4 replies to this topic

[Studio]

Hey everyone, I live in the Dallas area by way of California and I've raised a few ant colonies, but no major colonies over 100 workers. I notice that there are an abundance of S. invicta in Texas. I kept around 25 queens at one point and it got out of hand really quickly.

I currently keep 3 Monomorium minimum queens together with about 20-25+ workers (they're too small to count and they huddle with each other most of the time.) I'm currently keeping them in a large plastic jar with rolled up, damp paper towels. I haven't kept ants in years so I didn't have anything to keep them in. Surprisingly it worked really well and they are doing great! I'm just worried about mold and since they have such a large space, they may be hesitant to move which I've dealt with from past experiences. I have a few pictures and will post them up when I can!

[T.C.]

Welcome

[JohnTX]

Hello and welcome!  I am from the Dallas area too, also by way of CA. 

 

I've only been doing this a few months and have been lucky enough to find a few different species up here.  (Monomorium, Pheidole , Crematogaster, S. Molesta, Brachymyrmex, and some unidentified.)

 

We had a big S. invicta flight over the weekend; they were everywhere.  

[Studio]

Thanks TC and JohnTX!

Nice! What a coincidence, a lot of people from CA are moving down to Texas recently. I even convinced some friends to move down here by telling them about the job opportunities and cheap housing compared to CA.

 

I've kept a few colonies usually almost every summer, but I dropped the hobby for about 3-4 years since I was never serious about it. Since then the ant community in the US has exploded and there's so much more info and formicarium shops out there!

 

I've seen a few of those species myself, but they're actually pretty rare where I live. I caught a Pheidole queen once that had a few nanitics, but they died. I was moving to another apartment and my car got too hot because I had a broken AC. (Damn this Texas heat!)

 

S. invicta is all I see here. They've been having mating flights since May. I keep getting excited when I see queens scurrying around, but they're all just RIFA queens!

[NanceUSMC]

Add another North Texas newbie to the fold!  =)