Colorado Nupital Flights

[Cal113]

awe man
i need to get out more! haven't seen any queens as of late been preoccupied

nice finds everyone

[JackieB]

Has anyone ever been able to find honeypot ants? I know we have them here but I dont know when (weather conditions) and where (terrain) to look.

Any tips?

[DamianK]

@JackieB

Hey there!

The 2 species of Honeypot ants we have here in Colorado is Myrmecocystus mexicanus, and Prenolepis imparis. Unfortunately P. imparis have already had they're nuptial flights in march and early April, this is why we call them the "winter ants", because they have they're flights so early in the year. M mexicanus however, should be taking flight any day now, if they haven't already. They tend to enjoy cooler mornings the days following precipitation, so be on the lookout. They tend to stick to the southern parts of the state, so if you live farther up north I'm not sure how much luck you'll get. I know that people have great luck finding them in Pueblo, and ive seen several queens in years past in the Rio grande national forest.

Be warned though, Prenolepis imparis is a very small ant and is not very beginner friendly, if this is your first ant farm then maybe look for something larger to start you off this season. There are currently several species of Camponotus and Pogonomymex flying in my area, and either one of those would be great starting points for beginners.

Let us know if you have any luck out there!

~Damian

[Cal113]

P. imparis is actually known as 'The False Honey Pot Ant' they are not truly a species of honey pot ants if that's what your looking for. Just thought I would mention that. The reason they aren't for those who are curious is because they don't have true repletes. They turn their extra food into fat reserves instead of putting it all into a massive social stomach and keeping it like that. Their pseudo repletes often still go out and forage for food as well which also sets them apart from true honeypot ants!

[Antero]

Seeing lots of pavement ants agin today in Boulder and surrounding areas.

[Cal113]

Yep, I also found a Tetramorium queen today! Didn't keep her because I already have some

[JackieB]

I was literally was trying to explain to some friends how to I've been finding queen ants last and night before a fireworks show, and immediately there was a tetramorium queen just cruising along. lol.
They were super fascinated by her which was cool. Most of my friends and have been pretty excited about my new hobby.

[nick53588]

I live in the Denver Metro Area. Last night I saw tons of the following queens:
Pogonomyrmex Barbatus (They have been flying for about 2 weeks now)
A couple Lasius Species (unsure of exact species)
A few Tetramorium Immigrans (do they ever stop flying?)
and a really nice rarity, a social parasite that I believe to be a Lasius Latipes

Left the Tetramorium as I have 3 that are about to have Nanitics. Only had 5 tubes so I caught 3 pogos, 1 lasius and the social parasite.

[Antero]

catching Pogonomyrmex Barbatus in Boulder

[nick53588]

I guess they weren't barbatus but actually Occidentalis. Looked at their teeth really up close and they have that hook/offset tooth on the mandible that occidentalis have. Queens were only 10-11mm too so I guess that is too small for Barbatus.

On a different note, more Lasius Latipes today. They do not keep well... was looking for a host Colony and my first one just died. They have really piss poor balance. Probably killed itself falling 50 million times.