14 replies to this topic

[Bvrj0969]

Few questions for a newbie.

Aparently my works outside lighting is magnets for a certain species I haven't identified (my camera takes horrible macro shots.) and never having a formicarium before I collected a hole bunch of queens to greater my chance of success... Now I have more founding queens than I need or want.

1. Do you guys just set any queens you don't want/use free? Where I'm at no one is interested in them and I have possibly 30-40. Plus they are extremely tiny so it's hard for me to spark anyone's interest with them.

I have a few different species that are progressing faster than I can get their formicarium a built.

One that has 3-4 nanitics tearing at my cotton in the test tube.

Is it acceptable to just unplug the test tube and lay it in tubware container with lid for them to forage for food while i finish their formicariums? I'm mainly waiting on the grout to cure.

[Foogoo]

Few questions for a newbie.

Aparently my works outside lighting is magnets for a certain species I haven't identified (my camera takes horrible macro shots.) and never having a formicarium before I collected a hole bunch of queens to greater my chance of success... Now I have more founding queens than I need or want.

1. Do you guys just set any queens you don't want/use free? Where I'm at no one is interested in them and I have possibly 30-40. Plus they are extremely tiny so it's hard for me to spark anyone's interest with them.

I have a few different species that are progressing faster than I can get their formicarium a built.

One that has 3-4 nanitics tearing at my cotton in the test tube.

Is it acceptable to just unplug the test tube and lay it in tubware container with lid for them to forage for food while i finish their formicariums? I'm mainly waiting on the grout to cure.

Check the Marketplace. Depending on who's around you, I'm sure somebody will want them! Otherwise yeah, nothing wrong with returning them whence they came.

 

I don't see a problem with letting them forage in a tupperware, that's how a lot of people maintain their colonies. Got any pictures? Would love to see the queens!

[Bvrj0969]

The species I have so many of are so tiny my iphone won't take a good picture of them. The other ones just won't have a very clear picture.

[Gregory2455]

1. Do you guys just set any queens you don't want/use free? Where I'm at no one is interested in them and I have possibly 30-40. Plus they are extremely tiny so it's hard for me to spark anyone's interest with them.

That is extremely debatable. However, I would try putting a lot together to make one colony. If they are a species that permits multiple queens in a colony, you will get a fast growing colony. If it is a species that only likes one queen per colony, the workers will kill of all the queens except for the strongest one and use the dead queens as food.

[William. T]

I sometimes do that. But I prefer to keep as many active colonies as possible, because having one of each species may have them die on you. The fittest colonies will survive.

[Bvrj0969]

[Bvrj0969]

I have a couple of the previous one pictured.

A whole bunch of these. Who were caught side by side with the last (these are the tiny ones)

[Bvrj0969]

My 6 yr old daughter caught the bottom one somewhere. Brought it in to show me. It escaped her cup over night only to shed it's wings on the kitchen counter. I found it weeks later in a shot glass on top of my cabinets with a clutch of eggs.


The top one I caught under the bark of a tree stump. Had one single cacoon. Which has now hatched. And has multiple more eggs . It's mainly black but the gaster has alternating rings of black and pale amber. (So does the nanitic.)

Edited by Bvrj0969, August 12 2015 - 6:12 PM.

[Bvrj0969]

Sorry but that's the best I can do with a mobile phone.

[LC3]

The smaller black ones with the pointy butt are Cremotogasters, not sure about the large black ones. The one on top of the Crematogaster in pic# 3 may be a Pheidole not 100% sure though (more like 50%) . I have no clue about the tiny queen.

[William. T]

I think the reddish ones look like Solenopis, or Pheidole.

 

The smaller black ones with the pointy butt are Cremotogasters, not sure about the large black ones. The one on top of the Crematogaster in pic# 3 may be a Pheidole not 100% sure though (more like 50%) . I have no clue about the tiny queen.

[dspdrew]

Yeah, one of those is definitely a Crematogaster.

[TheAnswerIsTheLogic]

When i have to much queens i just let  go with her brood in my garden..

[Jonathan21700]

In the first photo is a Pheidole sp. In pic#2 I'm not sure maybe Pheidole or Solenopsis. In the last one the bigger queen is a Camponotus sp. and the smaller one Crematogaster.

Edited by Jonathan21700, August 13 2015 - 8:50 AM.

[BrittonLS]

You don't have to worry about taking them out of their tubes. Just feed them in the tubes. The biggest reason to put them in a formicaruim for some people is when it becomes too difficult to feed them in the tube. They're fine in there from anywhere to 15 to 100 workers. 

 

But yeah, you can let them go, or keep them around. You might be able to entice someone to buy or take them off your hands if you've got a obviously growing colony. Just depends on how many ants you think you can take care of. You could be the next Drew and keep over 300 separate colonies!