120 replies to this topic

[DesertAntz]

 

O. clarus starting at $500. Supply and demand 

That means I have $2000 worth of Odontomachus queens?

 

Not if they're found locally in your location. I was just having some fun with Greg because there are none in Cali 

[Foogoo]

@dspdrew, what type/wattage blacklight do you use? I got a small 4W fluorescent light but it seems awfully dim. I see a lot of LED blacklights too, but some people are saying they're not the true UV wavelength (I wonder if that matters to ants?).

[dspdrew]

This (http://www.walmart.c...ixture/34577042) is exactly what light I've been using in the back of my truck.

 

This thread here (http://www.formicult...sign/?hl=zapper) shows the black light trap project I've been working on for a while, even though I haven't done much lately. It has some good information about black light traps.

[Gregory2455]

I am going to bump this up as more and more flights are starting. I want to hear from more people on this!

[Crystals]

Looking back, it is amazing how our goals change over the years. 

 

Instead of collecting lots of ant species I haven't kept before, I am more into downsizing my collection to a smaller number of larger colonies as my colonies grow.  So I have more time to observe them, instead of caring for a large number.

 

Now the hard part, figuring out which colonies I want to keep. 

[AntTeen804]

I want crematogaster,solenpsis,and lasius.

I want crematogaster,solenpsis,lasius,and formica.

Edited by AntTeen804, May 13 2015 - 10:30 AM.

[Ants4fun]

I want Pheidole, Pogonomyrmex, Camponotus, and Formica.

[dermy]

I want a Formica Colony and A Lasius colony or two. I think those species would work better then Myrmica for my "Free-Ranging Experiment".

[Ants4fun]

A Lasius colony would be your best bet regarding free ranging. Myrmica queens are basically the same size as the workers, so they would be able to get out as well. Same goes for a lot of formica species. Lasius queens are many times bigger then their workers, allowing for a tube that is comfortable for the workers, yet small enough so the queen does not escape.

[Foogoo]

Looking back, it is amazing how our goals change over the years. 

 

Instead of collecting lots of ant species I haven't kept before, I am more into downsizing my collection to a smaller number of larger colonies as my colonies grow.  So I have more time to observe them, instead of caring for a large number.

 

Now the hard part, figuring out which colonies I want to keep. 

Ha! Ditto! Although I still collect any queens of species I'm not interested in to hopefully trade or help someone out.

[dspdrew]

 

Looking back, it is amazing how our goals change over the years. 

 

Instead of collecting lots of ant species I haven't kept before, I am more into downsizing my collection to a smaller number of larger colonies as my colonies grow.  So I have more time to observe them, instead of caring for a large number.

 

Now the hard part, figuring out which colonies I want to keep. 

Ha! Ditto! Although I still collect any queens of species I'm not interested in to hopefully trade or help someone out.

 

 

Wait 'till you have about 400 colonies to take care of. Then you'll realize why you don't want to collect them all.

[cpman]

This year I'd like to try to get queens of the following species, but especially the bolded ones:
Aphaenogaster texana
Atta texana
Any Colobopsis sp.
Cyphomyrmex rimosus
Any Formica sp.
Leptogenys elongata
Any Myrmecocystus sp.
Pachychondyla harpax
Pheidole metallescens
Pheidole tepicana
Any Pseudomyrmex sp.
Solenopsis aurea
Solenopsis geminata
Any Trachymyrmex sp.

If I manage to get successful colonies of any of the bolded ants, I'll be ecstatic.

Edited by cpman, May 13 2015 - 4:44 PM.

[AntsNY]

Pennsylvania Camponotus.

[BrittonLS]

Pogonomyrmex barbatus for sure

 

Living the dream would be Odontomachus clarus

 

I think I'm too late for Prenolepis imparis, but maybe some kind of Nylanderia?

 

Already caught a good amount of Solenopsis invicta today!

Edited by BrittonLS, May 27 2015 - 7:27 PM.

[Trailandstreet]

I'm always looking for ants I don't have yet.

My favorites are

Camponotus ligniperdus,

Manica rubida,

Formica rufibarbis or sanguinea and maybe some other, even parasitic species like

Lasius umbratus or fuliginosus.

[dspdrew]

I think I might have just found a queen of one of the species on my list last night.

[Gregory2455]

Which one?

[dspdrew]

Myrmecocystus mimicus.

[BrittonLS]

After more thought I believe I want to try my hand at a leaf cutter type ant. They look absolutely amazing but I'm worried I won't have room for them in a proper set up in my apartment. Me and my girlfriends roommate isn't exactly welcoming of having tons of ant colonies in the place. 

 

Odontomachus clarus is definitely on the list too. I know where a colony is on a golf course so I'm going to be scoping out that area frequently around the time the mating chart says they fly. Since I moved up to Tempe I guess I'll try searching for them up here. I doubt they'll be anywhere in the city but I could be wrong. I like traveling to the outskirts to hike anyway. 

 

Veromessor pergandei is on my list too. I just love how big they are. Now that I think about it, Odontomachus makes them look small haha. Well, not "small" but you can tell they are a tad smaller. 

 

I don't think it was on this forum, but I definitely saw a conversation about people seeing Odontomachus on the University of Arizona campus. That probably doesn't help you though in Tempe. I think they said they were around less the further North you went.

 

Also I'm fairly determined to grab whatever this interesting probably Formica species is.

[Gregory2455]

Bump. Changed title. Post a new list of ants you want to catch in 2016!

 

 

 

2016                                                                  

Edited by Gregory2455, December 23 2015 - 5:33 PM.