17 replies to this topic

[Manitobant]

After hearing about how hightlyze is able to find so many queen ants in his house, I thought I would make a discussion thread on the weirdest, strangest and most unexpected places that we have found queen ants. I will start: I have found camponotus herculeanus queens in my school twice, once in the hallway and once in the music room. I have also found myrmica queens at a waterpark and just yesterday a formica subsericea queen that I accidentally dug up while digging a tetramorium immigrans colony I found, which are really rare (and not even officially recorded) here in manitoba.

[ANTdrew]

Yesterday I turned my head and a Crematogaster queen was crawling on my shoulder. A little bit later, one crawled up on my brother’s beer can.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Well this one time I found a Crematogaster ashmeadi queen wandering around in my aunt's house (ironically). I was somehow able to spot her in the dark with the only light being the dim light from the TV. I also commonly spot Strumigenys membranifera queens under rocks I just randomly flip over. I wouldn't say it's unexpected, but it's pretty neat. I've had queens land on my shirt before, and I even found a Stigmatomma pallipes queen only a few feet away from a giant colony of Aphaenogaster picea! I'd say my anting luck is pretty good...

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I had a Tetramorium queen land on my shirt once. Sadly she never laid eggs.

[ponerinecat]

In a old beer can. there was still some beer.

Prenolepsis in my hallway, crawling nonchalantly on the wall

[NickAnter]

In the toilet, and in the shower. Myrmica, and Solenopsis molesta.

[Leo]

i've had a weaver queen land on my shirt

[FSTP]

I went anting and ended up not finding anything. But then my dog Winston on the way back to my van started sniff snorfing around in a small tuffet of dried dead wild grass and out runs a big fat Formica francoeuri queen. I quickly scooped her up in a catch cap and then thanked and congratulated Winston. That queen and colony has forever been known as Winston's queen.

[RiotAnts]

In one of my termite colonies I found a solenopsis molesta queen and a strumigenys queen just chilling. I released the molesta but the strumigenys queen died a week later sadly.

Edited by RiotAnts, September 4 2019 - 7:05 PM.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

In one of my termite colonies I found a solenopsis molesta queen and a strumigenys queen just chilling. I released the molesta but the strumigenys queen died a week later sadly.

But... How?!?

[ponerinecat]

ants actually regularly inhabit termite nest, either intentionally or not.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

I guess it's not like termites have eyes or anything to even see the ants. I wonder if S. molesta feeds off termite brood the way it does to other ants.

[ForestDragon]

I found 2 aphaenogaster tenneseensis queen outside of my school while waiting for lunch to end to go inside, its an urban environment with no woods in a 5 mile^2 radius and a crematogaster queen like 10 min before best day of my life, my science teacher was like -woah

[Kaelwizard]

This isn’t really weird, but me and my friend were working on a wooden hut we built, and we hade these square pieces of wood to use as shutters. As soon as my friend picked one up a Camponotus nearcticus colony came flooding out of a crack in the side. That colony now lives in a jar with dirt, wood chips, and a plant.

Edited by Kaelwizard, September 8 2019 - 6:31 AM.

[Manitobant]

I've got a new one now: Today while sitting on a bench I pulled a formica limata queen out of my hair. Must've flown in there!

Edited by Manitobant, September 8 2019 - 11:01 AM.

[Major]

My body was cobvered in Brachyamyrmex Depilis queens, I thought they were mosquitos and kept swatting them. I found over 300 queens and only bothered catching 6. LOL

[SuperFrank]

C floridanus on my bedroom wall, Odontomachus on my patio, Pseudomyrmex landed on my arm.

[OhNoNotAgain]

Not sure what variety she was, but a queen landed on my windshield at a red light. I would've opened the door and gotten her except I didn't have any containers handy. What made it exciting is this is the middle of Argentine ant territory and I never see ant queens around here. (I used to see queens in the Midwest/East Coast regularly but not around here.) I HAVE, however, seen hordes of TERMITE alates.... (That was before I ever thought about keeping termites.)

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, September 30 2019 - 9:36 AM.