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Keeping world-conquering ants

Started By antscientist , Jan 4 2024 12:52 PM

#help #tip&tricks #argentine ant

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5 replies to this topic

#1 Offline antscientist - Posted January 4 2024 - 12:52 PM

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I have decided to take on the gruesome and probably painful but possibly rewarding task of keeping argentine ants. I've located a colony of them near my house and I decided to capture some of their queens, brood, and workers.

I plan to keep them in a tubs and tubes setup with the barriers: Olive Oil and Vaseline

Q.1 Are these barriers good enough?

Q.2 Anything to look out for?

Q.3 Any tips and tricks at keeping them?

Q.4 (joke)Am I gonna die?

Q.5 General information in keeping them

Any answers will be appreciated. Thanks!

ZATrippit likes this

#2 Offline ZATrippit - Posted January 4 2024 - 1:28 PM

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https://www.formicul...l/?fromsearch=1this great journal should answer your questions. Keep in mind you must be extra dilligent with cracks, as escaped Argentines are known to invade other colonies en masse.

Edited by ZATrippit, January 4 2024 - 1:28 PM.

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#3 Offline ANTdrew - Posted January 4 2024 - 2:34 PM

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Vaseline and olive oil are widely considered the least effective of barriers. Try fluon or talc mixed with alcohol instead.

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#4 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted January 4 2024 - 5:40 PM

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Vaseline and olive oil are widely considered the least effective of barriers. Try fluon or talc mixed with alcohol instead.

I second this.

Olive oil has really only ever (somewhat) worked on large, clumsy ants for me. I've never used Vaseline, but I'd imagine it wouldn't do much of anything at all.

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#5 Offline JesseTheAntKid - Posted January 7 2024 - 7:46 PM

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To answer question 4, yes. TAKE NO CHANCES WITH THEM.

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Currently keeping: Pheidole obscurithorax (FINALLY I CAN STUDY THEM AND HAVE THEIR COOL MAJORS ), Tetramorium bicarinatum, Solenopsis spp. (probably xyloni, the queens are tiny hehe)

Wanting: Atta texana, Camponotus planatus (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HOOK ME UP WITH ATTA)

Previously kept: Monomorium minimum, Pheidole dentata

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#6 Offline Manitobant - Posted January 8 2024 - 4:16 PM

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I've had success with argentines in a mini hearth before so you don’t necessarily need a lot of space as the guide suggests unless you have a really large colony. However one thing to note is that in mine (and other keepers) experiences, linepithema need a varied diet in order to thrive and you can’t really get away with feeding them the exact same things all the time like you can with most other ants. Try mixing it up and feeding them different sugar sources (honey, hummingbird nectar, sugar water etc) and different feeder insects every once in a while.

Also before anyone gets any ideas, I caught mine in a greenhouse

Edited by Manitobant, January 11 2024 - 12:14 PM.