54 replies to this topic

[KadinB]

 

Thanks, Strawnkayden! So like creekside or something? I know of a secluded creek in a cematary that I harvest stuff for my isopods from and used to play down there as a kid (long story, not even slightly as creepy as it sounds). I've also been looking almost extensively on hot, humid evenings/ nights as I'm not a morning person if I don't have to be. I may change that up when the thief ants are flying next month. I still haven't even seen a flight so... There's that.

I somehow never have much luck next to creeks so I like to flip rocks a bit away from it where it’s still moist.

 

If you can find a moist place with lot's of rocks and greenery it's a good place to look.

[Idontexist]

I found a Paratrechina longicornis colony in a dead palm leaf. Didn't catch them cuz I had no big container. And I also found a Platythyrea cf punctata queen but she escaped before I could get her set up. I still cry about it every night cuz I have never seen them again. And I got her while catching some leptogenys which sadly passed away. I have never seen that sp since too. Why am I so damn unlucky

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Better luck next time.

I'm tracking the Paratrechina so I can catch them. I have their exact nesting location. NO ESCAPE NOW MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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you may have the location of paratrechina. I have a paratrechina queen -_-

[ANTS_KL]

I found a Paratrechina longicornis colony in a dead palm leaf. Didn't catch them cuz I had no big container. And I also found a Platythyrea cf punctata queen but she escaped before I could get her set up. I still cry about it every night cuz I have never seen them again. And I got her while catching some leptogenys which sadly passed away. I have never seen that sp since too. Why am I so damn unlucky

Sent from my CPH2201 using Tapatalk

Better luck next time.

I'm tracking the Paratrechina so I can catch them. I have their exact nesting location. NO ESCAPE NOW MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sent from my CPH2201 using Tapatalk

you may have the location of paratrechina. I have a paratrechina queen -_-

I used to keep them lol. My colony died from blood sucking mites .

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[Idontexist]

I found a Paratrechina longicornis colony in a dead palm leaf. Didn't catch them cuz I had no big container. And I also found a Platythyrea cf punctata queen but she escaped before I could get her set up. I still cry about it every night cuz I have never seen them again. And I got her while catching some leptogenys which sadly passed away. I have never seen that sp since too. Why am I so damn unlucky

Sent from my CPH2201 using Tapatalk

Better luck next time.

I'm tracking the Paratrechina so I can catch them. I have their exact nesting location. NO ESCAPE NOW MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sent from my CPH2201 using Tapatalk

you may have the location of paratrechina. I have a paratrechina queen -_-

I used to keep them lol. My colony died from blood sucking mites .

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0_0 oh no its the mites

[ANTS_KL]

New story: went to park, flipped rock, found proatta butteli. captured. one queen with around 40 workers?? idk i didn't count. my feet were sore from standing there collecting the ants lol.

[SYUTEO]

I once found a queen of what seems like Proatta butteli but I didn't catch it because I didn't have enough test tubes.

[ANTS_KL]

I once found a queen of what seems like Proatta butteli but I didn't catch it because I didn't have enough test tubes.

sad

[Chickalo]

I'm going to contribute to society a little bit here for once;

 

Not an ant story per se, but still like nature.  Now if any of you guys are salamander fans hmu because god they are so cute.  They're impossible to not like.  Anyways, there's this one species that's technically legal to keep in Massachusetts as long as it's not 2 or more (https://www.caudata....ts-legal.44440/ link for those of you interested), a little something I like to call the Spotted Salamander. 

 

Now these lads have this evolutional bit that honestly I think is genius.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but when they're tadpoles they do a little tag team with this bacteria, which turns sunlight into energy for the lil lads.  I think it's because there's often not a lot of food in some vernal pools they grow in.  Anyways, this bacteria stays with them into adulthood, which means that they technically can photosynthesis as animals (with the help of bacteria of course).

 

So I was on a hunt for these smol boys.  They're supposedly uncommon/rare, especially since they're mole salamanders which means that they often burrow into the ground and aren't seen.  My luck, first rock I flip there's one vibing under there.  I'm 90% it's a small adult male.  Still don't have a name (any suggestions?).  Watching him swallow mealworms in three gulps is the peak of my existence.  Here are some photos - https://www.inatural...tions/100854055

 

Anyways, sorry it's not an anting post but like, come on, who doesn't like salamanders!

