lack of P. Imparis queens

[AntCanadaBiggestFan]

Hello all!

after researching ant keeping, and watching AntsCanada for 4 years now, I am trying to start my first ant colony, i've chosen Prenolepis Imparis, and i've seen a few nuptial flights, but the only things showing up are the males, i go outside, in sunny, 65-73 degree weather with low wind, and the only thing that fly are males, i've also found 6 P. Imparis colonies on my property. does anyone know why this is happening?

[AntCanadaBiggestFan]

also, i go outside and stay out from about noon to 5 pm, if i don't have anything else to do.

[AM1C39]

Maybe what you think are males are actually queens? Usually in most species the males fly out before the queens.

[AntCanadaBiggestFan]

well if im correct, queens of this species are fully claustral, so they would have a large gaster, and are much larger than males, and brown, these males were very wasp like, black, and small, i've also caught P. Imparis queens before, but failed to start a colony due to a uh... not so good setup. and i go outside for a few hours waiting for queens.

[AM1C39]

As I said before: many species have males that fly out before the queens, so that could mean that the queens will be out very soon.

[AntCanadaBiggestFan]

update: I did it! you were right, the males came out an entire day before the females, i caught 3! they were all mating when i found them, so i know they are fertilized!

[Antmanboy]

Cool! I've wanted one so bad! Good luck with them all!

[AM1C39]

Winter ants are very special so this is a video on how to keep them:
https://youtu.be/wcSBXPsvH6o