6 replies to this topic

[fANTastic]

Hi!

I'm a newbie to ant keeping, though I've spent a few months watching lots of ant videos. I know all about keeping them. But I have one big unanswered question: WHERE DO PEOPLE SEARCH FOR ANTS? I know that you look for camponotus in the rotten trees and pavement ants are found everywhere, but where do people usually search for them. I live in a city, but I also have a heavily wooded park across the street. Should I go looking for queens there?

[Bryansant]

I've found Solenopsis, Camponotus, and Crematogaster on sidewalks and parking lots after rains usually crawling along the edge, following the base of the curb.

Pools are a good place to look after a rain - some will still be alive floating in the water or clinging to other debris.

Moist parks after a storm are a good anting trove; under rocks and in old rotting logs. I've had good success in a local neighborhood green belt park: I found a Crematogaster queen inside a rotting 2 inch diameter branch on the ground and a Camponotus decipiens queen in a large rotting log. They like to use old beetle burrows to start their nests. Found a Camponotus vicinus queen under a rock - same park. Lots of rock flipping.

Also saw some small ants hanging out on/in my cactus pot so I took apart the pot and now have a neat Brachymyrmex colony.

These were all daytime finds. I'd really like to blacklight at night after a storm and build a blacklight trap for night catches.

[CNewton]

My first-year experience has had me finding queens when I'm not looking. Camponotus queen in my kitchen. Another, while I was looking at another colony of Crematogaster workers, came walking right up to me. A parasitic Lasius on my back patio. The bulk of my Tetramorium were black light caught. White sheet over a black light on a clamp-style fixture. As Bryan said, check pools. I have a putt-putt across the street with a large cement pond that winds around. Old planter pots on the ground are golden for colonies. Light colored sidewalks help ants stand out. Warm and humid. After a rain is great.  

 

It also helps to be familiar with what a queen looks like. Keep an eye on the ground whenever you are out. The thorax is the key. It's bigger and broader than workers. What I've realized is that I've seen queens my entire life growing up, I just never knew what I was looking at.

[Chubaka]

For the cremotogasters, i heard that the swarm flights is around july-september, is this correct?

[AntsMaryland]

For North America, Crematogaster flies from August-October.

 

My best strategy for catching queen ants is to buy some ceramic pots. Put them in my backyard filled with dirt and leave a little on the ground underneath the pots. Water the dirt very well. Wait until it rains. After a rainstorm, if there was a nuptial flight, I almost always find one or two queens hiding under my pots. If you have a porch, backyard, or front yard you can try that. If you are a child and want to convince your parents to allow you to do it, Offer to plant some flowers . I hope this was helpful. Please let me know. Best Regards!

 

-AntsMaryland

[skocko76]

Bryansant, on 17 Jul 2017 - 4:42 PM, said:

I've found Solenopsis, Camponotus, and Crematogaster on sidewalks and parking lots after rains usually crawling along the edge, following the base of the curb.

Pools are a good place to look after a rain - some will still be alive floating in the water or clinging to other debris.

Moist parks after a storm are a good anting trove; under rocks and in old rotting logs. I've had good success in a local neighborhood green belt park: I found a Crematogaster queen inside a rotting 2 inch diameter branch on the ground and a Camponotus decipiens queen in a large rotting log. They like to use old beetle burrows to start their nests. Found a Camponotus vicinus queen under a rock - same park. Lots of rock flipping.

Also saw some small ants hanging out on/in my cactus pot so I took apart the pot and now have a neat Brachymyrmex colony.

These were all daytime finds. I'd really like to blacklight at night after a storm and build a blacklight trap for night catches.

You said they like to take beetle holes in wood? Is there a tell tale sign that a hole is occupied? Do you break apart wood hoping to find a queen, or you can tell a queen is inside beforehand? Thanks

Edited by skocko76, August 29 2017 - 8:30 AM.

[Bryansant]

No tell tale signs I know of. Peeling back the bark from the log may reveal chambers or going Rambo and breaking apart the log.