I am completely new to the hobby.
I had made my own farm back when I was a kid - it was a cocktail olive jar inside a peanut butter jar with sand and about 40 or so worker sugar ants. I recall that setup lasted for almost a year. This led to an interest in keeping insects as pets: various stick bugs, tarantulas, and scorpions, all culminating in the straw that broke my mother's back - madagascar hissing cockroaches.
I stumbled upon AntsCanada while surfing YouTube for science videos out of boredom one snow day and now the kids and I are very interestested in raising local native species this summer.
We've already seen one nuptial flight, and have found some males. But no queens yet.
Any advice is always accepted and would be greatly appreciated.
Hello from Massachusetts!
Moderator: ooper01
Re: Hello from Massachusetts!
queens can be found walking on sidewalks and looking at water sources like birdbaths, pools and here is one i just heard, the condensation on cars in the morning
also some words from my failure . if you plan on keeping only one or a few colonies of ants. don't release extra queens/colonies until the colony you want to keep is mature (20-50 ants depending on species). just in case a sudden decline of a colony just in case they can not recover
and WELCOME
also some words from my failure . if you plan on keeping only one or a few colonies of ants. don't release extra queens/colonies until the colony you want to keep is mature (20-50 ants depending on species). just in case a sudden decline of a colony just in case they can not recover
and WELCOME
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
- Ant Care Sheets
Queen Hunting
How To Identify Ants
Re: Hello from Massachusetts!
Welp I've caught my first queen!
A P. Imparis.
We had a pretty nice day Tuesday so I took my kids out and in my backyard and there she was, just walking on my picnic table. I had found a few dead males earlier in the day, so I'm hoping she's mated but only time will tell.
A P. Imparis.
We had a pretty nice day Tuesday so I took my kids out and in my backyard and there she was, just walking on my picnic table. I had found a few dead males earlier in the day, so I'm hoping she's mated but only time will tell.
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Re: Hello from Massachusetts
If you want some tips on keeping Prenolepis, go to the topic "Ant Care Sheets". Antnest 18 here wrote it, while I wrote the rest.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25
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- Posts: 1283
- Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
- Location: South Dakota
Re: Hello from Massachusetts!
Also, they are polygynous, so you can put many queens in a colony and they will get along. So if you find more queens, please consider this. You might want to look for more queens on tree bark. They love to congregate there.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25
Re: Hello from Massachusetts!
Hello and welcome to the ant world
Keeper of:
Camponotus Laevigatus
Formica sp.
Lasius Flavus
Camponotus Modoc
Polyrhacis Dives
Camponotus friedae
Camponotus Laevigatus
Formica sp.
Lasius Flavus
Camponotus Modoc
Polyrhacis Dives
Camponotus friedae
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