234 replies to this topic

[Ants_Dakota]

Yea will do. Haven’t checked on her since yesterday but last night she seemed pretty calm finally

Keep in mind these queens can live for years when not mated... I still have one from over a year ago that never laid eggs...

Oh wow ok. When’s the best time of day to find this species? I was surprised to find her in the morning. I’m also trying to keep an eye out for Formica dakotensis? I think… reddish Orange field ants. Also not sure if they’re parasites or not. I think Obscuripes already flew probably… but tried that last year or the year before and failed miserably. Maybe I need pupae instead of workers though from fusca to found one
Btw Tetramorium is still flying west river. Saw another queen today on the sidewalk.

Formica fly usually in the afternoonish and i have had the most luck finding them in the evening. The morning means she has been foraging for nest locations for a while and most likely means she is mated. Quite the ambitious antkeeper haha, I have never seen nor caught formica dakotensis. They are very shiny compared to other parasitic and slave raiding colonies so that is your best indicator besides a microscope. However if you are interested I could sell you a colony of Formica ravida that I have just caught, if you really want to try your hand with parasitic queens. Yes I would agree pupae is the safest way to found, although some species do need workers too. Destroy as many of those tetramorium queens as you can...

Edited by Ants_Dakota, July 19 2023 - 9:17 AM.

[amerikansturm]

Yea will do. Haven’t checked on her since yesterday but last night she seemed pretty calm finally

Keep in mind these queens can live for years when not mated... I still have one from over a year ago that never laid eggs...

Oh wow ok. When’s the best time of day to find this species? I was surprised to find her in the morning. I’m also trying to keep an eye out for Formica dakotensis? I think… reddish Orange field ants. Also not sure if they’re parasites or not. I think Obscuripes already flew probably… but tried that last year or the year before and failed miserably. Maybe I need pupae instead of workers though from fusca to found one
Btw Tetramorium is still flying west river. Saw another queen today on the sidewalk.

Formica fly usually in the afternoonish and i have had the most luck finding them in the evening. The morning means she has been foraging for nest locations for a while and most likely means she is mated. Quite the ambitious antkeeper haha, I have never seen nor caught formica dakotensis. They are very shiny compared to other parasitic and slave raiding colonies so that is your best indicator besides a microscope. However if you are interested I could sell you a colony of Formica ravida that I have just caught, if you really want to try your hand with parasitic queens. Yes I would agree pupae is the safest way to found, although some species do need workers too. Destroy as many of those tetramorium queens as you can...

Haha yea I saw a dakotensis queen a couple days ago but lost her in the rocks. Probably wouldn’t have been able to get the right pupae.

Lol why destroy the Tetramorium queens?


Also I caught a drone Formica fusca group… my queen is laying and it appears like she’s putting them in a pile rather than dropping them randomly. Probably not a good idea to see if they’ll mate huh?

[Ants_Dakota]

 

 

 

 

Yea will do. Haven’t checked on her since yesterday but last night she seemed pretty calm finally

Keep in mind these queens can live for years when not mated... I still have one from over a year ago that never laid eggs...

Oh wow ok. When’s the best time of day to find this species? I was surprised to find her in the morning. I’m also trying to keep an eye out for Formica dakotensis? I think… reddish Orange field ants. Also not sure if they’re parasites or not. I think Obscuripes already flew probably… but tried that last year or the year before and failed miserably. Maybe I need pupae instead of workers though from fusca to found one
Btw Tetramorium is still flying west river. Saw another queen today on the sidewalk.

Formica fly usually in the afternoonish and i have had the most luck finding them in the evening. The morning means she has been foraging for nest locations for a while and most likely means she is mated. Quite the ambitious antkeeper haha, I have never seen nor caught formica dakotensis. They are very shiny compared to other parasitic and slave raiding colonies so that is your best indicator besides a microscope. However if you are interested I could sell you a colony of Formica ravida that I have just caught, if you really want to try your hand with parasitic queens. Yes I would agree pupae is the safest way to found, although some species do need workers too. Destroy as many of those tetramorium queens as you can...

Haha yea I saw a dakotensis queen a couple days ago but lost her in the rocks. Probably wouldn’t have been able to get the right pupae.

Lol why destroy the Tetramorium queens?


Also I caught a drone Formica fusca group… my queen is laying and it appears like she’s putting them in a pile rather than dropping them randomly. Probably not a good idea to see if they’ll mate huh?

 

you are lucky then! The queen i caught that i thought could be dakotensis turned out to be F. cf fossaceps, which was a little disappointing as i wanted to try out dakotensis, but whatever. Because tetramorium are invasive and quite destructive of native ants in the city, although lasius neoniger are fighting back... Yes if the queen is already caring for the brood, best not to risk that. The only species that i have observed mate in captivity myself was ponera pennsylvanica, but that does not mean others won't. Your queen is more than likely mated so you should be fine!

