14 replies to this topic

[AntsAnonymous]

Solenopsis Invicta had a nice flight today. I walked outside and got smacked in the face by a flying queen. Did around 50 laps of my circle driveway and got a fair number of queens. Hope they'll be fine in a jar for a day or two. I have test tubes on the way. I will post some pics in a bit, if anyone is interested.

[AntsTexas]

lucky... , i walked around so much, still have not found even one, had 2 result in waiting for the rains to come to flood a colony 2 find one.....

Edited by Ant-Man, May 15 2015 - 4:58 AM.

[AntsAnonymous]

We had a break in the rain, just long enough and sunny enough to get them. It kept along with everything I've read, day after rain, mild winds, and around 2pm. I think a few are infertile, but a majority are fertile. Going to do mostly single queen test tubes, but also attempt a poly tube or two.

[dspdrew]

Did you happen to know the temperature?

[AntsAnonymous]

It was around 75-80 when the flight first started. But cooled down as a new storm rolled in. Max temp during the day was 87. Average was 78. Lowest was 70. The day prior we had an inch and a half of rain.

[AntsTexas]

gonna try that and c what happens.... it rained pretty good last evening more rain tonight, the temp is gonna b around 82 today already 72

 

 

Edited by Ant-Man, May 15 2015 - 9:32 AM.

[AntsAnonymous]

Any luck with the anting? Just finished building a display/workbench for my ants. Test tube some later today. And setup the rest in a growth chamber from THA.

[AntsTexas]

nope checked on my "queen" that i got floating in the water she's still alive, looks like i'll have better luck digging up a colony 2 find one , awesome send a pic when its finished!

[AntsAnonymous]

I almost had to do that for my big colony. I flipped over a board in my yard and found the queen. Captured her and as many workers as I could get initially. The next day I got a big second batch. They are doing great. I feed them a mix diet of mealworms, honey water, and bits and pieces of meat or fruit from my meals. They loved a left over chicken bone I gave them.

[AntsTexas]

lol, they go nuts for chicken... thay also like hummingbird nectar

Edited by Ant-Man, May 16 2015 - 3:09 PM.

[AntsAnonymous]

Finished up my workbench. And painted the work area grey for easy spotting of escapees or accidental drops. Working well so far.

Added a LED light strip for visibility at night(or during storms like today). And a small solar screen to stop any early morning direct sunlight. I have my THA Pinnacle on the right(Solenopsis Invicta). AC Omninest Vertical and outworld connected to it.(For now). They tend to use the Omninest as a granary and Pinnacle as the main nest.

A few of the queens I caught during latest flight. I did about half single queen, and half multi-queen set ups. Little egg piles are starting to appear.  I have them housed in a small desktop organizer I got from Walmart. 

Edited by AntsAnonymous, May 19 2015 - 1:28 PM.

[dermy]

Cool, hope they do well for you!

[AntsTexas]

Finished up my workbench. And painted the work area grey for easy spotting of escapees or accidental drops. Working well so far.

IMG_20150516_154643 - Copy.jpg

Added a LED light strip for visibility at night(or during storms like today). And a small solar screen to stop any early morning direct sunlight. I have my THA Pinnacle on the right(Solenopsis Invicta). AC Omninest Vertical and outworld connected to it.(For now). They tend to use the Omninest as a granary and Pinnacle as the main nest.

IMG_20150519_155537 - Copy.jpg

A few of the queens I caught during latest flight. I did about half single queen, and half multi-queen set ups. Little egg piles are starting to appear.  I have them housed in a small desktop organizer I got from Walmart. 

IMG_20150519_155609 - Copy.jpg

i like the setup!!  good work!!

[AntsAnonymous]

I'll add some shelves to the backboard for more formicariums. And move the lighting around as necessary. I'm also printing my first prototype formicarium, at hour 10 of 12. Woo! I'll take a few ants from my current colony and test it for escapes first,as well as, test glass versus plexiglass for the viewing surface. Then hydration methods, etc.

[William. T]

Solenopis has been active in Maryland recently. I have caught three 3mm alates of the genus.