34 replies to this topic

[AntsDakota]

I don't think alcohol would have any effect on an ant's brain (if they even found it edible), but I see your point, lol.

[Ants_Dakota]

I have also had a time where I was kayaking at the same time a Lasius Claviger nuptial flight was going on, and many of the ants had gotten stuck in the water, so I began fishing them out with a paddle! 

[FSTP]

At first I wasn't going to reply becasue I didn't think I really had anything "crazy" that I had captured a queen in. that's because it seemed fairly normal to me but upon further thought I guess it is at least not normal. But I went fishing once and it just so happened that some Pogonomyrmex californicus had flown earlier that day and there were queens digging and running al over the place. I didn't have my normal anting kit with me so I didn't have any catch cups. So I went looking in my van and I didn't have anything but what I did have was 10ml Pre-drawn Saline syringes I use to flush my IV medications. So I emptied 4 of them and proceeded to put as many queens as I could into those empty syringes. 

Edited by FSTP, February 16 2020 - 9:03 AM.

[AntsBC]

I've caught queens utilizing a few odd things.  Besides the fairly normal water bottles, zip lock bags, etc, I found a Formica pacifica queen at school once and kept her in my lunch bag the rest of the day.

 

There is also another story that sticks out in my mind:

 

A few years ago, while I was at a camp up in interior BC, I saw this parasitic Formica queen crawling around the ground.  All I had on me at the time was a Gatorade water bottle, so I kept her in it for the rest of the day.  When we got back to the camp, I smuggled her into the washroom and prepared her a better setup utilizing a different, clear water bottle.  Using wet paper towels to hydrate her, I managed to keep her alive for around five days until I took her home and prepared her a proper setup.  I remember visiting the washroom with this water bottle, twice a day, just to hydrate her.  I got a few curious glances, but luckily that was about it.  Fast forward two years, she now has around 15 biological workers.  Journal on her here!

 

Oh, and how could I forget this one.  One time, when I was in Calgary, I found a Formica ravida queen at a park me and my Dad were visiting before we flew home.  Using a zip lock bag, I managed to allude my dad and smuggle her into my suitcase.  While we were there, he even said that I wasn't allowed to bring any ants back home.  My inner-ant keeper was more powerful than his orders however.  The parasitic queen survived the flight and the ride home.  However, all the workers I grabbed from nearby colonies, that I found at the park, (to act as hosts), did not. (By the way, it's legal to carry queens past provincial lines in Canada).

Edited by AntsBC, February 16 2020 - 2:43 PM.

[Ants_Dakota]

I am sure that we all have our times when people look at us strangely for digging around in a trash can for a bottle to put a queen in!

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

awwww, that sucks

[ANTdrew]

I am sure that we all have our times when people look at us strangely for digging around in a trash can for a bottle to put a queen in!

People looked at me really weirdly this fall when I chased a Crematogaster queen almost into the women’s restroom at a park.

[NickAnter]

Hehe. One time, I was at my old school campus on the weekend, motionless crouched down, and taking pictures of ants, some person nervously asked if I was okay. And, one time, there was some Saturday school(I had no idea), so when I went, and I was walking on the field, they seemed to think I was an escaped student, even though I was clearly much older and taller. So one teacher actually came out of the office to ask me what I was doing.

[TennesseeAnts]

 

I am sure that we all have our times when people look at us strangely for digging around in a trash can for a bottle to put a queen in!

People looked at me really weirdly this fall when I chased a Crematogaster queen almost into the women’s restroom at a park.

 

Relatable...

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

lol the things we do for ants 

[ANTdrew]

Because Crematogaster...

[Da_NewAntOnTheBlock]

Because Camponotus 

[ponerinecat]

People stare at me crawling along logs and crouched over flipped rocks all the time. Even worse when they see a tube and vial contraption linking my mouth to the ground with small dots moving around inside.

[Ants_Dakota]

Or in my case when you nervously pretend you are not digging out 2 queens form a park(which i got, but they died) and a parks and rec truck rolls by...

[AntsDakota]

Me reaching up with a little butterfly net catching Lasius alates out of midair..... I always make sure no one's watching. (Why am I even saying this publicly?!)