The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

Hello,

I live in the Norman-ish area of Oklahoma and have this year decided I would really like to keep ants. After doing some reading and reaching out to local ant keepers, I learned some species fly as early as February here. I walk around my neighborhood everyday, longer walks on days after rain, and still have found nothing. I see ants, what I think are black carpenter ants, but I cannot find a queen for the life of me. Any specific methods I should try out, or any tips for finding queens would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

As for finding them in the open, that's just luck, but I did find one of my queens beneath the bark of a tree, so looking in rotting logs and old trees might yield something.