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Red Harvester Ant Queens

Started By Ants4ever7 , Sep 4 2024 9:28 AM

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#1 Offline Ants4ever7 - Posted September 4 2024 - 9:28 AM

Ants4ever7

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I am a newer keeper and I have seen HUGE harvesters in a park near me. They are almost a 1/3 of an inch (about 7-9 mm) long. I already have two queens with nanitics and am good for this year but I want to know when they fly. What are the optimal conditions and does anyone have a colony(s) already?


#2 Offline cooIboyJ - Posted September 4 2024 - 9:34 AM

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June through August are the best times to find Pogonomyrmex, for Pogonomyrmex barbatus it is July through August.
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#3 Offline AntsTx - Posted September 4 2024 - 9:40 AM

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I am a newer keeper and I have seen HUGE harvesters in a park near me. They are almost a 1/3 of an inch (about 7-9 mm) long. I already have two queens with nanitics and am good for this year but I want to know when they fly. What are the optimal conditions and does anyone have a colony(s) already?

I found 47 Pogonomyrmex queens in late June before a rainstorm around 6:00pm and then I came back the next morning around 7:15am and found more queens. The way to find them (that I use) is digging up their founding chambers. Usually you will see the queen go into her chamber and get a piece of sand or soil and put it on her mound, you can also catch the queen this way. But if you find a founding chamber and she doesn't come out after a while, you can try digging the chamber up with a shovel or your hands.

 

Edit: are the queens 7-9mm or are the workers?


Edited by AntsTx, September 4 2024 - 10:32 AM.

Currently Keeping:

Camponotus texanus - 3 workers                                           

Camponotus vicinus - 15-20 workers                         

Camponotus pennsylvanicus - 95-100 workers                                                                                                                                         

Formica spp. - 5 workers

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis - 20-30 workers

Neoponera villosa - 3-5 eggs

Crematogaster lineolata x5 - 75-100 workers 

Novomessor albisetosus - 7-15 workers

#4 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted September 4 2024 - 9:48 AM

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I am a newer keeper and I have seen HUGE harvesters in a park near me. They are almost a 1/3 of an inch (about 7-9 mm) long. I already have two queens with nanitics and am good for this year but I want to know when they fly. What are the optimal conditions and does anyone have a colony(s) already?

There are several resources I have compiled for your reference. Formiculture maintains a database of queen nuptial flights seen by members, which will help identify when they fly. Second, a recent thread discussing many different species of ant queens found, and the conditions surrounding the flights, may help narrow your window down as to when to start looking.


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#5 Offline Ants4ever7 - Posted September 5 2024 - 6:15 PM

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The workers are.


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