20 replies to this topic

[antsandmore]

my brother found 1, and my other brother found 1 LOL, but anyone able to identify, and if so, advice in keeping?

idk why the picture didn't come out

Edited by antsandmore, January 6 2021 - 4:45 PM.

[antsandmore]

Album: Termite

1 images

0 comments

Edited by antsandmore, January 6 2021 - 4:51 PM.

[M_Ants]

Lucky! Why is everyone catching termites except me??

[antsandmore]

Finally!!!!

Lucky! Why is everyone catching termites except me??

lol, it wasn't me who caught, my 2nd brother, and then my 1st brother(both younger than me, better eyes lol)

[M_Ants]

Hopefully a queen and king

[antsandmore]

file:///C:/Users/V1%20Pro/Downloads/2021-01-06%20termites.jpg

that should work as a video

just copy paste

[antsandmore]

Lucky! Why is everyone catching termites except me??

btw, i might sell these if they turn out to be a pair, so i'll let you know if you want them.

[M_Ants]

Awesome!

I'm definitely interested. 

What do I copy and paste the link into?

[ponerinecat]

Reticulitermes is the most probable genus, but there may be a similar genus down there. The picture is really low quality, can't make out much more than shape and color.

[antsandmore]

sorry about the picture, i don't have macro lens, if you copy and paste this link, you can see a video of them :

file:///C:/Users/V1%20Pro/Downloads/2021-01-06%20termites.jpg

nvmd, i'll try to get better pictures sorry about that

Edited by antsandmore, January 6 2021 - 5:25 PM.

[antsandmore]

anyway, how should I keep them? how should I make a setup?

[M_Ants]

Look through the termite section of the forums. Lot's of great stuff in there. Also I believe somewhere in there is a link to a Nordic ants tutorial on termite keeping.

[M_Ants]

https://www.formicul...te-information/

Edited by M_Ants, January 6 2021 - 8:44 PM.

[Vendayn]

Western subterranean termites flew here a few days ago. You won't really get a specific ID of subterranean termites until you get soldiers. But do need both a male/female, and for subterranean termites, can't really tell the gender (rarely can though if the female is super plump). Also even if you get soldiers, its really hard without magnified pictures of their mandibles, and can still be super hard. In general though, if its a pretty wet area, western subterranean termites is probably what you got, they are most common.

 

There are some termites that aren't too hard to identify or just outright obvious. Formosan subterranean termites are invasive and non-native and the alates are so easy to tell compared to any other native alate. We have those in california down in san diego, was my best termite colony I ever had. They even made that cool carton nest they are famous for. Some desert subterraneans can be identified too, and especially depending on the location in the desert, wouldn't be very many choices to pick from.

 

Though not to drag your enthusiasm down. But most success with termites come from taking a colony fragment and then they raise secondary reproductives (which often is better for the colony than just having a queen which is funny) and have success. Its very hard compared to queen ants to raise termites from a single male and female. Ants personally prefer starting with a queen (partly because taking a queen from an ant colony kills that colony, unless they are invasive ants then doesn't matter). Where as, termites its kinda just better to start with a colony fragment.

 

But don't let that get you down if you want to start with a male+female It is very fun watching the tiny nymphs and then eventually getting workers. Just keep in mind, this takes utmost patience compared to raising an ant colony from just a queen.

[antsandmore]

thank you, and also, they  took off their wings once they found each other, and 1 was following the other. could that mean they are male and female? or does behavior not matter?

[Vendayn]

thank you, and also, they  took off their wings once they found each other, and 1 was following the other. could that mean they are male and female? or does behavior not matter?

That means one is a male and one is a female. Just make sure they have suitable rotten wood and the wood stays (moist)...not soaked or anything like that. Termites drown so fast, its a quick death. Just 3 sprays of water with a spray bottle/mister twice a day. Morning or afternoon and again at night. Never pour water at all (well next paragraph its a little different for a test tube if that is what you are using. Still, have to use something very small and controlled), though slight dripping of water from misting is okay. That is what I'm doing with my colony. Either way, that's lucky got both male/female For subterranean termites, should be about 3 months actually to get nymphs, though the time can vary. On average its 2-3 months for me, sometimes it can be as quick as a month. Though nymphs aren't actually workers till they molt a few times, but they are super tiny and cute!

