Nuptial Flight Hotspots in Auckland, New Zealand.

[WisdomPilgrim]

Hi all,
Are there any other kiwis on this forum who can advise me on where to go to catch queen ants. I'm pretty sure that the Nuptial Flight of New Zealand ants is starting soon.
Thanks.

[BTechDerek]

Hi, I have been trapping here in Wellington and have yet to find anything.

From my search of academic record from the vic uni database there isnt any public information on local nuptial flight. I imagine the academic community are worried about people disturbing fragile native colonies during such a sacred time in the ants lifecycles. There are however articles and postings of forested trap samples which seem to include Austroponera elates dating to about the 18th of February. Can't say for sure that the picture was taken at the time or if that was just the time of collection.

Up north where you live, postings here have suggested broad selection of flights occur in early March.

I hear the nuptial flights of many species occur within a time frame and generally on a warm humid day after a storm.

I am currently trying to get my hands on the book "Ants of New Zealand" from Don Warwick in hopes that it includes nuptial flight information, it would surely be an interesting read.

I wonder if jetlag is causing our introduced species to engage in nuptial flights during the early mornings, cause I have seen a few posts about early morning flights.

Good luck, I will start keeping a closer eye on these forums as spring rolls on.

[WisdomPilgrim]

Thanks for your time. It has been raining on and off for a few days now, so I might head out to my local park and see what I can find.
I too will be keeping a close eye on this forum. From the information I have collected, it sounds like NZ ants fly in Spring and Summer when it is warm and moist.