11 replies to this topic

[Antlover31]

I see a lot of people successfully finding colonies in old trees. What would you recommend for me. 

[Phoenix]

If you meant, cracking through boundless thick layers of wood, by utilizing a hatchet.

Avoid accomplishing such an aim, as you could potentially harm or even murder the Queen during the initiative transport. 

Edited by Phoenix, April 10 2017 - 8:34 AM.

[Loops117]

I tear through old logs with a pocket knife like a fat kid with a fork.

Just be careful and take your time. If there are ants in said log, they're not gonna leave from just some simple shaking.

I normally find colonies in logs, in fact i've pulled 15 in the last 4 days. Just takes time and patience, like any other part of this hobby.

 

Edit: Make sure it's firewood or something that's deemed to be removed. The area i search is being developed on, and the trees/brush is being cut down. They'll be shredding the trees into mulch, so i try to save what i can and remove only small founding colonies.

Edited by Loops117, April 10 2017 - 9:52 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

Not the way that we recommend acquiring pet ants. Just wait for the nuptial flights.

[jdsaunders1390]

I have gone through old logs before, but have never successfully found a queen. Has anyone tried partially submerging the log in water to attempt to get the colony to move the queen and brood to the top? I thought about doing that after my last unsuccessful attempt breaking open a log, but have yet to try using water.

[Bracchymyrmex]

This can be exciting for you when you find a colony, but keep in mind you may accidentally destroy the nest and kill the queen. Find a log that you like the look of (ants nest in logs of all kinds), break off a small section of wood by hand or with a pocket knife. If you stumble across some workers do not get excited and break open the entire log, the colony will panic and you will lose the queen. Instead, (I know more experienced anters do not need to do this) carry the log to an open place, preferably black top/driveway/pavement and gently work your way down the log, taking off pieces in segments and collecting the brood/workers as you got. Once again, do not get excited or panicked as you may accidentally harm the colony (or yourself if snakes/critters are in the log).

 

Lastly, I am looking into investing in a "bug aspirator" or essentially a hand held, portable vacuum. This will ensure that I collect more members of the colony and make sure I don't squish the brood and/or queen.

[ultraex2]

I've gotten 1 colony from a log - I ended up just splitting it a few times with a hatchet directly into a large container and then manually moving all the ants into an outworld/formicarium.  The ants just fly out and fall into the container.

[OmniusClone]

This method seems like it would put an inordinate amount of stress on the ants you collect; be it prying a queen out of a founding chamber or collecting an entire colony. I'm sure it can be successful, but what would be the rate of attrition for unsuccessful collection?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be accusatory towards those who do this, but it seems like you'd effectively hamstring your chances at raising a healthy colony. Your odds would diminish drastically.
Then again, I am an amateur, and it probably wouldn't be discussed if it wasn't​ working for someone.
Out of curiosity, has anyone who's excavated a colony, from any medium not just wood, seen a diminished probability in raising said colony?

[ultraex2]

This method seems like it would put an inordinate amount of stress on the ants you collect; be it prying a queen out of a founding chamber or collecting an entire colony. I'm sure it can be successful, but what would be the rate of attrition for unsuccessful collection?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be accusatory towards those who do this, but it seems like you'd effectively hamstring your chances at raising a healthy colony. Your odds would diminish drastically.
Then again, I am an amateur, and it probably wouldn't be discussed if it wasn't​ working for someone.
Out of curiosity, has anyone who's excavated a colony, from any medium not just wood, seen a diminished probability in raising said colony?

Depends what you mean - I think what you're saying is entirely reasonable to think, but do you mean as far as collecting a colony but then them dying off later from it?  Or collecting a colony and it lives but it's not doing as well as it would have int he wild?

[Alabama Anter]

I am very lucky in breaking/flipping logs and trees. I have found Pheidole sp 70-100 workers, crematogaster sp and Camponotus species in the past few days.

[Runner12]

If it isn't small enough or rotten enough to break up with your hands I wouldn't bother tbh

[OmniusClone]

This method seems like it would put an inordinate amount of stress on the ants you collect; be it prying a queen out of a founding chamber or collecting an entire colony. I'm sure it can be successful, but what would be the rate of attrition for unsuccessful collection?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be accusatory towards those who do this, but it seems like you'd effectively hamstring your chances at raising a healthy colony. Your odds would diminish drastically.
Then again, I am an amateur, and it probably wouldn't be discussed if it wasn't​ working for someone.
Out of curiosity, has anyone who's excavated a colony, from any medium not just wood, seen a diminished probability in raising said colony?

Depends what you mean - I think what you're saying is entirely reasonable to think, but do you mean as far as collecting a colony but then them dying off later from it? Or collecting a colony and it lives but it's not doing as well as it would have int he wild?

Essentially, would this shorten the colony's potential lifespan if captured successfully, or kill it outright? As opposed to capturing the queen immediately after the nuptial flight? And is there a noticable trend towards either success or failure? Or is it simply a gradient dependent upon multiple factors (capture method included), not the least of which is pure chance?

Assuming the viability of a wild colony can only be an assumption considering how many variables come into play. Some variables are taken out by having a controlled environment in captivity, so I don't think you can rule out that there isn't some benefit to capture. Considering that, it may be a wash either way, but I still feel like you're almost setting yourself up for failure.

I mean, think about how finicky a queen can be even given optimal conditions.

Edited by OmniusClone, April 10 2017 - 2:16 PM.