17 replies to this topic

[Vendayn]

My family is thinking of moving up there once our lease is done on our apartments. We pay a lot of money every month, and my dad pays the same amount of rent...FOUR times in total with all the bills on top of that. California in general is far too expensive. Now, its not for sure we'd move up there...but it is likely. We'd live in the wetter region that is more of a rain forest. Its WAY cheaper though than what we pay here. On my income, and my wive's income...we still don't even come close to affording even the cheapest place on our own in California with all the bills and stuff.

 

Now on to the actual topic...assuming we do move there.

 

I know there is Formica ants, Camponotus...maybe Solenopsis molesta judging by what I read? Maybe they are in the drier area of Washington where we wouldn't go very much. We want to move somewhere cold and rainy. Are there actually any unique or cool ants though? Camponotus modoc are awesome, probably be my favorite Camponotus up there as their colonies are huge and they are huge in size. I really like Camponotus modoc. Formica ants are always awesome. But, I don't really see a huge list of ants in Washington as I do in California. Just very few common ants. Nothing that would be rare or anything though. Maybe I'm not going to the right website that lists Washington ants, or not searching on Google right. I mostly see various Formica and Camponotus species listed, among a few other species. There is Tapinoma sessile, but I'd have no interest in keeping them. Plus we have those here, so not really unique lol. Too hard to keep as well.

 

I know there are giant Dampwood termites up there...which is awesome. They'll be first thing I'd look for if we do indeed move there.

 

Maybe Washington has very few ants. But all the lists make it out to be even less than what I'd find if we moved to England/UK.

 

Anyone by chance know of a good list of Washington ants? Because all the lists I'm finding list only very few ants.

[Vendayn]

This is the best list I found, but it says common Washington ants. So, I assume that it only lists the common ones? Doesn't help for a good list of all ants found in Washington.

 

http://academic.ever...commonants.html

 

I tried antweb, but it was too general...maybe I was using antweb wrong, but I couldn't find a Washington section (or maybe my phone browser is weird)

[Miles]

Where in Washington?

[Vendayn]

It would be in Forks Washington, guess further up north. That is where my parents are currently looking.

Edited by Vendayn, May 6 2015 - 4:10 PM.

[Crystals]

You will have many species that Oregon and BC will have.

 

British Columbia - http://www.antweb.or...nts&images=true

 

Lots of Formica and Camponotus, with quite a few other species mixed in.  Some species will be more common near the ocean or in the mountains, while other will be more common in fields or in the forest.

 

This key will like help if you get good pictures or a microscope - http://cru.cahe.wsu....W624/PNW624.pdf

[Miles]

Unfortunately, I have actually noticed less diversity in the wetter regions of WA than in the drier. Where you'll be going, Lasius, Formica, and Camponotus are aplenty, with some Temnothorax and Myrmica mixed in. Probably Aphaenogaster occidentalis, too.

[drtrmiller]

It would be in Forks Washington, guess further up north. That is where my parents are currently looking.

 

My favorite place in the continental U.S.!  Lucky!

 

You'll be near some evergreen forests that experience mild temperatures and tons of rain year round, with little seasonal variation in terms of temperature.  While it does rain frequently, the most precipitation, in terms of volume, is in the winter.  Winters are very mild.

 

Gosh I wish I could go to there.

Edited by drtrmiller, May 6 2015 - 7:45 PM.

[Vendayn]

It looks really pretty, that is for sure! In fact, it has to be the prettiest place my parents have looked at. The weather is definitely a lot more my family and wives preference as we aren't too big of a fan of the dry hot weather of Southern California.

 

 

And even with the less ant diversity, I'll have different ants (that are still cool) and...and...AND...NO ARGENTINE ANTS OH YEAH! Or any other invasive ants as far as I know.  NO ARGENTINE ANTS! If we do move there (chance dad said is above average)...I will never have to see an Argentine ant again! WOOO!

 

Plus, I can keep dampwood termites which are really awesome. Except, they are huge and probably can give a good bite.   There looks to actually be a nice amount of ant variety. Might not be a huge amount, but all the ants look really interesting and would be fun to keep. And no Argentine ants.

 

Hope it happens actually, as the area looks amazing. I mean I guess plans can change, but it definitely looks high on the list. And rent is a lot more affordable, as we can barely pay rent here on top of all the bills for water/electric and stuff.

 

(edit: And someone sent me an additional link with ants I can find in British Columbia, probably be about same as same ants I'd find up there

 

http://ibis.geog.ubc...Indgren2008.pdf

Edited by Vendayn, May 6 2015 - 9:55 PM.

[William. T]

My family is thinking of moving up there once our lease is done on our apartments. We pay a lot of money every month, and my dad pays the same amount of rent...FOUR times in total with all the bills on top of that. California in general is far too expensive. Now, its not for sure we'd move up there...but it is likely. We'd live in the wetter region that is more of a rain forest. Its WAY cheaper though than what we pay here. On my income, and my wive's income...we still don't even come close to affording even the cheapest place on our own in California with all the bills and stuff.

 

Now on to the actual topic...assuming we do move there.

