22 replies to this topic

[dean_k]

The title.

 

Any harvester ants in Canada? Because I want to observe one.

 

I was checking through government pages and found that red harvest ant import requires a permit. If no permit, only workers are allowed to be imported. It seems harvest ant queens are not legally allowed to be imported into Canada without permit. But it states nothing about other kind of ants.

 

Leaf cutter ant is also illegal, I found. I get a feeling that any herbivore insects are illegal to import.

Edited by dean_k, December 17 2014 - 9:18 PM.

[Gregory2455]

You may have Aphaenogaster which is probably the closest you will get to harvester ants.

[Alza]

Pogonomyrmex Salinus and Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis 

[Gregory2455]

Pogonomyrmex Salinus and Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis

That is for British Columbia and Alberta. Deank is in Ontario.

[James C. Trager]

Pogonomyrmex Salinus and Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis. Agreed that neither these nor any other harvesters occur in Ontario. Well, maybe Pheidole bicarinata near Point Pelee.

 

But, note correct orthography of scientific names: Genus name is capitalized, species is not, and the whole binomial preferably in italic font.

Thus, Pogonomyrmex salinus and Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

[dspdrew]

You may have Aphaenogaster which is probably the closest you will get to harvester ants.

Aphaenogaster is a harvester ant as far as I know.

[Gregory2455]

Aphaenogaster is a harvester ant as far as I know.

That is what I was implying.

[dspdrew]

You said it was the closest, meaning not quite there.

[Crystals]

The Canadian import rules for harvester ants is that workers are allowed over the border, while queens are not.  Queens of any ant are never allowed over the Canadian border without a permit.  Permits are nearly impossible to get.

 

There are, supposedly, Pogonomyrmex in the southern tip of Alberta somewhere.  The couple of times I was around Calgary, I never saw any, but I was more or less just passing through and I suspect that they are further south than that.  I have a friend in Vancouver BC, but he has never seen any either.

[Gregory2455]

You said it was the closest, meaning not quite there.

Personally, I don't think of Apaenogaster as true harvester ants as Messor, Pogonomyrmex, and Veromessor are in my opinion. They are pretty close though.

[Gregory2455]

The Canadian import rules for harvester ants is that workers are allowed over the border, while queens are not.  Queens of any ant are never allowed over the Canadian border without a permit.  Permits are nearly impossible to get.

 

There are, supposedly, Pogonomyrmex in the southern tip of Alberta somewhere.  The couple of times I was around Calgary, I never saw any, but I was more or less just passing through and I suspect that they are further south than that.  I have a friend in Vancouver BC, but he has never seen any either.

I never saw any in Idaho, which is pretty much just south of Alberta. I think it has got to be pretty rare.

[dean_k]

So, it seems there are harvester ants in Canada which is good news. Bad news appear to be that they are hard to find.

[Mads]

From what I understand they (Harvester ants) are only found in the southern part of Alberta. Much further south than Calgary, closer to Medicine Hat and that area.

Mads

[Gregory2455]

As said before, I have not seen harvesters even in Idaho. They are rare. As for you Canadians on the east coast, the closest you will get is Aphaenogaster.

[dean_k]

I've managed to find a local ant keeper with an Aphaenogaster colony.

 

The problem is that, while he is willing to sell it to me, he says Aphaenogaster species was too hard to ID, and from googling, it seems only some select Aphaenogaster species are harvesters.

 

Either way, I am planning to get this colony and see how it goes.

[Crystals]

I have Aphaenogaster occidentalis and I have never seen them accept any type of seed.

I may have to wait for summer and try dandelion seeds and some others...

[dean_k]

Yes, it's a little strange. Even from Alex Wild's website, it says they are harvester ants but searching yutube reveals no evidence of them taking seeds. They do seem to drag dead mealworms to larvae where larvae feed by themselves.

Edited by dean_k, January 22 2015 - 1:00 PM.

[Mercutia]

There are Aphaenogasters on the east coast documented being the distributors of certain weed seeds and grass seeds. Dean, I suggest investing in a copy of "A Field Guide to the Ants of New England". They have a key guide as well as details about habitat and behaviours and such.

[dean_k]

Thanks, Mercutia.

 

Ordered from Amazon.ca just now.

[AntsAreUs]

 

You may have Aphaenogaster which is probably the closest you will get to harvester ants.

Aphaenogaster is a harvester ant as far as I know.

 

I do believe there are also long legged ants, please let me know if I'm wrong.