248 replies to this topic

[Ants_Dakota]

Hello and welcome! Tetramorium immigrans will be flying soon and they are a super easy species to keep, so keep an eye out for them (you can check out RushmoreAnts journal to know more: https://www.formicul...325/?p=242217).I also have colonies of Camponotus vicinius, Camponotus novaeboracensis, Camponotus modoc, and Camponotus herculeanus as well as other cool anting gear for sale on my shop here if you want to jumpstart your ant keeping journey (the Camponotus are not public yet, so you get the first shot at a queen as you are local)! Other than that, let me know if you have any questions or recommendations for good camping/anting spots!

[RushmoreAnts]

Howdy! New member here and beginning my ant based journey. In Spearfish, South Dakota and in the process of trying to find a queen but I’ve had very little luck!


If anyone has any species suggestions or advice please tell me!

Welcome! A pleasure to see another South Dakotan after so long. The Black Hills is the most diverse place in the state, so I envy you, but in particular Ants_Dakota and I have had the most luck in Custer State Park. Formica and Temnothorax flights begin in July, so be on the lookout for that!

 

In terms of finding queens, look on pavement (where they're easiest to see), preferably in natural areas with abundant forests and/or prairie (shouldn't be too difficult to find in Spearfish) within 24 hours of a rainstorm, or when humidity is unusually high. 

 

You could also try your hand at blacklighting.

 

Black-Lighting Public Journal - General Anting - Ants & Myrmecology Forum

[CharmyAnts]

Thank you guys for the help! It is supposed to rain more and increase in temperature the next few days. So I’m assuming that will be my window in finding one?

I would really really love to work with Pogonomyrmex or Camponotus! But I can’t really be too picky and I can’t really seem to find harvester ants in this part of the state too often lol

[Ants_Dakota]

Thank you guys for the help! It is supposed to rain more and increase in temperature the next few days. So I’m assuming that will be my window in finding one?

I would really really love to work with Pogonomyrmex or Camponotus! But I can’t really be too picky and I can’t really seem to find harvester ants in this part of the state too often lol

You are absolutely correct, after the next rainstorm, Tetramorium will likely be having their main flights. I'm not sure how established they are over there, but you should be able to find at least one. The season for catching Camponotus is drawing to a close, but you could be lucky and catch a straggler queen or two after this next rainstorm. You can also look for founding chambers under rocks in the Black Hills or purchase a queen from my shop (I just updated it!). Pogonomyrmex are a little harder to find, but you are in the right location. The largest population likely resides in the Badlands, so frequent that area during these next two months. They are easier to predict, because, as a desert species, their flights are almost always directly after a rainstorm, although populations can vary and I have no experience with the badlands one. Keep an eye on the forcast and good luck!
Ants_Dakota

[Ants_Dakota]

Hello again, everyone! Considering the amazing job Utah Ants has done with rallying a community of ant keepers on his Facebook Utah Ant Keepers page, I thought it would be a good idea to emulate this for South Dakotan ant keepers. Unfortunately, this forum is not drawing as much traffic as it used to, so this is a great way to stay connected in an informal way. Looking forward to the informative time we will have there! South Dakotan Ant Keepers | Facebook

[RushmoreAnts]

I joined. Great start!

[amerikansturm]

I’m happy you guys got a FB group! I am looking for something like that for Montana Antkeepers now lol

[Ants_Dakota]

I’m happy you guys got a FB group! I am looking for something like that for Montana Antkeepers now lol

Thank you! Good luck in your search!

[RushmoreAnts]

Lasius brevicornis, Lasius neoniger, and Solenopsis molesta flew in Sioux Falls today. Ants_Dakota and I collected around 200 queens across 3 species. We could have collected many more, but didn't want to overwhelm ourselves. At the neoniger colony we observed, males begin poking their heads out of the nest at a little after 6 PM, and they all launched at once at exactly 7:00 PM CST.

 

brevicornis queens mated and landed in under 5 minutes. Queens didn't fly far from their parent nests. They landed as close to the parent nests as possible and were accepted back inside. The brevicornis colony we observed released thousands of queens, and hundreds were accepted back into the supercolony, which itself must have thousands of queens. Lasius males were observed fighting each other over queens several times.

 

We found brevicornis and neoniger queens everywhere we looked, although the Solenopsis molesta queens only existed in small, sporadic pockets on sidewalks and at the ends of driveways. It seems the Tetra hunting parties prevented the tiny, slow queens from congregating in their territory. The Lasius queens were more capable of running away from and evading the Tetras, so they could be found in Tetra territory as well.

 

All three species are now ON SALE at DIRT CHEAP PRICES HERE! Ships NATIONWIDE!

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, August 18 2025 - 7:20 PM.