74 replies to this topic

[TennesseeAnts]

Andrew. My Camponotus nearcticus colony has 21 workers and 40 brood in all stages, with a major about to hatch!

[NickAnter]

There is no way I can get to the spot at 6:00 am. My parents will probably end up lagging, and we will leave at 7, I will get home, and probably end up being late to school. And Algebra is my first period, so I do not want to miss that. Here they will likely fly in June, not July, and I am in school till the 22.

Edited by NickAnter, April 7 2020 - 5:39 PM.

[ANTdrew]

School ended 6/13 this year.

Edited by ANTdrew, October 5 2019 - 4:15 PM.

[ANTdrew]

There is no way I can get to the spot at 6:00 am. My parents will probably end up lagging, and we will leave at 7, I will gt home, and probably end up being late to school. And Algebra is my first period, so I do not want to miss that. Here they will likely fly in June, not July, and I am in school till the 22.

I found a queen on 6/26 two years in a row.

[Kaelwizard]

My school starts at 7:35 I get up at 5:50

[ANTdrew]

My school starts at 7:35 I get up at 5:50

Same.- 7:30-2:15. Keep in mind these ants have many small flights over a couple of weeks, so if you can’t get to the site until the weekend, you still have a good chance of finding one.

[NickAnter]

Oh, I have no problem getting up early, I wake up around 3:30 every day. I generally end up going back to bed. It is getting my parents to drive me over there that is the problem. I sure will try very hard next year. Though, in a choice between them and Camponotus CA02, I am going to try for the Camp. Edit: Thanks Antdrew, I didn't know that!

Edited by NickAnter, October 5 2019 - 4:39 PM.

[DDD101DDD]

 

My school starts at 7:35 I get up at 5:50

Same.- 7:30-2:15. Keep in mind these ants have many small flights over a couple of weeks, so if you can’t get to the site until the weekend, you still have a good chance of finding one.

 

Mine starts at a similar time, except I wake up at 6:30. On what kind of day would you say Tetramorium would fly?

[ANTdrew]

They fly on humid days in June at the butt-crack of dawn.

[ANTdrew]

Update 10-14-2019

 

 I have Sif's colony under control again, thankfully. They are basically in a semi-diapause because I moved their tank out to my patio (under a roof of course), and it's been cooling down into the 60s finally. They've made a big graveyard pile of dead pupae and workers. They seem to go through a bit of a die off before diapause, which is something I remember from last year. All the extra light outside has caused some kind of algae to grow on the side of the tank facing the sun, which is interesting, and they seem to have pasted clay up on all the exposed tunnels to block light. I'll be transferring these to an unheated basement in my parent's house soon. I'll work on setting up a new satellite tank for them over the winter because they'll need a lot of new real estate soon.

 

My new queen, Hel, is doing great as well in her mini-hearth. I may keep them going until November to max out their growth, then I'll put them in my mini-fridge.

 

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

They fly on humid days in June at the butt-crack of dawn.

Stop looking at dawn when it's getting dressed!

[AntsDakota]

Update on this? My queen (who was neglected for a while but is now under proper care) is about to crash through the 100 mark roof and should reach 500 by the time they hit 1 despite being neglected for quite some time.

[ANTdrew]

Basically, this colony became unmanageable in the set up they were in and escaped. I had to keep them on my patio because they kept piling up soil over the lip barrier almost like they were using it as a tool to escape. I sold my younger colony to a good ant keeper out west from me. It was one heck of a ride.
It’s not something I like to talk about because of the ecological implications of this massive colony of non-native ants getting out. I still feel bad about it and miss the colony, but I can certify that diversity was not harmed in my yard because these ants already coexist with so many other species.

Edited by ANTdrew, December 31 2020 - 3:39 AM.

[AntsDakota]

Oh man, that sounds awful.

[Devi]

Oh no!  So sorry about that.  Wow, I just spent a while reading through this journal.  That was a crazy colony!  It is awesome that they completely covered up that rock!