've noticed anecdotally that the majority of ants tend to appear around 10:30-11 p.m. in this weather, although I'm not sure if this is just a "notice" bias on my part.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

 

 

Blacklighting is far and away the simplest and most effective method used by many people to catch queens. All you need is a flourescent blacklight (a Hyper Tough brand 24" flourescent blacklight can be bought at Walmart for $11, works like a charm) and a white sheet/tablecloth/etc. Simply set up the blacklight on the sheet at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise you want to turn it on just as the sun is going down and leave it on for few hours, checking it every 10-30 minutes or so. At sunrise I turn mine on 1-2 hours before the sky gets light and leave it on until the sun is fully up. I have caught hundreds of queens and seen thousands more this way.

Ok so I have had a blacklight lamp style setup shining on my wall outside (its almost perfectly white so it mimics a sheet I believe) for around an hour now and have only managed to attract some mosquitos, moths, fireflys etc. but no queens. This is REALLLLYYYY adding to my suspicion that there are close to zero nuptial flights happening near me. I will let it sit for two more hours and tomorrow for around three hours to see if anything shows up. Oh and I forgot to mention I am checking the light every 15-20 minutes.

 

 

Where are you located?

 

 

Excellent weather for blacklighting is when there are low winds, high humidity, and temperatures at or above 75 F at sunset. I've noticed anecdotally that the majority of ants tend to appear around 10:30-11 p.m. in this weather, although I'm not sure if this is just a "notice" bias on my part.

 

The humidity here in Wisconsin is pretty high atm because we just had a huge rainstorm and has been very humid for the past few weeks due to constant rains. Temperature currently (10:33 PM) is 74.7°F and doesn't change much during the night.

[Martialis]

Ah.

 

I bet you're getting some smaller ones at it... They're fairly hard to notice. I'm sorry for your lack of luck so far.

[AnthonyP163]

 

Blacklighting is far and away the simplest and most effective method used by many people to catch queens. All you need is a flourescent blacklight (a Hyper Tough brand 24" flourescent blacklight can be bought at Walmart for $11, works like a charm) and a white sheet/tablecloth/etc. Simply set up the blacklight on the sheet at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise you want to turn it on just as the sun is going down and leave it on for few hours, checking it every 10-30 minutes or so. At sunrise I turn mine on 1-2 hours before the sky gets light and leave it on until the sun is fully up. I have caught hundreds of queens and seen thousands more this way.

Ok so I have had a blacklight lamp style setup shining on my wall outside (its almost perfectly white so it mimics a sheet I believe) for around an hour now and have only managed to attract some mosquitos, moths, fireflys etc. but no queens. This is REALLLLYYYY adding to my suspicion that there are close to zero nuptial flights happening near me. I will let it sit for two more hours and tomorrow for around three hours to see if anything shows up. Oh and I forgot to mention I am checking the light every 15-20 minutes.

 

I'm from Waukesha, WI. 

 

I've noticed that not many of the species here have flights at night, compared to more southern locations. An even smaller amount of them are consistently attracted to blacklights. This time of year, depending on if you're in northern WI or not, Tetramorium might fly in the very early morning. These queens are common in areas with roads and sidewalks, and overall disturbed areas. Otherwise, you'll likely find Formica, which will fly on days where it has rained recently and the morning is warm. Temnothorax and Lasius americanus will be flying this month during sunset/night, and although I have only once found Lasius americanus at my blacklight, I do find Temnothorax. Make sure the Temnothorax have shed their wings before you catch them, though, because they were mostly infertile queens. Into August and September, the most notable flights will probably be the abundant Lasius and many cryptic ants. Lasius typically fly in late afternoon - sunset.

 

Good luck

Edited by AnthonyP163, July 5 2019 - 12:19 AM.

[SuperFrank]

What type of bulb are you using? Is it flourescent or incandescent? Are you sure it's putting out UV light?

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

Ok day two of using a blacklight trap and no such and still no luck. I am like 100% convinced that no nuptial flights are happening. I am going to go on a three day super queen hunt searching all areas I know. Sidewalks, bodies of water, forests etc. I am going to check in the early morning, midday and in the night for three days. If I find nothing I don't know what to do.

[CatsnAnts]

Ok day two of using a blacklight trap and no such and still no luck. I am like 100% convinced that no nuptial flights are happening. I am going to go on a three day super queen hunt searching all areas I know. Sidewalks, bodies of water, forests etc. I am going to check in the early morning, midday and in the night for three days. If I find nothing I don't know what to do.

I know the feeling.

When I first started blacklighting, I caught NOTHING for the first several times and started to get discouraged. Until one night, nuptial flights began happening, and then quit a few days later. My tip is: just be patient, and eventually you’ll come across a nuptial flight (and when one does happen, you’ll surely find queens at your blacklight!).

[Manitobant]

Here are a few tips:

1. Look under stones. Queens will often start colonies under stones or you could get lucky and find a queen and her established colony under a stone, meaning you can collect them without digging and potentially harming the queen.

2. Look in pools. Queens will often land in pools while on nuptial flight and are easy to collect. You can even set up your own pool trap by getting a cheap kiddie pool and waiting for queens to fly into the water.

