Hey boys n' girls,
It's great to be a part of this forum. A big shout out goes to AntsCanada for making it possible. Since it's customary to post up a short bio on these kinda threads, here's my story:
I must have been all of 8 or 9 years old when I began to develop an appreciation for ants. I'd often tag along with my parents to the library (remember those places?) just so I could learn more about em. By the time I hit middle school, I was designing and building (with the help of my dad) my own formicariums. My proudest moment, aside from raising this huge colony from one single queen, was when I successfully cross-bred two different species of ants. HAH to the Smithsonian entomologist who told me that it wasn't possible!
Anyway, like most kids, I eventually lost interest in the hobby. Oh well. The good news is now I'm back and ready to get my learn on again. Heck, if I'm lucky, I may even start up another colony or two!
One things for sure, it's great to be around other nerds.. erm.. I mean... like minded people.
Hello from Southeast Virginia!
Moderator: ooper01
Re: Hello from Southeast Virginia!
welcome to the forum. yeah im pretty stoked antcanada got this place going as well. finally a place where ant loving people can nerd out, while getting along. sounds like you know your stuff. what kind of ants did you cross? very curious about this.
Forum Moderator
AntsCanada GAN Farmer
Re: Hello from Southeast Virginia!
Thanks for the welcome Larynx,
haha You'd think I'd know a lot about ants, but the truth is, I don't. Especially compared to people like Mikey.
To hammer this home, I rarely classify ants according to their scientific name. It's not a "Formica whatevertheheck" to me. It's just a simple black ant. The same goes for "big headed ants", "black carpenter ants", "fire ants", "sugar ants", "army ants", "honey ants", and so on and so forth. Heck, I don't even refer to young brood as "nantics". I just call them baby ants. haha
Anyway, I believe the species I crossed was a Paratrechina with a Pheidole. I ended up capturing some Pheidole royal brood, marked it with the Paratrechina's scent, and they accepted it as their own. When it became clear they were ready to mate, I took the farm outside, opened it up, and let them do their thing. About a year and a half later, I started to notice some ants that I'd never seen before. It looked like the *perfect* mix between the two species.
Unfortunately, those ants disappeared a couple years after the fact.
haha You'd think I'd know a lot about ants, but the truth is, I don't. Especially compared to people like Mikey.
To hammer this home, I rarely classify ants according to their scientific name. It's not a "Formica whatevertheheck" to me. It's just a simple black ant. The same goes for "big headed ants", "black carpenter ants", "fire ants", "sugar ants", "army ants", "honey ants", and so on and so forth. Heck, I don't even refer to young brood as "nantics". I just call them baby ants. haha
Anyway, I believe the species I crossed was a Paratrechina with a Pheidole. I ended up capturing some Pheidole royal brood, marked it with the Paratrechina's scent, and they accepted it as their own. When it became clear they were ready to mate, I took the farm outside, opened it up, and let them do their thing. About a year and a half later, I started to notice some ants that I'd never seen before. It looked like the *perfect* mix between the two species.
Unfortunately, those ants disappeared a couple years after the fact.
Re: Hello from Southeast Virginia!
awww man. that is frickin cool. now im thinking of hybridizing everything.lol yeah i used to buck on scientific names as well when i used to only care for reptiles. when i got into insects, i kinda had to learn the scientifics. all he guys i was learning from refused to use common names, so i was kinda forced .lol
Forum Moderator
AntsCanada GAN Farmer
Re: Hello from Southeast Virginia!
haha Right now, I don't even have a colony to observe! Hopefully that'll be remedied by the end of summer.
And yeah, knowing the exact species/type that you're dealing with comes in very handy. Still, I tend to use common names more than I do the scientific ones. Guess I R A SIMPLE GUY.
And yeah, knowing the exact species/type that you're dealing with comes in very handy. Still, I tend to use common names more than I do the scientific ones. Guess I R A SIMPLE GUY.
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