Pseudomyrmex Gracilis Queen?

[SeanSz]

Does anyone have a Graceful Twig Ant queen? I’ve seen quite a few colonies around my house, but they are nestled in the trees, so I haven’t been able to get close enough. How did you obtain your queen? Also, I read that if these ants lose a queen, they can actually lay eggs and raise brood until a new queen is found, but could you simple catch a handful of workers and let them run a colony without a queen at all? If anyone has any knowledge, tips, or advice, it would help a lot!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Does anyone have a Graceful Twig Ant queen? I’ve seen quite a few colonies around my house, but they are nestled in the trees, so I haven’t been able to get close enough. How did you obtain your queen? Also, I read that if these ants lose a queen, they can actually lay eggs and raise brood until a new queen is found, but could you simple catch a handful of workers and let them run a colony without a queen at all? If anyone has any knowledge, tips, or advice, it would help a lot!

I don’t know about raise their own queen… I do however, have some tips on how to catch a queen!

The trouble people have is they can’t ID a queen. So do lots of research on what the queens look like, I have learned to recognize queens based on the heads. Behavior will not work on this species due to the fact queens are semi claustral.

Next, you want to look want ants are around any oak trees. I find them here most commonly.I have not found two on the same tree on the same day. If there is a lot of fire ants, it will be more rare. If there is mostly Camponotus workers and Crematogaster, you will likely find a queen. Make sure there is some sort of small insect population around the tree.

Look around sunset, but never at night. Usually You find the queens foraging. You also must be very aware of the surroundings, as they will not stop moving for quite a bit. Look for sudden, random, fast movements at the bottom of oak trees. I have caught 3, the first dying to the Cotten being too wet.

Here’s the trick for test tubes with them, you only fill up about 3-4 cm of water so the queen can choose humidity. They are very humidity picky ants, also, they need lots of nectar and small protein freshly killed insects. I don’t give mine an outworld, but I only found queens this year. I only have one egg so far…

[SeanSz]

Does anyone have a Graceful Twig Ant queen? I’ve seen quite a few colonies around my house, but they are nestled in the trees, so I haven’t been able to get close enough. How did you obtain your queen? Also, I read that if these ants lose a queen, they can actually lay eggs and raise brood until a new queen is found, but could you simple catch a handful of workers and let them run a colony without a queen at all? If anyone has any knowledge, tips, or advice, it would help a lot!

I don’t know about raise their own queen… I do however, have some tips on how to catch a queen!

The trouble people have is they can’t ID a queen. So do lots of research on what the queens look like, I have learned to recognize queens based on the heads. Behavior will not work on this species due to the fact queens are semi claustral.

Next, you want to look want ants are around any oak trees. I find them here most commonly.I have not found two on the same tree on the same day. If there is a lot of fire ants, it will be more rare. If there is mostly Camponotus workers and Crematogaster, you will likely find a queen. Make sure there is some sort of small insect population around the tree.

Look around sunset, but never at night. Usually You find the queens foraging. You also must be very aware of the surroundings, as they will not stop moving for quite a bit. Look for sudden, random, fast movements at the bottom of oak trees. I have caught 3, the first dying to the Cotten being too wet.

Here’s the trick for test tubes with them, you only fill up about 3-4 cm of water so the queen can choose humidity. They are very humidity picky ants, also, they need lots of nectar and small protein freshly killed insects. I don’t give mine an outworld, but I only found queens this year. I only have one egg so far…

Wow! This is a lot of great info! Thank you for taking the time to type all this! Also, how do you ID the queens based on their heads?

I have two colonies in my yard (that I know of), but each day I see about 2-3 graceful twig ants, that I just assume are workers, running around my front porch and climbing the door, quite far away from both nests. I did not know they were semi-claustral, so these “workers” may be foraging queens!

