226 replies to this topic

[DakotaDubs]

Anybody finding more tetramorium? Last year I saw a ton (by a ton I mean about half a dozen a couple days in a row) on my morning walks (about 9AM) beginning like in early June but I haven't seen a single queen this year.  I feel like either I missed them or the weather has delayed their flight.  Also I'm never sure if being west vs east river affects flights

RIP i jus seen youre in rapid, they're flying out here like crazy. I'm kinda mad I didn't get into ant keeping when i lived out there. I always wondered what kind of ants the hills are hiding.

[Ants_Dakota]

Anybody finding more tetramorium? Last year I saw a ton (by a ton I mean about half a dozen a couple days in a row) on my morning walks (about 9AM) beginning like in early June but I haven't seen a single queen this year. I feel like either I missed them or the weather has delayed their flight. Also I'm never sure if being west vs east river affects flights

Yup I saw a queen just today, if you want I can catch one and send it to you. I personally don't keep them but they are very abundant here.

[Ants_Dakota]

Anybody finding more tetramorium? Last year I saw a ton (by a ton I mean about half a dozen a couple days in a row) on my morning walks (about 9AM) beginning like in early June but I haven't seen a single queen this year. I feel like either I missed them or the weather has delayed their flight. Also I'm never sure if being west vs east river affects flights

RIP i jus seen youre in rapid, they're flying out here like crazy. I'm kinda mad I didn't get into ant keeping when i lived out there. I always wondered what kind of ants the hills are hiding.

Oh a ton from my anting experience there. I really want to get some parasitic formica when I head out there.

[MinifigGaloreStore]

anything new guys? I think tetramorium are flying currently, have found two queens in the past two days, one of em was getting beat up pretty bad by some other ants and she had some mites so i had to brush her down with a soft bristle toothbrush and now she's being quarantined for good measure, hope yall are having some luck. i also don't plan on keeping more than maybe three Sp. so if anybody is interested in Pennsylvannicus or tetramorium let it be known, only cost would be to cover the test tube id be giving you them in.

At first I thought tetramorium were lame, but I grew an appreciation for them after watching an antscanada video.

They're like piranhas haha.

I haven't seen anything, but haven't been looking that hard either. My bed always sounds better than looking for ants in the morning.

My evenings after the kids go to bed are usually swamped with various online hobby reselling activities, picking, packing and shipping stuff.
As silly as it sounds, I honestly don't know where I'd put a colony right now even though they only take the space of a test tube early on.
Was still hoping to find a queen to kind of force myself to make space for them.

We're heading to the river, whitlocks area, this weekend for a week and I'm hoping against all odds to find a Pogonomyrmex queen since their mounds are abundant there.

Tetramorium has been my 2nd choice ever since watching that video. I even had one in my eBay cart, but decided not to buy for the aforementioned reasons.
If you end up having multiple fertile tetramorium, I would potentially be interested. I even have a bunch of empty antscanada test-tube from my fb marketplace find so I could trade you an empty for a queen one.
-I'd also throw in $20 since I was nearly willing to pay $30 to have one shipped to me + the reselling hobby will cover that.

-Not quite ready to commit though, so don't hold it for me. If anyone else is interested, give them first dibs.

[DakotaDubs]

 

anything new guys? I think tetramorium are flying currently, have found two queens in the past two days, one of em was getting beat up pretty bad by some other ants and she had some mites so i had to brush her down with a soft bristle toothbrush and now she's being quarantined for good measure, hope yall are having some luck. i also don't plan on keeping more than maybe three Sp. so if anybody is interested in Pennsylvannicus or tetramorium let it be known, only cost would be to cover the test tube id be giving you them in.

At first I thought tetramorium were lame, but I grew an appreciation for them after watching an antscanada video.

They're like piranhas haha.

I haven't seen anything, but haven't been looking that hard either. My bed always sounds better than looking for ants in the morning.

My evenings after the kids go to bed are usually swamped with various online hobby reselling activities, picking, packing and shipping stuff.
As silly as it sounds, I honestly don't know where I'd put a colony right now even though they only take the space of a test tube early on.
Was still hoping to find a queen to kind of force myself to make space for them.