[PaigeX]

New story: went to park, flipped rock, found proatta butteli. captured. one queen with around 40 workers?? idk i didn't count. my feet were sore from standing there collecting the ants lol.

Oh man that happens to me too. I end up buying a small plastic fold up chair to bring with me when I walk around my property. 
Also I have one story. Two days ago I was killing out the Meat ants of my property as they were in the middle of the drive way and keep swarming my Dad each time he took the bins down. I found more nests off to the side of the driveway and decided to get rid of those too as all meat ants have become a pest here. (I know its weird, an ant lover killing ants) Well not all ants are good even more so when they are in the 1000s and swarm you every time you walk outside.
Anyway I was digging one up to spray and flipped over a small rock. Out from it came Polyrhachis vermiculosa. I could not leave them there or the spray would kill them too. Soooo... i got on my hands and knees to dig it up and end up digging 50cm into the soil to get to all the chambers. I had made a large aspirator and used that to collect every one of the ants and brood/cocoons/eggs. I got dirt in my mouth and that was horrible. The whole time I was within a meter of a meat ant nest and had to dodge any that came my way. But thankfully it was not an active part of that nest. I had a knee pad under me but i still had to lean down into the hole to aspirate up the ants. 

And allllll this time I'm doing this a huge dark cloud is coming my way. I finished just in time for it to start raining. I've still got the colony and until I know If I got the queen ( I'm 99.2% sure I got all the ants) I'll have to keep them in the tube and tub set up. 

I don't think i want two Polyrhachis vermiculosa colony's. I'll have to release the colony later at a good part of my property. 

 

Here is a quick drawing of the nest structure I encountered while digging.

[Idontexist]

I'm going to contribute to society a little bit here for once;

Not an ant story per se, but still like nature. Now if any of you guys are salamander fans hmu because god they are so cute. They're impossible to not like. Anyways, there's this one species that's technically legal to keep in Massachusetts as long as it's not 2 or more (https://www.caudata....ts-legal.44440/ link for those of you interested), a little something I like to call the Spotted Salamander.

Now these lads have this evolutional bit that honestly I think is genius. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when they're tadpoles they do a little tag team with this bacteria, which turns sunlight into energy for the lil lads. I think it's because there's often not a lot of food in some vernal pools they grow in. Anyways, this bacteria stays with them into adulthood, which means that they technically can photosynthesis as animals (with the help of bacteria of course).

So I was on a hunt for these smol boys. They're supposedly uncommon/rare, especially since they're mole salamanders which means that they often burrow into the ground and aren't seen. My luck, first rock I flip there's one vibing under there. I'm 90% it's a small adult male. Still don't have a name (any suggestions?). Watching him swallow mealworms in three gulps is the peak of my existence. Here are some photos - https://www.inatural...tions/100854055

Anyways, sorry it's not an anting post but like, come on, who doesn't like salamanders!

penith toad

I'm going to contribute to society a little bit here for once;

Not an ant story per se, but still like nature. Now if any of you guys are salamander fans hmu because god they are so cute. They're impossible to not like. Anyways, there's this one species that's technically legal to keep in Massachusetts as long as it's not 2 or more (https://www.caudata....ts-legal.44440/ link for those of you interested), a little something I like to call the Spotted Salamander.

Now these lads have this evolutional bit that honestly I think is genius. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when they're tadpoles they do a little tag team with this bacteria, which turns sunlight into energy for the lil lads. I think it's because there's often not a lot of food in some vernal pools they grow in. Anyways, this bacteria stays with them into adulthood, which means that they technically can photosynthesis as animals (with the help of bacteria of course).

So I was on a hunt for these smol boys. They're supposedly uncommon/rare, especially since they're mole salamanders which means that they often burrow into the ground and aren't seen. My luck, first rock I flip there's one vibing under there. I'm 90% it's a small adult male. Still don't have a name (any suggestions?). Watching him swallow mealworms in three gulps is the peak of my existence. Here are some photos - https://www.inatural...tions/100854055

Anyways, sorry it's not an anting post but like, come on, who doesn't like salamanders!

