The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

I live in Mississauga, Ontario Canada and we have lots of greenery in here. I've caught a few last year but failed to grow them (improper setup, causing some stress). I now have the proper setup but no luck finding them, so I have some few questions that may help me find one.

Here are my questions:

1. There's no chance (if not little) of rain here this month, should I wait for the rain or proactively look for queen even if it didn't rain?

2. What time is a great time to look for an ant queen?

3. Any possible overlooked criteria that I should know when looking for an ant?

4. (optional) Any further tips?

Thanks!

I'm in Toronto. It's a little late for the Camponotus flights, but you may still find some. I found a male last night, which means some are still flying. I'd suggest looking around your house/neighborhood between 10 and 11pm. I have found the most at about 10:30pm. You can certainly start looking earlier in the evening, but I'd suggest not earlier than 7 or 8.

Your next best chance at finding a queen is during the Tertamorium flights. End of June, early July, walk around the house before you go to work/school. My best hours at finding them was between 5 and 10am. I've found them all throughout the day, but mornings are the most abundant.

After that, Formica and some Lasius fly in July and August in Toronto. I've only found random queens anytime during the daylight hours.

Lastly, I've found Lasius neoniger, Lasius claviger (Social parasite), Solonopsis molesta, Crematogaster cerasi end of July beginning of September. Late afternoon were my most successful hunts.

Thanks for the information packed reply!