If you could tell me your ID tips, that would help a lot! Thanks again for the great info!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Does anyone have a Graceful Twig Ant queen? I’ve seen quite a few colonies around my house, but they are nestled in the trees, so I haven’t been able to get close enough. How did you obtain your queen? Also, I read that if these ants lose a queen, they can actually lay eggs and raise brood until a new queen is found, but could you simple catch a handful of workers and let them run a colony without a queen at all? If anyone has any knowledge, tips, or advice, it would help a lot!

I don’t know about raise their own queen… I do however, have some tips on how to catch a queen!

The trouble people have is they can’t ID a queen. So do lots of research on what the queens look like, I have learned to recognize queens based on the heads. Behavior will not work on this species due to the fact queens are semi claustral.

Next, you want to look want ants are around any oak trees. I find them here most commonly.I have not found two on the same tree on the same day. If there is a lot of fire ants, it will be more rare. If there is mostly Camponotus workers and Crematogaster, you will likely find a queen. Make sure there is some sort of small insect population around the tree.

Look around sunset, but never at night. Usually You find the queens foraging. You also must be very aware of the surroundings, as they will not stop moving for quite a bit. Look for sudden, random, fast movements at the bottom of oak trees. I have caught 3, the first dying to the Cotten being too wet.

Here’s the trick for test tubes with them, you only fill up about 3-4 cm of water so the queen can choose humidity. They are very humidity picky ants, also, they need lots of nectar and small protein freshly killed insects. I don’t give mine an outworld, but I only found queens this year. I only have one egg so far…

Wow! This is a lot of great info! Thank you for taking the time to type all this! Also, how do you ID the queens based on their heads?

I have two colonies in my yard (that I know of), but each day I see about 2-3 graceful twig ants, that I just assume are workers, running around my front porch and climbing the door, quite far away from both nests. I did not know they were semi-claustral, so these “workers” may be foraging queens!

If you could tell me your ID tips, that would help a lot! Thanks again for the great info!

It can be inaccurate, but the queens heads are a bit larger than workers, and, the queens vary in color based on area. Are you in Florida? Another great way to tell is queens usually have less orange in front of the black wing muscles(Florida only due to geographical variation)

Also, if you think one is a queen, drop an imagur link and I will let you know!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Example:


Vs. Worker

[SeanSz]

I don’t know about raise their own queen… I do however, have some tips on how to catch a queen!

The trouble people have is they can’t ID a queen. So do lots of research on what the queens look like, I have learned to recognize queens based on the heads. Behavior will not work on this species due to the fact queens are semi claustral.

Next, you want to look want ants are around any oak trees. I find them here most commonly.I have not found two on the same tree on the same day. If there is a lot of fire ants, it will be more rare. If there is mostly Camponotus workers and Crematogaster, you will likely find a queen. Make sure there is some sort of small insect population around the tree.

Look around sunset, but never at night. Usually You find the queens foraging. You also must be very aware of the surroundings, as they will not stop moving for quite a bit. Look for sudden, random, fast movements at the bottom of oak trees. I have caught 3, the first dying to the Cotten being too wet.

Here’s the trick for test tubes with them, you only fill up about 3-4 cm of water so the queen can choose humidity. They are very humidity picky ants, also, they need lots of nectar and small protein freshly killed insects. I don’t give mine an outworld, but I only found queens this year. I only have one egg so far…

Wow! This is a lot of great info! Thank you for taking the time to type all this! Also, how do you ID the queens based on their heads?

I have two colonies in my yard (that I know of), but each day I see about 2-3 graceful twig ants, that I just assume are workers, running around my front porch and climbing the door, quite far away from both nests. I did not know they were semi-claustral, so these “workers” may be foraging queens!

If you could tell me your ID tips, that would help a lot! Thanks again for the great info!

It can be inaccurate, but the queens heads are a bit larger than workers, and, the queens vary in color based on area. Are you in Florida? Another great way to tell is queens usually have less orange in front of the black wing muscles(Florida only due to geographical variation)

Also, if you think one is a queen, drop an imagur link and I will let you know!

