9/20/2016, Chattanooga, TN, USA

[JayandDo]

Today I caught an ant that I believe to be a queen ant. I am fairly new to having ant colonies and such so It might just be a large worker. However I would like to know if any of you all can figure out the species and if it is a queen.
Info:
She seems to have one node between her thorax and abdomen.
She has sparse small hairs all over body.
She is a redish-brown color.
She was found on a cement porch checking out the cracks and holes in it.
She was found during the evening~7:00 PM
It was around 75-80 F outside at the time.
It rain here 2 days ago.
She is around 9mm long.
She was found without wings but I think I can make out wing scars.
She doesn't look like the other worker ants that I have saw in the area. (Fire ants, Carpenter ants, Tiny black ants)
She seems very calm. She only seems to use her anntanae to feel the surrounding area.
http://imgur.com/a/dTskI

[JayandDo]

She's a Solenopsis invicta queen!!! Red Imported Fire Ant

Hmm Thats not exactly what I wanted for my first ant colony, lol. Ill give it a try! So your sure its a queen? Do they fly around this time or is she from a moving colony?

[idahoantgirl]

She's a Solenopsis invicta queen!!! Red Imported Fire Ant

Hmm Thats not exactly what I wanted for my first ant colony, lol. Ill give it a try! So your sure its a queen? Do they fly around this time or is she from a moving colony?

100 percent queen.

[Batspiderfish]

That is one pretty Solenopsis invicta queen.

[JayandDo]

That is one pretty Solenopsis invicta queen.

Me and my girlfriend were ouside looking at ants taking pictures and preparing for next year. Then she said "what about that big one?" I looked at it and thought it was a queen because it had a small head compared to the rest of its body. So we scooped her up and put her in a pill bottle with water and cotton.

On a side note can these ants chew threw grout(with perlite)?

[AntLove5Ever]

That is one pretty Solenopsis invicta queen.

Me and my girlfriend were ouside looking at ants taking pictures and preparing for next year. Then she said "what about that big one?" I looked at it and thought it was a queen because it had a small head compared to the rest of its body. So we scooped her up and put her in a pill bottle with water and cotton.

On a side note can these ants chew threw grout(with perlite)?

A few ants can (from my limited experience) but I highly doubt anything short of a middle eastern/asian ant could. This is coming from my friend in the middle east (whose house is being fumigated because of a too thin formicarium wall incident.)

[JayandDo]

That is one pretty Solenopsis invicta queen.

Me and my girlfriend were ouside looking at ants taking pictures and preparing for next year. Then she said "what about that big one?" I looked at it and thought it was a queen because it had a small head compared to the rest of its body. So we scooped her up and put her in a pill bottle with water and cotton.

On a side note can these ants chew threw grout(with perlite)?

A few ants can (from my limited experience) but I highly doubt anything short of a middle eastern/asian ant could. This is coming from my friend in the middle east (whose house is being fumigated because of a too thin formicarium wall incident.)

Good. Also will these ants hibernate? If they do do you think they will have many workers before hibernation time?

[JayandDo]

Way ahead of you! We are preparing now. Thank you and everyone else that helped me!

[dinoman9877]

Given what geminata can do, and how quickly they can grow, I'd be apprehensive about another fire ant species

I wish you the best of luck in this undertaking.

[Batspiderfish]

Mikey's Solenopsis colony experiences tropical temperatures year-round, so a Solenopsis invicta in Tennessee will probably be somewhat manageable.