2124 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Hey guys, it amazes me to see this thread still active. I was just a middle schooler back then and now I'm an adult with a full time job and that's sort of crazy. I haven't kept ants in years but I've had a bit of a revival in looking for them outside. Hoped to find P. imparis flying today but my ant spotting skills have degraded it appears. Who knows, maybe I'll catch a queen or two this year. Think i'll start posting here from time to time again.

This is one of the best threads on here, and certainly the best regional anting thread. I hope you can start up a new colony or two. It’s a rewarding hobby at any age. I think a more mature approach is to have only a small, manageable number of colonies. Nobody honestly needs twenty different species. That’s a fast track to burn out.

[noebl1]

 

Hey guys, it amazes me to see this thread still active. I was just a middle schooler back then and now I'm an adult with a full time job and that's sort of crazy. I haven't kept ants in years but I've had a bit of a revival in looking for them outside. Hoped to find P. imparis flying today but my ant spotting skills have degraded it appears. Who knows, maybe I'll catch a queen or two this year. Think i'll start posting here from time to time again.

This is one of the best threads on here, and certainly the best regional anting thread. I hope you can start up a new colony or two. It’s a rewarding hobby at any age. I think a more mature approach is to have only a small, manageable number of colonies. Nobody honestly needs twenty different species. That’s a fast track to burn out.

 

 

1000x This... Pokemon fever is a real thing with keeping ants, and it's total burn out. I keep only 2 -3 species now. One of the ant vendors I know with permits will likely buy the majority of the P. imparis my son is raising once they get to a good place. Definitely won't need so many.

[ConcordAntman]

Quick catch up. I now have 2 C. pennsylvanicus colonies, maybe… My 2022 C. pennsylvanicus colony is foraging, feeding, and doing housekeeping. With all stages of brood present, they seem to be progressing. 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m less sanguine about my 2018 C. pennsylvanicus though. Like I’d mentioned, when I first awakened them, I thought the queen had died. I noticed what I thought was her carcass, was being moved around the nest. Thereafter, I lost track of it but I keep noticing new clumps of eggs but no larva or pupa. 

 

 

 

I know there are no supernumerary queens in a C. pennsylvanicus colony nor do C penns “promote” queens. Could these be trophic eggs from a gamergate but I didn’t think C. penns did that either. If anyone has an answer please share it with me. 

 

 

[AsdinAnts]

if the queen is dead, the workers will take it upon themselves to lay eggs. The eggs are trophic and will develop into males.

[ConcordAntman]

I feared as much. This will be a tough one to watch fade away. My first successful colony…