I have a bag full of leaves that I raked last fall - it has been slowly decomposing in my yard. Yesterday I realized that there is a Formica neorufibarbis colony living in there. The leaves have to go in the compost so I figured I'd harvest the colony. I've never done this before.
My thinking is that I'll put the whole bag of leaves into a large Rubbermaid bin, maybe put some fluon around edge (not sure if this will be effective though), and place the bin in a tray of water to create a moat to prevent escapees. Then slowly pull the leaves apart until I find the nest. Does this sound like sound strategy?
Can I use an insect aspirator if I am careful not to inhale and rather just create suction with my mouth? Or are aspirators a solid no with formic acid secreting species? Can I aspirate the queen?
Any advice would be appreciated!