5 replies to this topic

[Blue2me4you]

Hello everyone!

 

I am new to the forum, but I wanted to introduce myself to the group.

 

You can call me "Blue," and I am a disabled combat veteran (Afghanistan) law student (San Diego). In the military, I was a FMF Corpsman and Purple Heart recipient.

 

I am interested in learning more about making my own colony - after some research.

 

It seems as though the season for Nuptial Flight Schedules is over?

 

I am very interested in starting with a Queen Ant and growing the colony from there and making the colony by hand.

 

I do intend to set them free after about 5 years - is this a realistic plan?

 

I'd love to get to know anyone of you - so feel free to reply!

 

-Blue

[Scrixx]

Hello everyone!

 

I am new to the forum, but I wanted to introduce myself to the group.

 

You can call me "Blue," and I am a disabled combat veteran (Afghanistan) law student (San Diego). In the military, I was a FMF Corpsman and Purple Heart recipient.

 

I am interested in learning more about making my own colony - after some research.

 

It seems as though the season for Nuptial Flight Schedules is over?

 

I am very interested in starting with a Queen Ant and growing the colony from there and making the colony by hand.

 

I do intend to set them free after about 5 years - is this a realistic plan?

 

I'd love to get to know anyone of you - so feel free to reply!

 

-Blue

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

Nuptial flights are pretty much over but we're still finding a few queens here and there. I found a Pogonomyrmex queen in my backyard a couple days ago. So there's a chance you'll find one but don't expect too much. Sorry. I know we have someone in San Diego that has colonies if you'd like to purchase one. 

 

The part about releasing them caused quite a stir in the forums a few weeks ago. I hope this doesn't start another debate but I'm just going to point out some things that were said. Some people believe it's not right to release captive ants as they can bring diseases from your house to the wild. Typically this would occur if you kept exotic species and diseases spread between those colonies. Some people say it is okay to release captive native ants since they're not invasive and lived in the area anyways. However, I believe both sides agree you should never release invasive / exotic ants as they could cause serious harm by taking over our native species. 

[T.C.]

Welcome to formiculture blue. Just give the colony to someone when that time comes. Releasing captive colonies could pose a threat to the environment. There is alot of people in that area that will take them off your hands.

[Chicken_eater100]

Welcome and thank you for protecting our country.

[dspdrew]

Welcome, from Santa Ana, CA.

[MrPurpleB]

Welcome to the forums . Hopefully, the forums can be a great please to learn more about your colony and making the hobby a pleasant experience.