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Posted February 23 2015 - 5:07 PM
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So we just got dumped on here in Glendale, AZ. The mating chart doesn't really show any species that fly in February, but I'm hopeful that there might be nuptial flights tomorrow. Sadly we are going to be at the Phoenix Zoo. I'm taking some small containers with wet cotton and a cooler tomorrow just in case. Anyone from the Phoenix Valley have good places to go anting?
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Posted February 23 2015 - 5:20 PM
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You never know, it won't hurt to be prepared. I'm familiar with the location of that zoo and it's surrounded by campsites right there in the foothills. If its a decent day out I'd go walk some of the dirt trails and see what type of ants you see. It could be a decent anting spot later on in the spring/summer 
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Posted February 23 2015 - 7:16 PM
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There were already flights in the desert here, I would look out for Veromessor pergandei, Myrmecocystus yuma, and Myrmecocystus testaceus.
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Posted March 20 2015 - 8:37 AM
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We had some good rain yesterday so I went out to see if anything had flown. I found everything but ant queens. A ground nesting bee queen who had just dug her nest, a lot of what looked like caterpillars and some large nests of some kind of ant. They were big, black and very active. I will admit, I might not have been digging deep enough as the soil was more clay than anything else.
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Posted March 20 2015 - 9:41 AM
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We had some good rain yesterday so I went out to see if anything had flown. I found everything but ant queens. A ground nesting bee queen who had just dug her nest, a lot of what looked like caterpillars and some large nests of some kind of ant. They were big, black and very active. I will admit, I might not have been digging deep enough as the soil was more clay than anything else.
As I've told you, I'm nearby. I think the flights will happen this afternoon and tonight. It never warmed up yesterday, and the ants were preoccupied with digging themselves out.
PhD Student & NSF Graduate Research Fellow | University of Florida Dept. of Entomology & Nematology - Lucky Ant Lab
Founder & Director of The Ant Network. Ant keeper since 2009. Insect ecologist and science communicator. He/Him.
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Posted March 20 2015 - 10:16 AM
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You are quite right. I had the time this morning so I took it the chance. Tomorrow I'm busy all day, so it was this morning or Sunday.
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Posted March 20 2015 - 10:36 AM
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You are quite right. I had the time this morning so I took it the chance. Tomorrow I'm busy all day, so it was this morning or Sunday.
Keep a tube on you! I haven't seen any alates, but the conditions seem so perfect...
PhD Student & NSF Graduate Research Fellow | University of Florida Dept. of Entomology & Nematology - Lucky Ant Lab
Founder & Director of The Ant Network. Ant keeper since 2009. Insect ecologist and science communicator. He/Him.
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