 

I know there is Formica ants, Camponotus...maybe Solenopsis molesta judging by what I read? Maybe they are in the drier area of Washington where we wouldn't go very much. We want to move somewhere cold and rainy. Are there actually any unique or cool ants though? Camponotus modoc are awesome, probably be my favorite Camponotus up there as their colonies are huge and they are huge in size. I really like Camponotus modoc. Formica ants are always awesome. But, I don't really see a huge list of ants in Washington as I do in California. Just very few common ants. Nothing that would be rare or anything though. Maybe I'm not going to the right website that lists Washington ants, or not searching on Google right. I mostly see various Formica and Camponotus species listed, among a few other species. There is Tapinoma sessile, but I'd have no interest in keeping them. Plus we have those here, so not really unique lol. Too hard to keep as well.

 

I know there are giant Dampwood termites up there...which is awesome. They'll be first thing I'd look for if we do indeed move there.

 

Maybe Washington has very few ants. But all the lists make it out to be even less than what I'd find if we moved to England/UK.

 

Anyone by chance know of a good list of Washington ants? Because all the lists I'm finding list only very few ants.

Watch out for vampires.

There are some cool Solenopsis present there. There can be amazing diversity in the rain forests there. Would be an interesting place to hike, too. Look at the picture. What a tree! Ought to have some diversity of ants in Washington, and there got to be Camponotus in that log, too. Pic from www.wta.org.

[Vendayn]

Yeah, the Twilight books are based on the same region. Kind of funny coincidence lol.

 

What Solenopsis can I find there? I imagine they'd be more in the drier area? I know there is Solenopsis molesta, but there isn't anything else listed on the two sites listed.

 

And I'll definitely do a lot of hiking if we do indeed end up there. And pictures. I'll probably find a lot of ants actually that aren't even listed. I don't get the sense it is a really good documented area as far as ants go.

 

I'll also have to keep a better eye on the environment though than I do here...don't want to walk into a wasp nest or bee hive. Or bump my head into a bear as I'm looking down.

[Vendayn]

If things go as planned. We may end up actually in Oil City in Pennsylvania. My wife's grandmother passed away earlier this year (she had dementia (would forget after a second or two after talking and was slowly losing more and more of her memory), and she forgot to breathe and died. Sad disease actually.) and left behind a really nice house there (nicest one in the city, her grandma was really famous in the city and had it made). But, she left it in her name so it can't be sold. My wife's mom offered if we want to live there (we'd pay rent of course, but it be WAY cheaper than what we pay here in California).

 

So, might end up not being Washington. But, we'd get to live in a really really nice house, and from what I briefly looked, there is a lot more ants than I'd find than where we were thinking of in Washington. I'd probably try and get Monomorium minimum, because Monomorium ergatogyna are some of my favorite ants here and they are both pretty much the same.

[William. T]

If that happens, welcome to the East Coast! Maryland is right under Pennsylvania, and also you can still find fungus growing ants like Trachymymrmex. Hpes that's more than enough for A. versicolor.

[Vendayn]

I like any fungus grower actually, it doesn't matter what the species is. They are all rated #1 of my favorite ant species. I just really like fungus growing ants, as they are really interesting to me. Are Trachymymrmex (that is a hard one to type out lol. Not even going to try pronouncing that one. I'll call them Trachy's (get it, sound like Treky a star trek fan )) easy to find? Or can they be pretty rare? Don't they live in sandier/open areas? Or am I thinking of another one?

 

(edit: According to antweb, they aren't found that far north east?)

Edited by Vendayn, May 23 2015 - 7:01 PM.

[Vendayn]

I guess I can find Aphaenogaster there. But, Trachymyrmex aren't listed at all on Antweb for that area. Unless it just doesn't list it.

[cpman]

Trachymyrmex are known to range as far north as New Jersey, if I remember right.

[Vendayn]

Ah, well...doesn't matter too much now. My wife's mom discussed it with her sister, and her sister doesn't want anyone living in their mom's (my wife's grandma's) house.

 

So, no idea where we'll end up. But Washington is still really high on the list, and Ireland (which my dad's family lives in England). Ireland is kinda boring, and England ants are the same as Ireland ants and they are SO boring. The only cool ones would probably be the Formica ants. Otherwise, I'd rather have Argentine ants my least favorite ant in California. Can't even find termites there (though some have been imported), but how lame lol. At least I can buy fungus growing termites (which sound really cool) and can buy ants, but still. I would rather live in Washington.

 

I mean, when I'm playing strategy games and even if Ireland/England had the same ants as in Washington or California or whatever. Its still the most boring area ever. Only one more boring would be Hawaii. I really really really dislike living on islands or anything that resembles islands. And ireland/england are sorta just big islands to me. Even in games, like total war or what not, its still a super dull area lol. And I mean no offense to anyone in the UK or that area, its just not a place I want to live. The environment is not my thing. Everyone has their places they find boring/interesting. Visiting is fine though when I go see my family, but I don't want to be stuck living there lol.

 

So, I hope its washington or somewhere else

Edited by Vendayn, May 26 2015 - 7:19 PM.

[dspdrew]

So are you saying you think the UK is boring?

[Vendayn]

Yeah. Just not a place I'm interested in, even if it had all the California ants. Ants and what not don't really have anything to do with it. Its just not really a place that would be on a list I'd choose to move to.