We're heading to the river, whitlocks area, this weekend for a week and I'm hoping against all odds to find a Pogonomyrmex queen since their mounds are abundant there.

Tetramorium has been my 2nd choice ever since watching that video. I even had one in my eBay cart, but decided not to buy for the aforementioned reasons.
If you end up having multiple fertile tetramorium, I would potentially be interested. I even have a bunch of empty antscanada test-tube from my fb marketplace find so I could trade you an empty for a queen one.
-I'd also throw in $20 since I was nearly willing to pay $30 to have one shipped to me + the reselling hobby will cover that.

-Not quite ready to commit though, so don't hold it for me. If anyone else is interested, give them first dibs.

 

will do, I for certain have one extra as of right now, my first tetra hasnt laid yet and doesnt seem to be doing the best currently so I'm down to two, ill keep my eyes out for you, I walk home from work at 6am so I'm always out looking.  What really drew me to tetras was people saying you don't necessarily need to hibernate them, gives me something to do in the winter months while the other hibernate.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

anything new guys? I think tetramorium are flying currently, have found two queens in the past two days, one of em was getting beat up pretty bad by some other ants and she had some mites so i had to brush her down with a soft bristle toothbrush and now she's being quarantined for good measure, hope yall are having some luck. i also don't plan on keeping more than maybe three Sp. so if anybody is interested in Pennsylvannicus or tetramorium let it be known, only cost would be to cover the test tube id be giving you them in.

At first I thought tetramorium were lame, but I grew an appreciation for them after watching an antscanada video.
They're like piranhas haha.
I haven't seen anything, but haven't been looking that hard either. My bed always sounds better than looking for ants in the morning.
My evenings after the kids go to bed are usually swamped with various online hobby reselling activities, picking, packing and shipping stuff.
As silly as it sounds, I honestly don't know where I'd put a colony right now even though they only take the space of a test tube early on.
Was still hoping to find a queen to kind of force myself to make space for them.
We're heading to the river, whitlocks area, this weekend for a week and I'm hoping against all odds to find a Pogonomyrmex queen since their mounds are abundant there.
Tetramorium has been my 2nd choice ever since watching that video. I even had one in my eBay cart, but decided not to buy for the aforementioned reasons.
If you end up having multiple fertile tetramorium, I would potentially be interested. I even have a bunch of empty antscanada test-tube from my fb marketplace find so I could trade you an empty for a queen one.
-I'd also throw in $20 since I was nearly willing to pay $30 to have one shipped to me + the reselling hobby will cover that.
-Not quite ready to commit though, so don't hold it for me. If anyone else is interested, give them first dibs.

Yes I have 6 or 7 I would be willing to give you for free, so just let me know. 

Edited by Ants_Dakota, June 30 2023 - 6:48 AM.

[Ants_Dakota]

Deleted(repeat)

Edited by Ants_Dakota, June 30 2023 - 6:48 AM.

[amerikansturm]

Hey an update on the tetras.  I was working in the yard early this week and accidentally flipped a rock that hides a tetra nest and I saw alates running around a tunnel.  And the next day I did find a tetra queen on my morning walk!  Also a war broke out between two colonies during that same walk so I'm not sure if that was pre or post flight.  Haven't seen any queens since but it's been raining a LOT here and been colder than normal.  My queen hasn't laid yet.

[Ants_Dakota]

Hey an update on the tetras.  I was working in the yard early this week and accidentally flipped a rock that hides a tetra nest and I saw alates running around a tunnel.  And the next day I did find a tetra queen on my morning walk!  Also a war broke out between two colonies during that same walk so I'm not sure if that was pre or post flight.  Haven't seen any queens since but it's been raining a LOT here and been colder than normal.  My queen hasn't laid yet.

I suppose i should let all South Dakotan's know but I have tetramorium, Lasius neoniger, and Lasius brevicornis(the latter two with workers) colonies available for sale or trade(or free in the case of tetramorium) if anyone is interested. As for the war, it appears that tetramorium opporate similar to the ancient world in that every spring colonies gear up and head out for war on their rivals. Sometimes even Lasius neoniger gets involved, which is fascinating. I believe the last of the flights happened in the Sioux Falls area(due to no alates present in a nest by my house), but who knows, it did just rain today and maybe another flight will happen.

