12 replies to this topic

[sehrgut]

I've been looking at aspirator designs, and I was wondering if capturing multiple queens in an aspirator is safe, or if I need to place each in an individual tube before moving on to the next.

[antmaniac]

If no aggressive species you can, same species maybe easier. I put some stuffs in a container so the queen can build up a territory and defend from other queen easier if I don't have any extra container.

[Crystals]

It really depends on how long you plan to leave them in there and the species in question. 

5 minutes is usually no problem.  Some aggressive or parasitic species won't co-exist for even that long. 

Some species like Lasius neoniger would have no problem sharing a bottle for days.

 

If you have a few minutes of searching between queens, just take 30 seconds and dump them into their own container.  Doesn't even need to be a test tube, even a small lunch container will for the day.  It is much easier than having an injured queen.

[sehrgut]

Thank you! I'm hoping to get together all the right "kit" before the spring, so I can get an interesting species or two. I'm actually about a half hour from a large Georgia swamp, so maybe some trap-jawed ants could even be in my future!

[gcsnelling]

It really depends on the type of ant as has been said. The only time I have had losses is when I collect species which produce large amounts of formic acid and they end up poisoning each other. Myrmecocystus, Formica and Camponotus are the absolute worst.  As far as aspirators go, these by Rose Entomology are the nicest I have ever seen. I love them although they are a bit pricey.http://www.roseentom..._Aspirators.htm

 

Also do be sure to use a filter, however don't waste your money getting one thru them. Any auto parts store will have what you need for a fraction of the cost.

Edited by gcsnelling, November 11 2015 - 3:14 AM.

[dspdrew]

It really depends on the type of ant as has been said. The only time I have had losses is when I collect species which produce large amounts of formic acid and they end up poisoning each other. Myrmecocystus, Formica and Camponotus are the absolute worst.  As far as aspirators go, these by Rose Entomology are the nicest I have ever seen. I love them although they are a bit pricey.http://www.roseentom..._Aspirators.htm

 

Also do be sure to use a filter, however don't waste your money getting one thru them. Any auto parts store will have what you need for a fraction of the cost.

 

I've had the exact same experience with those three genera. I put more than five of them together in a small container, and within 20 minutes they were all dead.

 

One thing kellakk did when we were out collecting honeypot ants was (like antmaniac suggested) put some sort of mesh inside his container that allowed them all to find a place to sit where they wouldn't be walked over by any of the other queens. He had tons of them in one small container for a long time with no negative effects at all.

[BrittonLS]

For the most part it should be fine as long as they don't poison themselves with formic acid. But definitely separate them when it is convenient unless you know they will get along. I left a few Pheidole sp. in a Tupperware container over night and they had completely torn each other up, no survivors.

[Kwitzats]

Thank you! I'm hoping to get together all the right "kit" before the spring, so I can get an interesting species or two. I'm actually about a half hour from a large Georgia swamp, so maybe some trap-jawed ants could even be in my future!

my local dollar store has these small containers for 10 for a dollar. I suggest the round ones as the square ones can give you trouble getting the lid aligned in a pinch. Take the lids off and nest the containers in one another and 10 or 20 can fit in a cargo pocket. If you fill them all you won't care how goofy you look cradling them all in your arms.

[Reacker]

I used to use exactly these:

 

http://www.amazon.co...entrifuge tubes

 

http://www.amazon.co...entrifuge tubes

 

as collection tubes. I bet you can get them somewhere else even cheaper if you look. They worked really well. 

[Vendayn]

I'd actually be careful with some species. 

 

I had two Camponotus modoc queens together for an hour and then soon I had no viable Camponotus modoc queens. They both cut off each other's abdomens. Lesson learned.

 

I've had Solenopsis xyloni queens together and they have been fine. And most (smaller) ant queens I've put together have done okay, but the larger ant queens are far more likely to kill each other. Unless they are a species that has more than one queen. But usually they aren't together for so long. And after my Camponotus modoc "accident", I pretty much only keep queens separate unless I know they have more than one queen a nest (or co-found nests). If I run out of containers or whatever to keep queens in, then I stop collecting.

 

The only chance I got to ever keep Camponotus modoc (by far my favorite Camponotus species in North America) ended up a failure before it even started lol. Still disappointed to this day.

Edited by Vendayn, May 19 2016 - 10:33 PM.

[LC3]

I'd actually be careful with some species. 

 

I had two Camponotus modoc queens together for an hour and then I soon I had no viable Camponotus modoc queens. They both cut off each other's abdomens. Lesson learned.

 

I've had Solenopsis xyloni queens together and they have been fine. And most (smaller) ant queens I've put together have done okay, but the larger ant queens are far more likely to kill each other. Unless they are a species that has more than one queen. But usually they aren't together for so long. And after my Camponotus modoc "accident", I pretty much only keep queens separate unless I know they have more than one queen a nest (or co-found nests). If I run out of containers or whatever to keep queens in, then I stop collecting.

 

The only chance I got to ever keep Camponotus modoc (by far my favorite Camponotus species in North America) ended up a failure before it even started lol. Still disappointed to this day.

 

 

Weird I managed to keep a couple of them in a container for a few hours and none even harmed on another.

[dspdrew]

I had a medium-sized container in my pocket once with more than 10 queens in it, and found them all dead in about 20 minutes. This happened with Camponotus and Myrmecocystus. I suspect any Formicinae could end up this way. As for Myrmicinae, I don't have much problems putting them together. Sometimes a couple of them might rip each other to pieces though.

[Subverted]

Formicinae definitely have a tendency to smother themselves with formic acid when you collect them. I always make sure to add in a bit of dirt when collecting things that might squirt formic acid around the container...it seems to help a bit.