5 replies to this topic

[CNewton]

My fiancé and i were getting ready to go to a friends house for a cookout and drinks. In fact, we had already started pre-gaming before we were to be picked up. Today was a hot day, we were enjoying mojitos.
She asked me to pack some ice. I grabbed a zipperbag, the icecube tray, and began dumping. Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a queen! I'm not even sure where she came from, we had just gotten home from the store just an hour earlier and had been puting away groceries.
Now, earlier today, i was really disappointed as the lasius colony i had found under a rock had ran off. I was sad not having a colony i had prepared all week an enclosure for.
So, this large queen i quickly identified as camponotus, ducks under the counter and into the cupboard before my fiancé saw it. After begging for a flashlight, swearing the mojitos weren't causing hallucinations, and pulling out a testtube i happened to be carrying with me (did I mention it was a hot day following a rainstorm the day before) i pulled a queen out from below the kitchen counter.
So began my journey. Later that nigt, at our friends house in the woods, another carpenter queen ran up to me. It's funny how all this buildup and internet study lead to this one sudden succession of queens. I guess, any other new people out there, do not get discouraged. One day, you could literally have a queen run right up to you.

So, looks like my queens are both Camponotus pennsylvanicus. Super common here in western New York but still exciting. I also collected a very small colony of ants and larvae from under a tarp the same night i caught the other two queens. They are taking up residence in the formicarium i made for the lasius that retreated.

[Spamdy]

Congrats and good luck! What a story, "Swearing the mojitos wewnt causing hallucinations" lol.

[ace2184]

Congrats Newton! So you're saying I need to drink more before I go out looking? Lol

[Mettcollsuss]

I agree. Camponotus dealates are pretty easy to catch as long as it's their nuptial flight season. I've caught two recently. One of them was a Camponotus pennsylvanicus which I happened to stumble across when I wasn't ant hunting and didn't have a test tube, but managed to catch in an old starbucks cup. The second was much smaller and had a black head and gaster but an orange thorax, and I still haven't been able to identify it. I caught it when me and my family were going hiking. I found it on one of the trees in the parking lot 30 seconds after we arrived.

[CNewton]

Both Camponotus queens are laying. The 2nd I caught has 8-10 eggs, well guarded and tidy. The first queen just started laying and has 3 eggs a bit scattered around her tube.

 

It is finally starting to warm up here after a good week and a half of 50-60 degree rainy weather. I'm expecting next week will be nuptial flight heavy as it will be hitting 80+ again. I've got a black light trap and a few local parks and streets mapped out for anting excursions. 

[cpman]

Awesome!

Camponotus are fun to keep.

My first queen was a Camponotus I found walking around my bathroom. Like you, I found it just as I got interested in ant keeping.

You can find queens surprisingly often, especially when the weather changes a bit (for instance, this week it's been cooler and rainier, and there have been loads of flights).

Edited by cpman, June 28 2017 - 11:40 AM.