[DakotaDubs]

 

Hey an update on the tetras.  I was working in the yard early this week and accidentally flipped a rock that hides a tetra nest and I saw alates running around a tunnel.  And the next day I did find a tetra queen on my morning walk!  Also a war broke out between two colonies during that same walk so I'm not sure if that was pre or post flight.  Haven't seen any queens since but it's been raining a LOT here and been colder than normal.  My queen hasn't laid yet.

I suppose i should let all South Dakotan's know but I have tetramorium, Lasius neoniger, and Lasius brevicornis(the latter two with workers) colonies available for sale or trade(or free in the case of tetramorium) if anyone is interested. As for the war, it appears that tetramorium opporate similar to the ancient world in that every spring colonies gear up and head out for war on their rivals. Sometimes even Lasius neoniger gets involved, which is fascinating. I believe the last of the flights happened in the Sioux Falls area(due to no alates present in a nest by my house), but who knows, it did just rain today and maybe another flight will happen.

 

These photos are for Ants_Dakota because I'm too dimwitted to figure out how to send photos over DM (sorry guys). As stated, I'm fairly certain the winged queen is the same as the other two non winged queens but its hard to tell because she refuses to shed her wings. The other I said i suspected was solenopsis but I've had some people try to ID as well and they think its some type of componotus which actually really excites me cause up to this point I've only ever been able to find pennsylvannicus. If youre interested in any of those three queens for trade ants_dakota I'm super interested in the brevicornis colony. As for everyone else if you want one of the other queens let me know and we can figure something out, i have 3 pennsylvannicus, 1 tetra, and 2 mystery queens id be willing to give to good homes. Good luck and happy anting everyone

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[Virginian_ants]

The first dealate is a Camponotus of don't type and the second is a Formica. The one with wings might be a Formica.

[Ants_Dakota]

The first pictures are all of camponotus and the second is formica, as virginian_ants mentioned. Fusca group is the best guess for formica I have, although maybe search subsericea as it seems larger and see if it looks similar.

[DakotaDubs]

I think I've got the Camponotus

 

The first dealate is a Camponotus of don't type and the second is a Formica. The one with wings might be a Formica.

After some research on the camponotus I'm stuck on either bicolor or decipiens but am leaning more bicolor cause the only red she has is on her thorax, her gaster and head are black.

[Ants_Dakota]

Interesting, I have never kept or heard of that species before, I will be following!

[amerikansturm]

Just caught a Formica fusca group queen but she is winged. Literally only been 10 minutes or so so she’s still a bit wound up pulling at cotton etc. how long should I wait to see if she settles down and is fertile? This is only the second queen I’ve seen outside a nest this year and have never caught a fusca group before so really excited and hope she’s mated!

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[amerikansturm]

Just caught a Formica fusca group queen but she is winged. Literally only been 10 minutes or so so she’s still a bit wound up pulling at cotton etc. how long should I wait to see if she settles down and is fertile? This is only the second queen I’ve seen outside a nest this year and have never caught a fusca group before so really excited and hope she’s mated!

I will try to get a less blurry pic shortly

[ANTdrew]

Leave her a week and see what happens.

[amerikansturm]

Yea will do. Haven’t checked on her since yesterday but last night she seemed pretty calm finally

[Ants_Dakota]

Yea will do. Haven’t checked on her since yesterday but last night she seemed pretty calm finally

Keep in mind these queens can live for years when not mated... I still have one from over a year ago that never laid eggs...

[amerikansturm]

Yea will do. Haven’t checked on her since yesterday but last night she seemed pretty calm finally

Keep in mind these queens can live for years when not mated... I still have one from over a year ago that never laid eggs...

Oh wow ok. When’s the best time of day to find this species? I was surprised to find her in the morning. I’m also trying to keep an eye out for Formica dakotensis? I think… reddish Orange field ants. Also not sure if they’re parasites or not. I think Obscuripes already flew probably… but tried that last year or the year before and failed miserably. Maybe I need pupae instead of workers though from fusca to found one
Btw Tetramorium is still flying west river. Saw another queen today on the sidewalk.