3. Use a light trap. This is my favorite method of collecting insects as a whole but it can be quite costly to set up. You will need a light source and a white sheet. The sheet can either be placed on the ground with the light in the middle or hung up on a fence with clothespins and the light at the top or bottom. There are two types of bulbs that work best: blacklights and mercury vapor bulbs. Blacklights are the less expensive option and they can either be run on a cord or some on batteries. The light can attract many different types of insects and lots of queens on a good night. The more expensive and overall better option in my opinion is mercury vapor bulbs. These bulbs are bright and will attract tons of insects and queens on muggy nights. As said before, they are quite expensive and hard to find but luckily lots of pet stores sell them for heating reptiles at 60-80$. You will need cords and a socket but it is overall worth it. You can also pair a mercury vapor bulb and blacklight for better results.

[Pumpkin_Loves_Ants]

Ok after the first day of searching I am proud to report I found a beautiful Tetramorium sp. (pictures pending) when I was searching on a sidewalk at around 7:00 PM. I also noticed a worker ant carrying a Tetramorium queen that didn't have any legs but was somehow still barely alive back to its nest. I found 3 dead queens in total including the no-leg one all dead on the same patch of sidewalk so I think I missed a nuptial flight. Darn! Well that pretty much closes this thread. I will be searching in the general area that I found the queen tomorrow to see what I can find. I will also be making a journal for my new queen once she is settled into her new test tube setup. 

 

Thank you to everyone who gave advice and helped me find this queen. I will be creating a journal for her in a couple of days when she is not as stressed. Thank you again!

[Mdrogun]

 

Ok day two of using a blacklight trap and no such and still no luck. I am like 100% convinced that no nuptial flights are happening. I am going to go on a three day super queen hunt searching all areas I know. Sidewalks, bodies of water, forests etc. I am going to check in the early morning, midday and in the night for three days. If I find nothing I don't know what to do.

I know the feeling.

When I first started blacklighting, I caught NOTHING for the first several times and started to get discouraged. Until one night, nuptial flights began happening, and then quit a few days later. My tip is: just be patient, and eventually you’ll come across a nuptial flight (and when one does happen, you’ll surely find queens at your blacklight!).

 

 

What type of bulb are you using? Is it flourescent or incandescent? Are you sure it's putting out UV light?

The farther away from the equator you are, the less effective a blacklight definitely seems to be. I'm in Northern IL and I don't even bother blacklighting anymore. I would catch Camponotus males, Solenopsis molesta on the very warmest nights of the year, every once in a while find parasitic Lasius, and on one night find some Lasius cf. brevicornis queens. There may be a few species I'm forgetting but you get my point; it's not something I want to spend my time checking every night. A far cry from what you'll see in the far southeast or southwest, often catching queens every night in some places. It is my theory that being the temperature is generally colder up here, it is much more difficult for night time flying to occur. Couple that with a few other things, such as the Northern US having less ants overall than the south, and blacklighting up north quickly becomes an ineffective method for collecting queens.

 

Here is my advice: learn what species are near you and when they fly. Be outside at those times, and watch for those weather conditions if you can. If that information is not available to you, maximize your time outside. Many times I will find queens just by being outside even when I'm not looking for them. Ants have flown this year, and will continue to fly by you. You're either largely missing it or not recognizing the queens.

[ANTdrew]

I knew you’d find a Tetra queen sooner or later. Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a better beginner species. They grow fast, move easy, are very clean, and suck at escaping.

[TennesseeAnts]

I knew you’d find a Tetra queen sooner or later. Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a better beginner species. They grow fast, move easy, are very clean, and suck at escaping.

This is true, until they chew through your ytong nests.

[ANTdrew]

No YTONG! Just tubs and tubes is the way to go. It ain’t sexy, but it works...

[TennesseeAnts]

No YTONG! Just tubs and tubes is the way to go. It ain’t sexy, but it works...

I've actually heard that tubs and tubes setups are better for colonies than moving them from a tube into a huge nest. I've never really tried it long term though. Is this true?

[Manitobant]

Ok day two of using a blacklight trap and no such and still no luck. I am like 100% convinced that no nuptial flights are happening. I am going to go on a three day super queen hunt searching all areas I know. Sidewalks, bodies of water, forests etc. I am going to check in the early morning, midday and in the night for three days. If I find nothing I don't know what to do.

I know the feeling.
When I first started blacklighting, I caught NOTHING for the first several times and started to get discouraged. Until one night, nuptial flights began happening, and then quit a few days later. My tip is: just be patient, and eventually you’ll come across a nuptial flight (and when one does happen, you’ll surely find queens at your blacklight!).

 

What type of bulb are you using? Is it flourescent or incandescent? Are you sure it's putting out UV light?

The farther away from the equator you are, the less effective a blacklight definitely seems to be. I'm in Northern IL and I don't even bother blacklighting anymore. I would catch Camponotus males, Solenopsis molesta on the very warmest nights of the year, every once in a while find parasitic Lasius, and on one night find some Lasius cf. brevicornis queens. There may be a few species I'm forgetting but you get my point; it's not something I want to spend my time checking every night. A far cry from what you'll see in the far southeast or southwest, often catching queens every night in some places. It is my theory that being the temperature is generally colder up here, it is much more difficult for night time flying to occur. Couple that with a few other things, such as the Northern US having less ants overall than the south, and blacklighting up north quickly becomes an ineffective method for collecting queens.

in my experience it seems a stronger bulb works better up north. I use a 100W mercury vapor bulb and blacklight and rack in tons of bugs every night.