The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

im based in northern Louisiana, lets get a good thread going for a regional ant info.

why these states? its similar in size to another highly successful thread that would border this on to the north(starting KY and parts north). there also seems to be similar weather and ant variety making this a very cross purpose and useful thread.

i also welcome texans oklahomans, and Floridians (any bordering state really) but did not include them in the title because the numerous desert ants in texas (or florida specific ants) that would not really be relevant to residents on the states listed. not trying to be exclusive.

two weeks ago i was catching lots of solenopsis pretty exclusively. i think these look like multiple species, ill get a new lens in soon to verify.

all the rain recently has brought out more ants in the gulf states.

yesterday i saw a colony going for nuptials at my work. they are a tiny ant species with black heads red thorax and black gasters i have no ID.

also found a queen Forelius pruinosis, likely did not fly yesterday, but was forced out of home by all that rain. (ID is a likely correct as it was confirmed as a possible. but still a guess by the word "might")

im going to keep posting this thread on flights with hopes of finding or starting a regional community

Tx, and Ok had a lot of days of rain ,lots of floods.
so this friday was going to be a great catalyst for great queen walks across the south this weekend, now they have my friday as the start of four days of thunderstorms.

likely bad for nuptial flights, but ill still be out on tuesday looking.

Last night a Brachymyrmex in my house, and outside, both flew.
I watered my plants and my neighbors saturday when it threatened to rain, but it got cancelled.
I took one inside to keep as a colony.
Last night both flew as soon as dusk hit.
(I guess thats the time they like?)
point is, they ready, all they need is rain.

Also, my Pheidole ants have quite a few antsy ( ) queens. they might be also waiting.

Rain is now scheduled for thursday... I hope it doesn't keep getting pushed back until it is cancelled altogether again.

Hi! New to the forums as well as ant keeping but not insects. After watching a few of AC YouTube videos & reading I've noticed that the "golden times" for nuptial flights is between 11-3 so if it rains at 10:30 am should I check that day or during the next? thanks in advance!!

the golden time Mikey Bustos was referring to is what he gets the best results of catching a queen "that has been fertilized". so if you looked at 11am, after the rain at 1030am you will probably see a lot of unfertilized queens leaving nests, of species that fly immediately after rain (i read pheidole, and Solenopsis are two that do, but i dont know for sure) So really cool but not very useful to start a farm.

you have ants that fly at dusk, night, noon, or middle of the afternoon.

so i think if you are specifically looking for any fertilized queen, the next day is probably best. but for a specific species you would have to tailor your time.

for me, i just use that as an excuse. if i have morning rain, i walk at 1pm. 4pm. and dusk. then dawn, 11am, noon, and 2pm.
just to cover my bases. as stated I am very new, and I also in very interested in the inner workings, So any excuse to go out and watch whether it was fruitful or not.

a more veteran keeper can give you better answers, but i also think that most of the answer is based around what you are looking for specifically.

I live on the NC coast and aside from a few brachymyrmex queens I have not had the best of luck. I had hoped to find some queens from a larger species, If you have any advice I would love to hear it.

BahamianBoy wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:25 am

I live on the NC coast and aside from a few brachymyrmex queens I have not had the best of luck. I had hoped to find some queens from a larger species, If you have any advice I would love to hear it.

So are you looking for Nuptial flight info?

I am very new, but I have resources.

for Larger species that are easy to care for, I hear Camponotus can't be beat. I have never handled a colony or queen. They are flying now, I think their flights happen later in the day usually in or near wooded areas.

You should be able to find some Camponotus species in your area But Im not sure which species.

You can try AntWiki or Antmaps, but I hear neither are very accurate, once you figure it out, you can then crossreference your list with Nuptial Flight Schedule Here:
http://www.formiculture.com/topic/181-queen-ant-spottingmating-chart/

Using my Notes I gleaned from several websites (applicable to Louisiana, so they might not apply to North Carolina) I see that I get Three Camponotus Species that Fly in August, two into Septemeber. Pennsylvanicus, Americana, and Novaeboracesis. I have not checked this for accuracy.

There are other options for larger ants, but I am new so Im not sure where to point you, and a lot of the more special ants of larger varieties I get in Louisiana (like Leaf Cutter, Trap Jaw, and some Ponerias) don't get up to the Carolinas.

Other more veteran members can likely tell you more, like where and when to look for Camponotus queens, or what medium sized ants to look out for in the Carolinas (I think Camponotus is the largest ant you get).

BahamianBoy wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:25 am

I live on the NC coast and aside from a few brachymyrmex queens I have not had the best of luck. I had hoped to find some queens from a larger species, If you have any advice I would love to hear it.

I meant to also refer you to Antweb, Its a little harder to use, but has much more accurate info.
You can narrow your browse to your specific state there.
for instance there are 11 Species of Camponotus that have been found there (some may have only been found once, I didn't look.)

Okay, Thank you I will definitely check and see what I can find.