This one's probably going to seem questionable, and I am okay with that.. However, I think Solenopsis invicta are criminally underrated as an ant to keep. When I first got into ants back in August of 2022 (I'm still new), I vowed I would never keep ANY Solenopsis species, however most definitely not S. invicta or S. geminata. My mind changed when the only thing flying when I first went to look for queens was S. invicta and I knew I'd at least need to keep them just as a learning experience so when the good ants start flying, I would be somewhat ready. Through some trial and error, I am happy to say I actually really respect and even kinda revere these ants. Their worker size has such a gigantic range.. Everything from tiny nanitic size to just under the size of the queen herself (so much so that sometimes I see a worker so big I have to double or even triple look to make sure it isn't a queen) and literally EVERYTHING in between..
These ants can make crazy rafts and float, they're extremely aggressive eaters, they will eat ANYTHING. Their population explodes rapidly with heat and food, one bite triggers all nearby ants and I know many species do that, however I have never seen it so prominent in any species in person as I do in S. invicta.
I know these ants are extremely invasive and terrible for native populations, and if it were my choice they would not exist in Florida. That being said, I think it is crazy to dismiss how cool these ants really actually are.. And how beautiful. The black and red together, their mannerisms and the fact they are explorers and curious make these ants fun to keep. Not to mention, as far as I know from what I have seen so far, they cannot beat a simple talcohol setup. Every ant I have seen has fallen. These may be escape artists with fluon but they aren't going anywhere with talcohol or baby powder.
All in all, if S. invicta live near you and you are even remotely curious, I recommend trying them. It's almost impossible for them not to found. It seems as if the ability to found is so powerful in invicta that light and even vibrations do not bother them at all. I probably overcheck my invicta more than any of my other ants because not only do they grow so fast you can see an impressive size difference in just a day, but they also do not care if you do. I'm sure there's a limit on that, however.. I just haven't hit it yet.
I could go into heavy detail on these ants but I'm not sure how many people are even interested in invicta so I will leave it at that and if anyone has questions I would be interested in answering them, if I know the answer of course.
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