24 replies to this topic

[Chromerust]

Anyone looking for Pogonomyrmex in SoCal should go out this evening and you'll probably find some. They start digging out founding chambers a few hours before sunset after it cools down outside.

[BugFinder]

I wish I could be down there tonight to go anting with you guys!!

[Foogoo]

I didn't think anything was going on so I went for a hike and looking for fossils. Met up with kellakk to get something around noon and he mentioned Pogonomyrmex were swarming, we came upon them at the right time. Came home with 15 and saw this post so I thought what the heck, let's see what's happening outside. Got another 13 dealates by the nests down my street! Good day, thanks for the flight notice.

[PTAntFan]

Oh WOW!  I was totally going to go out today but had a 4pm concall that I could not skip.  I wonder if it's worth it to go looking now.  I can't think of any nests near my house.  Maybe first thing in the morning would be better.

[Chromerust]

I didn't think anything was going on so I went for a hike and looking for fossils. Met up with kellakk to get something around noon and he mentioned Pogonomyrmex were swarming, we came upon them at the right time. Came home with 15 and saw this post so I thought what the heck, let's see what's happening outside. Got another 13 dealates by the nests down my street! Good day, thanks for the flight notice.

Awesome, I'm glad you found some!

[Chromerust]

Oh WOW!  I was totally going to go out today but had a 4pm concall that I could not skip.  I wonder if it's worth it to go looking now.  I can't think of any nests near my house.  Maybe first thing in the morning would be better.

They will still be there in the morning, you will just have to dig a few inches deeper. There's a good chance you'll also find some out foraging for food before it gets too warm. Good luck.

[dspdrew]

I've seen them forage at night too.

[PTAntFan]

Hahahaha!  What a bust this morning was.  I went to the nearby foothills where I've seen Pogonomyrmex and hiked up Stough Cyn a bit.  I saw ONE colony of formica the whole way up.  I looked around the plateau for a while and found nothing.  Not a single ant, no disturbed earth, nothing.  But then just as I was turning to leave I come across a lone Pogonomyrmex ant wandering out of the bush.  I quickly gathered her up not believing my luck, but then as I actually made the catch it became quite clear that it's just a worker.  Or is it?  I think I see where this ant may have had wings and If I recall Pogonomyrmex queens don't necessarily have oversized gasters.  Is that right? Pictures are bad, sorry, there was a lot of moisture built up on the walls of the test tube.

[PTAntFan]

I also came across these two fellows:
 

[Ants4fun]

First one is definately a Pogonomyrmex queen. The last two where males incase, if that's what you where asking... looks to me like Camponotus males.

[Chromerust]

One queen is is better than none. Did you check along the roadside? That is always a hot spot for Pogonomyrmex queens.

[PTAntFan]

There isn't much of a roadside like that there. It's pretty much residential, then a quick ascent to the nature center and a wide trail up into the foothills.

 

Well i'm certainly excited to have a Pogonomyrmex queen.  Now I gotta read up on keeping her healthy. Thanks loads for the original post/notification.

[Gregory2455]

I also came across these two fellows:
 

 

Looks like a male like what i caught yesterday. My first thought was Crematogaster because of its relative size and color similarities with my Crematogaster queens. Pogonomyrmex californicus also flew here in Simi Valley, I caught two queens in my back yard.

[BrittonLS]

Yeah, it's been driving me crazy researching Pogonomyrmex queens so i'll know when I see one. They seem to look really similar, even the same size as the workers if you're not looking close.

[dspdrew]

Their gasters are a little further out, and seem to drag a bit when they walk. It's what's really noticable about them.

[Foogoo]

They're similar size but queens have a big round butt (gaster) where the workers you usually see the head and have to look for their gaster. That's how I found most of the ones outside my house, just seeing their gaster in the air while they're digging.

[PTAntFan]

Jumped up to Wildwood Picnic Campground off the Big Tujunga Cyn Rd yesterday and was able to dig up two more Pogonomyrmex queens.  The earth was nearly as hard as solid rock!  I'll need to upgrade from a trowel to a full shovel if I go back there this summer. OUCH!

[Foogoo]

How's everyone's queens doing? A few of mine have laid eggs but they're nearly all still going nuts. I think test tubes really aren't their thing. Some of the tubes I filled with earth and they've dug tunnels, but just to go at the other cotton. I also made a few hydrostone chambers (need to update my founding setup thread) and they're not much happier. The only two that seem calm are in substrate-coated artificial nests...

[dspdrew]

Jumped up to Wildwood Picnic Campground off the Big Tujunga Cyn Rd yesterday and was able to dig up two more Pogo queens.  The earth was nearly as hard as solid rock!  I'll need to upgrade from a trowel to a full shovel if I go back there this summer. OUCH!

 

Yeah, I don't mess around anymore. If I'm going somewhere for the purpose of digging up founding chambers, I bring a full-on shovel. The trowel I just carry with me whenever I'm out hiking and anting, just in case.

[Jonathan21700]

How's everyone's queens doing? A few of mine have laid eggs but they're nearly all still going nuts. I think test tubes really aren't their thing. Some of the tubes I filled with earth and they've dug tunnels, but just to go at the other cotton. I also made a few hydrostone chambers (need to update my founding setup thread) and they're not much happier. The only two that seem calm are in substrate-coated artificial nests...

Can you make a picture of the nests?