[Antkeeper01]

 

I'm going to contribute to society a little bit here for once;

Not an ant story per se, but still like nature. Now if any of you guys are salamander fans hmu because god they are so cute. They're impossible to not like. Anyways, there's this one species that's technically legal to keep in Massachusetts as long as it's not 2 or more (https://www.caudata....ts-legal.44440/ link for those of you interested), a little something I like to call the Spotted Salamander.

Now these lads have this evolutional bit that honestly I think is genius. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when they're tadpoles they do a little tag team with this bacteria, which turns sunlight into energy for the lil lads. I think it's because there's often not a lot of food in some vernal pools they grow in. Anyways, this bacteria stays with them into adulthood, which means that they technically can photosynthesis as animals (with the help of bacteria of course).

So I was on a hunt for these smol boys. They're supposedly uncommon/rare, especially since they're mole salamanders which means that they often burrow into the ground and aren't seen. My luck, first rock I flip there's one vibing under there. I'm 90% it's a small adult male. Still don't have a name (any suggestions?). Watching him swallow mealworms in three gulps is the peak of my existence. Here are some photos - https://www.inatural...tions/100854055

Anyways, sorry it's not an anting post but like, come on, who doesn't like salamanders!

penith toad

I'm going to contribute to society a little bit here for once;

Not an ant story per se, but still like nature. Now if any of you guys are salamander fans hmu because god they are so cute. They're impossible to not like. Anyways, there's this one species that's technically legal to keep in Massachusetts as long as it's not 2 or more (https://www.caudata....ts-legal.44440/ link for those of you interested), a little something I like to call the Spotted Salamander.

Now these lads have this evolutional bit that honestly I think is genius. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when they're tadpoles they do a little tag team with this bacteria, which turns sunlight into energy for the lil lads. I think it's because there's often not a lot of food in some vernal pools they grow in. Anyways, this bacteria stays with them into adulthood, which means that they technically can photosynthesis as animals (with the help of bacteria of course).

So I was on a hunt for these smol boys. They're supposedly uncommon/rare, especially since they're mole salamanders which means that they often burrow into the ground and aren't seen. My luck, first rock I flip there's one vibing under there. I'm 90% it's a small adult male. Still don't have a name (any suggestions?). Watching him swallow mealworms in three gulps is the peak of my existence. Here are some photos - https://www.inatural...tions/100854055

Anyways, sorry it's not an anting post but like, come on, who doesn't like salamanders!

 

what?

[Leptomyrmx]

Once I was at some random park, in a Colobopsis gasseri free area. Or so I thought. (dramatic pause) It was a school thing, so there were other people there. One of my friends tells me they "found a big ant", I'm guessing it's just gonna be some insomniac Camponotus worker out at daytime, and then I see- you guessed it, a Colobopsis gasseri queen. She's going fairly well now, she had 5 eggs at one point, she ate 4 of them.

[antsriondel]

so, last year in FEBRUARY, I was In my bed and suddenly a formica queen strolls by me, so at 3:00 I was searching for my test tubes to catch a queen ant

Edited by antsriondel, January 28 2022 - 4:47 PM.

[bmb1bee]

I found a few sightings of Camponotus vicinus queens on iNaturalist a couple weeks ago, no idea why they would be out at this time, so I went to the very EXACT area where the guy pictured one. No kidding, I made sure the coordinates were exact and even contacted him to find out which tree he saw it under. So I was looking for C. vicinus and found a rather promising decaying log to flip over. The location was a rather high altitude park in San Francisco by the way, a perfect place to find Camponotus. I flipped it over, lo and behold there was a MASSIVE colony! Only thing was, they weren't my desired species.

T'was a huge swarm of Linepithema humile 

[ColAnt735]

In September 2021 my parents were on a walk and they called me saying "there are queen ants everywhere!" I rushed out of the house and there was a HUGE swarm of L.neoniger,L.brevicornis, and S.molesta ( normal colour variant there are two different colour variants of S.molesta in my area). I guess me pestering my parents for the longest time to help me spot queens paid off.