2454 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

I went to the Big Bear area, and dig up eleven Pogonomyrmex montanus queens today.

[BugFinder]

Wow that's fabulous Drew!  congratulations!!  What's your queen count now?

[nurbs]

Drew found way more than me. I went up there looking for ravida and found one montanus. I wonder if they have flown.

[nurbs]

Well, I went up to the mountains today and flipped rocks. One had a Formica moki colony under it with alates still so I guess they haven't flown.

 

I noticed that as well Greg. But there were a few that I think have flown (like subpolitas)

[nurbs]

I went to the Big Bear area, and dig up eleven Pogonomyrmex montanus queens today.

 

Keep them in a cool place! I have mine in the AC room.

[Foogoo]

Lake Los Angeles and Landers are receiving cells of moisture, the gauge at Brian Ranch Airport reporting 0.23". To sleep in Saturday or go anting... 

[dspdrew]

Lake Los Angeles and Landers are receiving cells of moisture, the gauge at Brian Ranch Airport reporting 0.23". To sleep in Saturday or go anting... 

 

I know you're probably thinking about it since you missed out on all the fun last week. I'm only going if I see the area near Joshua Tree get lots of rain.

 

 

 

I went to the Big Bear area, and dig up eleven Pogonomyrmex montanus queens today.

 

Keep them in a cool place! I have mine in the AC room.

 

 

  There is no cool place in my apartment. I think only desert species are going to survive here.

[Foogoo]

 

Lake Los Angeles and Landers are receiving cells of moisture, the gauge at Brian Ranch Airport reporting 0.23". To sleep in Saturday or go anting... 

 

I know you're probably thinking about it since you missed out on all the fun last week. I'm only going if I see the area near Joshua Tree get lots of rain.

Of course! Why? Are you looking for a particular species? Aren't most of the Pogonomyrmex and Honeypot species around the high desert too?

[dspdrew]

Well, I pretty much got all I want of the ants that are flying at the moment, with the exception of a few of the more unique Myrmecocystus species I found. I'm mainly waiting for Acromyrmex to fly right now. After another week or two go by, I'll probably be ready to go back out looking again, since there might be some different species flying.

[nurbs]

Well, I pretty much got all I want of the ants that are flying at the moment, with the exception of a few of the more unique Myrmecocystus species I found. I'm mainly waiting for Acromyrmex to fly right now. After another week or two go by, I'll probably be ready to go back out looking again, since there might be some different species flying.

 

 

Drew do you think more mexicanus will fly?

[dspdrew]

Maybe, but not many if it's a spot that got a lot of rain during that last bunch of storms. If it's a place that didn't get much rain last time and did this time, then yeah I think they probably will.

[Foogoo]

Looks like Twentynine Palms is getting some rain:

 

I'm thinking of maybe checking out southern Palmdale area, since it's marginally closer and I only have Saturday free:

 

Edit: Vasquez Rocks also looks promising.

Edited by Foogoo, July 30 2015 - 2:05 PM.

[BugFinder]

Where do you get those radar maps foogoo?

[Foogoo]

I actually got the source originally from Drew, but it's Wundermap.

[BugFinder]

So do you look for yellow on those maps or is green enough rain to get them flying?

[dspdrew]

You need lots of orange and red in one spot for quite some time to get enough rain usually.

[BugFinder]

Can you see the future forecast?  All I see is what has happened in the past.

[Foogoo]

How rare is it to find P. californicus bicolor in urban areas? I was under the impression they're mostly in the desert like V. pergandei but I saw what I believe is a bicolor colony in the city the other day.

[dspdrew]

Well they are all over populated areas in the desert actually. Not highly populated, but similar to most of Riverside. I'm sure it's possible to find them anywhere around the greater Los Angeles area, but I don't think it's very likely much of any distance south of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains, or West of the San Jacinto Mountains. Sometimes the ones right on the border seem like a mix of bicolor and concolorous. These are just my observations, but I've looked around these areas a LOT. Things might have been different many years ago. I've only been into this for about two and a half years.

 

V. pergandei BTW, is all over the Riverside area, not just the desert.

[Foogoo]

What species have you had luck with in the Sept-Oct timeframe? It looks like from the Mating Chart there's a possibility some may still fly that late, assuming we get at least one more good downpour.