11 replies to this topic

[IcarusSkybound]

I was wondering if anybody has experiencing keeping Pharaoh or Thief ants. I have a small colony of what I'm sure is one the aforementioned species and I'm not sure I want to keep them, release them, or potentially sell them. They're really hard to see unassisted at 1-2mm but this colony has 2-3 queens. Do people typically keep/sell these ants?

[IcarusSkybound]

Disregard this post. I was able to look closer at them and they were definitely pharaoh ants. I did some reading and realized I wanted nothing to do with them 😂. They were released where they were found.

[StayLoki]

Whatdyou mean?
I always thought pharoah ants were cool ?
Why shouldn't you keep them??

[IcarusSkybound]

Whatdyou mean?
I always thought pharoah ants were cool ?
Why shouldn't you keep them??

I’m not saying people shouldn’t keep them but they’re not a species I would feel comfortable keeping and/or selling. They’re a major pest species and are incredibly difficult to get rid of if they get loose. From what I read they’re quite good at escaping due to their size and I don’t think I’m experienced enough to prevent that reliably.

Edited by IcarusSkybound, May 21 2018 - 8:19 PM.

[StayLoki]

? I'm concussed lol

[IcarusSkybound]

? I'm concussed lol

I hadn’t replied to a comment while being on mobile before and flubbed the whole thing 😂. I just edited it with an actual reply.

[StayLoki]

I see.. Sorry about that.
But what do u mean due to their size?? What are the workers under a mm or somthing?
I swear I looked them up and thought they were cool, area they invasive or something?
I would have bought your queen, shizz lol

Edited by StayLoki, May 21 2018 - 8:35 PM.

[IcarusSkybound]

I see.. Sorry about that.
But what do u mean due to their size?? What are the workers under a mm or somthing?
I swear I looked them up and thought they were cool, area they invasive or something?
I would have bought your queen, shizz lol

The workers are around 1-2mm so they fit in really small holes and I’ve seen videos of them walking over fluon with ease. They’re so good at invading, persisting, and proliferating that they’ve conquered basically the entire globe 😂. They’re definitely an interesting species with their polygynous colonies, ability to mate incestuously, and ability to produce branch colonies from brood alone, but all of that makes them terrifying in my eyes to personally keep. They’re basically too good at everything they do lol.

[GeorgeK]

I had caught 20 or so solenopsis fugax queens and had them in test tubes by pairs of 2, 3, 4 and 5 queens each. They essentially killed each other untill there was 1 queen in each test tube, so that is a bummer. Out of remaining 5 queens 2 died during hibernation and now I'm awaiting brood. But yes, as far as i read then can be VERY tricky to contain, and someone pretty much said "SILICONE EVERYTHING" when it comes to containing them and preventing escape.

[IcarusSkybound]

I had caught 20 or so solenopsis fugax queens and had them in test tubes by pairs of 2, 3, 4 and 5 queens each. They essentially killed each other untill there was 1 queen in each test tube, so that is a bummer. Out of remaining 5 queens 2 died during hibernation and now I'm awaiting brood. But yes, as far as i read then can be VERY tricky to contain, and someone pretty much said "SILICONE EVERYTHING" when it comes to containing them and preventing escape.

That’s some rough luck. I think that I personally get the most out of this hobby when I can watch the colonies and actually see what’s going on. I feel like with thief ants I’m robbed of that joy because of their size. To top it off there’s the whole additional responsibility and extra work to keep them contained.

[StayLoki]

👀 O!

I thought they were cute, but they're little ninjas !!

[IcarusSkybound]

👀 O!

I thought they were cute, but they're little ninjas !!

I found the pharaohs that I originally mentioned 60+ miles away from my house while near work. Today I went looking for ants near my apartment and found pharaohs again... lol I can’t get away from them.