Camponotus queens are flying in North America

Where and when are you finding queen ants? A section to share nuptial flight schedules by ant species and locality

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Saeyoung

Re: Camponotus queens are flying in North America

Post: # 22907Post Saeyoung
Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:04 pm

IntotheAM wrote:
Sun Jun 11, 2017 2:50 pm
I have been looking the last two days but have been unable to find one. Any suggestions on where to find them?

FYI- I live in the Bay Area of California.
There is a flight happening right now in Peterborough so I found all of my Queens on the pavement in parking lots or on side walks along the curb sides. By tomorrow morning the remaining Queens will all be in rotten logs. Those are the best ways to find them. There are some hunting vids on Youtube.

AntsManitobacanada

Re: Camponotus queens are flying in North America

Post: # 23047Post AntsManitobacanada
Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:31 pm

I live in Manitoba so it might be different for you. Just look under logs and wood. Or try to catch a colany in its first year of development.

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Batspiderfish
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Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:47 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Camponotus queens are flying in North America

Post: # 23053Post Batspiderfish
Wed Jun 14, 2017 3:04 pm

Extracting native colonies from the wild is a bad idea. I've never seen a beginner collect a Camponotus nest which survived long-term in captivity. Ant-keeping as a skill needs to develop before we take responsibility for established wild colonies, the <1% of the queens which passed their first test of survival.

Waiting for nuptial flights to collect lone queens is the best way to keep ants. The odds of any given queen surviving their first year is very low, mostly due to predation or competition from other ants. Captive-raised colonies not only do better under our care, but we may have time to develop the skills we need to keep ants properly all while making a minimally negative ecological impact.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.

AntsManitobacanada

Re: Camponotus queens are flying in North America

Post: # 23147Post AntsManitobacanada
Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:52 am

Yes would not try it I guess. I caught one colany with 5 workers and all brood and they have survived over 2 years now.

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