Yes, I am in Florida… I have been looking for that minor orange between the black head and thorax! Thanks for the tips! I do have to ask, about how long did it take for your queen to lay an egg after you caught her? If needed, I may catch a few of the ants around my front porch and wait a few days to see if they lay eggs or not. Thanks again, this has been a lot of help!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Wow! This is a lot of great info! Thank you for taking the time to type all this! Also, how do you ID the queens based on their heads?

I have two colonies in my yard (that I know of), but each day I see about 2-3 graceful twig ants, that I just assume are workers, running around my front porch and climbing the door, quite far away from both nests. I did not know they were semi-claustral, so these “workers” may be foraging queens!

If you could tell me your ID tips, that would help a lot! Thanks again for the great info!

It can be inaccurate, but the queens heads are a bit larger than workers, and, the queens vary in color based on area. Are you in Florida? Another great way to tell is queens usually have less orange in front of the black wing muscles(Florida only due to geographical variation)

Also, if you think one is a queen, drop an imagur link and I will let you know!

Yes, I am in Florida… I have been looking for that minor orange between the black head and thorax! Thanks for the tips! I do have to ask, about how long did it take for your queen to lay an egg after you caught her? If needed, I may catch a few of the ants around my front porch and wait a few days to see if they lay eggs or not. Thanks again, this has been a lot of help!

Mine took 2 feedings and 4 days. They can take longer if they have already established a founding chamber in the wild, so be patient. If you think something is a queen, post a picture here and we will let you know!

[SeanSz]

It can be inaccurate, but the queens heads are a bit larger than workers, and, the queens vary in color based on area. Are you in Florida? Another great way to tell is queens usually have less orange in front of the black wing muscles(Florida only due to geographical variation)

Also, if you think one is a queen, drop an imagur link and I will let you know!

Yes, I am in Florida… I have been looking for that minor orange between the black head and thorax! Thanks for the tips! I do have to ask, about how long did it take for your queen to lay an egg after you caught her? If needed, I may catch a few of the ants around my front porch and wait a few days to see if they lay eggs or not. Thanks again, this has been a lot of help!

Mine took 2 feedings and 4 days. They can take longer if they have already established a founding chamber in the wild, so be patient. If you think something is a queen, post a picture here and we will let you know!

Sounds great! Once I catch one, I’ll post it in the identification channel on the forum! Thanks again for the advice and tips! This has been a lot of help to me!

[SolenopsisKeeper]

Does anyone have a Graceful Twig Ant queen? I’ve seen quite a few colonies around my house, but they are nestled in the trees, so I haven’t been able to get close enough. How did you obtain your queen? Also, I read that if these ants lose a queen, they can actually lay eggs and raise brood until a new queen is found, but could you simple catch a handful of workers and let them run a colony without a queen at all? If anyone has any knowledge, tips, or advice, it would help a lot!

Where did you read they can raise queens from a group of workers? I can’t find it anywhere

Edit: Did find an article saying like C Floridanus, they will not lay eggs in the presence of a queen

[SeanSz]

Does anyone have a Graceful Twig Ant queen? I’ve seen quite a few colonies around my house, but they are nestled in the trees, so I haven’t been able to get close enough. How did you obtain your queen? Also, I read that if these ants lose a queen, they can actually lay eggs and raise brood until a new queen is found, but could you simple catch a handful of workers and let them run a colony without a queen at all? If anyone has any knowledge, tips, or advice, it would help a lot!

Where did you read they can raise queens from a group of workers? I can’t find it anywhere

Edit: Did find an article saying like C Floridanus, they will not lay eggs in the presence of a queen

It may be inaccurate, but on Wikipedia, it says: If the colony ever finds themselves without a queen, the worker ants form dominance hierarchies by boxing with their antennae. This leads to a couple high ranking individuals to lay eggs until a new queen returns”.

I’ve included the link below.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomyrmex_gracilis