 

I don't know if you posted a video or a picture (it has a video icon, but doesn't play for me unless its a picture), but it looks like they are in a test tube? Make sure there isn't actually water in the test tube. Though since they are already in, might be late for that. I wouldn't worry too much about it. But, termites are dumb and will dig into the cotton and 50/50 if they then drown or not. For most though, it seems they dig in and survive so not the biggest thing to worry about. But otherwise it does allow you see to see them once they get nymphs/workers. If they are indeed in a test tube, the misting might be a bit more complicated. For me, in that case, I use a tarheel syringe and then put a tiny bit of water so it can keep the wood moist. But I don't if you have something like that. If not, maybe a bottle cap would suffice, since its important not to just flood them and make the wood a soaking mess. If you have a really controlled mister though, maybe one or two sprays is okay. My old mister wasn't good for test tubes and termites because no matter the setting it was just huge drops of water.

Edited by Vendayn, January 7 2021 - 8:36 AM.

[Swirlysnowflake]

Termites flew in the thousands about a month ago in SD. I caught around 100 pairs.

Lucky. They had a tiny flight near me and I only found 1 pair which I accidentally squished (I was trying to get them out of a tree)

[Vendayn]

 

Termites flew in the thousands about a month ago in SD. I caught around 100 pairs.

Lucky. They had a tiny flight near me and I only found 1 pair which I accidentally squished (I was trying to get them out of a tree)

 

Been there done that lol. Its actually not really a good idea to get them out of the tree. If they are just on the outside of it, can knock them down on the ground. Otherwise, its just best to ignore them. Still gotta be super careful though, termites get injured extremely easily. I got super skinny fingers and pretty gentle, so I just wet my finger slightly from my tongue and dab them with the tip of my finger to pick them up. It only works if they are on the ground though. A lot of people aren't very gentle, so that method probably wouldn't work for most. I dunno how you are with that though, just in general that is how it is.

Edited by Vendayn, January 7 2021 - 9:29 AM.

[antsandmore]

 

thank you, and also, they  took off their wings once they found each other, and 1 was following the other. could that mean they are male and female? or does behavior not matter?

That means one is a male and one is a female. Just make sure they have suitable rotten wood and the wood stays (moist)...not soaked or anything like that. Termites drown so fast, its a quick death. Just 3 sprays of water with a spray bottle/mister twice a day. Morning or afternoon and again at night. Never pour water at all (well next paragraph its a little different for a test tube if that is what you are using. Still, have to use something very small and controlled), though slight dripping of water from misting is okay. That is what I'm doing with my colony. Either way, that's lucky got both male/female For subterranean termites, should be about 3 months actually to get nymphs, though the time can vary. On average its 2-3 months for me, sometimes it can be as quick as a month. Though nymphs aren't actually workers till they molt a few times, but they are super tiny and cute!

 

I don't know if you posted a video or a picture (it has a video icon, but doesn't play for me unless its a picture), but it looks like they are in a test tube? Make sure there isn't actually water in the test tube. Though since they are already in, might be late for that. I wouldn't worry too much about it. But, termites are dumb and will dig into the cotton and 50/50 if they then drown or not. For most though, it seems they dig in and survive so not the biggest thing to worry about. But otherwise it does allow you see to see them once they get nymphs/workers. If they are indeed in a test tube, the misting might be a bit more complicated. For me, in that case, I use a tarheel syringe and then put a tiny bit of water so it can keep the wood moist. But I don't if you have something like that. If not, maybe a bottle cap would suffice, since its important not to just flood them and make the wood a soaking mess. If you have a really controlled mister though, maybe one or two sprays is okay. My old mister wasn't good for test tubes and termites because no matter the setting it was just huge drops of water.

 

sorry, it was supposed to be a video, but i can't really get ther lol.

heres a link that you can copy and paste in a new tab. hopefully it works, because it works for me.

 

https://r2---sn-a5me...1q-zIqeI7yro2WC

 

lol didn't notice it was this long