[MinifigGaloreStore]

I was at the end of my driveway last evening waiting for my brother to pick me up for a culver's run. I was admiring the "pet" pavement ant colony at the end of my driveway, and noticed what appeared to be a queen.

It was super tiny though like dwarfed by even the tetra workers.

 

Anyone heard of any orange-ish tiny queen ants? Could have maybe just been a worker from species with particularly long gasters too and not a queen at all.

 

I ran to the kitchen quick, grabbed a small container to secure the ant. The lid rested on these "friction" ridges and it left a large enough gap I guess that the ant escaped when we made our food run. It was that small. Hope it doesn't start a colony in my garage lol. At least it wasn't in the house.

 

Any way, later that night in the dark, I went out to the same area hoping to maybe find another one. I had all but given up hope when I spotted movement between the sidewalk cracks right at the end of my driveway and found a lasius species!!!

 

She's all test tubed up. 

[Virginian_ants]

Maybe some Strongylognathus sp, they are from Europe but maybe like tetramorium atratulum they've been introduced as inquilines.

Edited by Virginian_ants, August 8 2023 - 7:45 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Sounds like a Solenopsis molesta queen to me.

[Virginian_ants]

I agree with ANTdrew. Probably Solenopsis.

[Ants_Dakota]

First observed(hopefully of multiple) flights of Lasius neoniger group(L. neoniger, L. crypticus, L. pallitarsis), Lasius brevicornis/nearcticus, and Solenopsis molesta flight in South Dakota! Queens have been flying earlier this year due to the huge amount of rain we have gotten, as I found a Lasius americanus queen half a month ago in the black hills. The fight against Tetramorium is being continued by these brave defenders!

[amerikansturm]

Update from me, no longer a SoDak ant keeper but the species here in MT are nearly the same as the ones I saw in the Hills. With the exception of Tetramorium in my area but in the more urban areas I’ve seen them. My Tetramorium colonies both died again this winter so starting fresh this year. Caught a l. neoniger (I think) a couple days ago. Although I saw a possible americanus flight take place. And then I had a question about pogonomyrex… caught a queen and she’s laying eggs but also read they’re semi-claustral…. What’s recommended for food or has anyone started a Pogonomyrmex colony here?

Edited by amerikansturm, August 17 2024 - 5:08 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update from me, no longer a SoDak ant keeper but the species here in MT are nearly the same as the ones I saw in the Hills. With the exception of Tetramorium in my area but in the more urban areas I’ve seen them. My Tetramorium colonies both died again this winter so starting fresh this year. Caught a l. neoniger (I think) a couple days ago. Although I saw a possible americanus flight take place. And then I had a question about pogonomyrex… caught a queen and she’s laying eggs but also read they’re semi-claustral…. What’s recommended for food or has anyone started a Pogonomyrmex colony here?

Pogonomyrmex gained the common name "Harvester Ants" since their main diet is composed of seeds, and they will also consume insects. They cannot eat sugars like honey or sugarwater. Seeds they seem fond of are grass, dandelion, and poppy seeds. Insects are the same as any other genus. 

[RushmoreAnts]

Lasius brevicornis had a small flight last night 8/27/2024.

[Ants_Dakota]

Caught a Myrmica queen today, and saw lasius males yesterday. What remains to be seen is whether they are ramping up to their main flights or down from them.

[Ants_Dakota]

Union Grove State Park, 8/31-9/2/2024

Lasius neoniger preparing to fly

Formica worker

Prenolepis imparis

Crematogaster sp.

blurry Camponotus americanus major

Myrmica sp.

Myrmica sp.

Myrmica sp.

Myrmica sp. attacking a grub in an acorn

Forelius pruinosus building a nest

Lasius males swarming a blacklight

More Lasius males

Camponotus pennsalvanicus major poking its head out

Formica pallidefulva group worker dragging protein

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

An increasingly rare Monarch butterfly caterpillar

Prenolepis imparis responding within seconds to a grub

A very fat Camponotus americanus worker

 

Species seen:

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis
Aphaenogaster rudis

Brachymyrmex depilis

Camponotus americanus

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Camponotus nearcticus?

Crematogaster cerasi

Dorymyrmex insanus?

Formica pallidefulva group

Formica integra group

Formica subsericea group

Forelius pruinosus

Lasius neoniger

Lasius brevicornis

Lasius nearcticus

Monomorium minimum

Myrmica sp.

Myrmica sp.

Myrmica sp.

Prenolepis imparis

Tapinoma sessile

Tetramorium immigrans

Edited by Ants_Dakota, September 2 2024 - 2:01 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

I think brachymyrmex depilis building a nest

P8310099.JPG

 

I was there, though on closer inspection of that photo that's Forelius pruinosus.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

I think brachymyrmex depilis building a nest

P8310099.JPG

 

I was there, though on closer inspection of that photo that's Forelius pruinosus.

 

Updated!