9 replies to this topic

[zachyaz101]

Hi guys, I am somewhat new to the anting scene and have not had much luck so far. I have been going to the woods near my house everyday and searching for wood ant queens (or even better a queen from the genus temnothorax). I have found a few of these queens but they were all dead. I know that Temnothorax ambiguus and curvispinosus colonies can be found inside of acorns, but all of the acorns in these woods have been destroyed by the squirrels. So now I am just searching in dead logs and trees as well as under rocks for some type of wood ant queen. I also tried making small incisions in the logs to try to find the nest of these ants. Does anybody have any tips or know of any special ways to isolate/bait a wood ant queen? I saw that the people on this site are generally very helpful/knowledgeable in these forums so I thought I would ask you guys. Thanks!  I live in New Jersey by the way.

Zach  

[Batspiderfish]

Which ants do you mean by "Wood Ant?" This colloquial name usually refers to thatch-mound building Formica (often from the rufa, excecta, or microgyna group), it sounds like you are looking for an ant that actually lives inside rotting wood, which these Formica queens would not prefer.

Anyways, mound Formica are some of the species you absolutely should not dig into looking for queens. I only advocate capturing ants from mature colonies when it is both minimally invasive to the nest as a whole, and only to take workers or brood to help found new queens of species that absolutely need it. Some wood ant nests have been built up over many queen generations, and their large colonies have a significantly beneficial ecological presence.

You're going to have to wait for the nuptial flights and get lucky. In North America, they will be happening throughout July and August with some species flying as early as May. Look for them in habitats with lots of Formica. They are temporary social parasites (they will need to be given a small number of Formica pupae), but they will care for brood (contrary to Lasius social parasites).

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 13 2016 - 9:23 AM.

[zachyaz101]

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah Formica is what I have been looking for recently. I was unaware of the ecological footprint that I could leave so I will look for a different species. What would you recommend as a mature colony which is easy to collect queens from that can be found in the woods (dense, moist, and receiving little sunlight)? My location is Princeton New Jersey. 

Edited by zachyaz101, July 13 2016 - 9:25 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

I don't recommend capturing a mature colony at all. Shortcuts in ant-keeping are usually bad for the ants, both in captivity and in the wild. Keeping ants successfully will ultimately require patience, and capturing a newly mated queen makes for good practice of this.

Sorry for asking about the location, I think I missed it in your description.

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 13 2016 - 9:33 AM.

[zachyaz101]

Oh whoops! I meant to say new colony. It makes sense that I should not go for the mature colonies but the new colonies are OK to collect a queen or two? 

[Batspiderfish]

July and August are the best times in the year to find queens in North America. You will definitely find something cool if you're already looking this hard.

 

I would consider a mature colony to be anything where the queen has survived and produced noticable workers, but this also extends to large, thriving colonies. Technically I suppose it means any colony that is producing winged alates.

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 13 2016 - 9:37 AM.

[zachyaz101]

Yeah that's what I thought. I think that I will find a queen sooner or later. But it's possible that my lack of experience could be part of the problem. Maybe my methods are a little inefficient. Usually I just search for hollow acorns, put out honey as bait (which only seems to attract workers), and cut through parts of the logs looking for nests. How do you go about anting, do you use a blacklight? I have heard that that is an excellent way of catching queen ants. 

[Batspiderfish]

I haven't invested in a blacklight yet, but I do have some big aquarium lights that at least have some blue spectrum. I've only ever set them up on my porch, in the city, and I've got males of Camponotus and Tapinoma, but they are probably way more effective in less settled environments.

I catch my queens by just going to ant-heavy environments and looking down. I will find most queens in clear areas, regardless of their preferred habitat -- it's compromise between hunting the queens and putting yourself in places where you are more likely to actually notice them if they are present. Searching outside the edges of forests is ideal. I find that parks and large cemeteries are good locations to look.

Edited by Batspiderfish, July 13 2016 - 9:48 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

Just so you know, Formica and Tetramorium usually fly in the morning, while Solenopsis, Lasius, Temnothorax, and Myrmica like to fly in the early evening. Camponotus are easy to find at both times.

[Canadian anter]

I haven't invested in a blacklight yet, but I do have some big aquarium lights that at least have some blue spectrum. I've only ever set them up on my porch, in the city, and I've got males of Camponotus and Tapinoma, but they are probably way more effective in less settled environments.

I catch my queens by just going to ant-heavy environments and looking down. I will find most queens in clear areas, regardless of their preferred habitat -- it's compromise between hunting the queens and putting yourself in places where you are more likely to actually notice them if they are present. Searching outside the edges of forests is ideal. I find that parks and large cemeteries are good locations to look.

I've got tetramorium and recently on my vacation in China(now) I've got tetraponera.