11 replies to this topic

[jdsaunders1390]

Album: 20170405 Queen

6 images

0 comments

Hello everyone! I am a newcomer to the anting world and believe I caught my first ever queen today! I caught her in north central Florida on April 5th around 6pm (our first rainstorm of the season happened on the 4th). She was found walking on a sidewalk near a wooded area. Her head and mesosoma are a reddish color, and her gaster is darker. She is about 1/4" long, has two spiky nodules between her mesosoma and gaster, and I did not see any spikes on her mesosoma. I will attempt to attach pictures. I believe she is a Solenopsis sp., however, I am very new to this and could use some help. I currently have her in a typical test tube set up. My entire house is air conditioned, so I have a heating cable under the tube on the nonwater end.

Would anyone be able to tell me the species, and/or give any tips? I do not plan to raise a Solenopsis colony (I hate their stings, and they grow so fast!), however, I will definitely keep her at least until I have a few other queens of more desirable species.

 

Edit: Added album. Fixed typo.

Edited by jdsaunders1390, April 5 2017 - 9:31 PM.

[jdsaunders1390]

I cannot upload my JPEG files. It says, "You aren't permitted to upload this kind of file."

 

Edit: Figured out how to host to formiculture.com!

Edited by jdsaunders1390, April 5 2017 - 9:30 PM.

[T.C.]

Host it through something like imgur.com

[thosaka]

First off, a huge congrats to catching your first queen! I feel like as if this first queen of yours has catapulted you into this forum, and so cheers to the first queen as well! Second off, if you have a vent where you can close it by pushing a lever, I would do so. Even with the heating cable, the AC may be negating it. If you can't close off the AC vent, see if you can put your test tube in an enclosed space like a closet where it is safe away from the AC. The less you distract the queen the better, the darker the test tube stays, the better, and check on it once a week for mold, and make sure she is laying eggs. The queen will use her muscles to feed her first few eggs so food doesn't have to be provided by you, but if you really want to, put one single tiny drop of a sugary source like maple syrup or raw honey to give the queen some energy. Man, it must be really nice to live in Florida with all the ants you guys have over there.

Edited by Tagassi, April 5 2017 - 10:23 PM.

[Alabama Anter]

Sorry to say, it is a Solenopsis invicta queen. I recommend you keep her because she is actually an excellent beginner species. Good luck.

[ctantkeeper]

Congratulations on catching your first de-alate queen!!! Good luck with starting your new colony.

 

P.S. I am 90% positive this is Solenopsis invicta.

Edited by ctantkeeper, April 6 2017 - 5:54 AM.

[Serafine]

Yep, looks like a fire ant. They are rather easy to keep, just make sure you don't get stung. Also you probably want to keep them at less than optimal temperature (unless you have a really huge setup), otherwise they'll explode into the tenthousands within a few months.

[jdsaunders1390]

I have heard the opposite, that Solenopsis are a bad beginner species. Are you saying they are good because they are hardy? I just worry about the stinging once I get the colony going, and the need to constantly expand the colony since they grow quickly.

[Bracchymyrmex]

I have heard the opposite, that Solenopsis are a bad beginner species. Are you saying they are good because they are hardy? I just worry about the stinging once I get the colony going, and the need to constantly expand the colony since they grow quickly.

 

Depends on how much time you have to tend to the colony. If you plan on keeping her, I'd recommend buying a formicarium and some expansions early on so you are not rushing last minute.

[Socalfireants]

My solenopsis grow at a rate of maybe one tenth of invicta. I had over 500 ants in almost two months. 

[Annexis]

looks invicta

[super_oil]

  Nice catch. I live in St.Johns County of Florida and I caught 4 dealate invicta queen the same day you posted this. The fire ants had a major flight after the recent storm.