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Price tag for Neivamyrmex colony?


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12 replies to this topic

#1 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted May 31 2020 - 3:36 AM

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Friends,

As I head out for another day of transecting East Tennessee looking for Tapinoma sessile and more specifically males I thought I would ask,

"How much would a Neivamyrmex opacithorax colony bring on the market"?

 

I am not selling of course but after looking at some prices of established ant colonies, often in the 100's$ I am curious,

How much would you spend on a colony?

 

 

Make it a great day!!


Edited by PurdueEntomology, May 31 2020 - 3:37 AM.

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#2 Offline FSTP - Posted May 31 2020 - 5:41 AM

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It seem ant pricing and what you can charge seems to do more with who you are and your status in the anting community rather than a set market price for a given species. 

 

I won't comment on what I think a certain species is worth. Since it seems the old saying "its worth what someone is willing to pay" is highly applicable in the anting community. 


Edited by FSTP, May 31 2020 - 5:42 AM.

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#3 Offline AntsDakota - Posted May 31 2020 - 5:53 AM

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I’d say several hundred, although I wouldn’t spend that much on one colony. Also wouldn’t want to care for such a demanding colony, anyways........

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#4 Offline Ants_Dakota - Posted May 31 2020 - 6:02 AM

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It seem ant pricing and what you can charge seems to do more with who you are and your status in the anting community rather than a set market price for a given species. 

 

I won't comment on what I think a certain species is worth. Since it seems the old saying "its worth what someone is willing to pay" is highly applicable in the anting community. 

that quote is really cool! I love it!  I would say charge for the highest you would buy it for.


Edited by Ants_Dakota, May 31 2020 - 6:03 AM.

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Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8

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Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)


#5 Offline TennesseeAnts - Posted May 31 2020 - 9:10 AM

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I've spent some time oberving and collecting Neivamyrmex colonies, and they're not hard to collect, but do take a considerable amount of time. I find them under logs and rocks, so it's quite easy to scoop the bivoac into a large Rubbermaid bin, and sort them from the leaf litter from there. Then it takes several hours to move them into a proper setup (lab style petri dish nests in my case), and they take a considerable amount of food brood, which takes quite a bit of time to collect. 

 

I'd charge $350-$400 for a colony. Hopefully that price would deter any beginners, and ensure I get someone with experience and the proper knowhow. I would also rarely sell colonies. Maybe once every couple years, as they do not have nuptial flights, and must bud from the parent colony, taking half the workforce. 

 

Hope that helps!


Edited by Ant_Dude2908, May 31 2020 - 9:12 AM.

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#6 Offline ponerinecat - Posted May 31 2020 - 9:30 AM

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I feel they would be somewhat easy to breed in captivity if all the normal conditions (food, waste, etc) can be met, considering the more subdued mating habits compared to the mass flights of other species. Males seem to be relatively common in the right environment and conditions, and then its just a matter of introducing them to new queens.


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#7 Offline Superant33 - Posted May 31 2020 - 9:56 AM

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At least a few hundred dollars. I would not be a buyer. Raiding invicta nests for brood is easy enough. But in the Texas heat? Nope, not for me. I also wouldn’t buy based upon my own beliefs. Army ants are way beyond the capabilities of most people. Selling them would usually be a death sentence.
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#8 Offline gcsnelling - Posted May 31 2020 - 2:01 PM

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Hmmm I made a comment earlier and it is gone, ahh well. 



#9 Offline gcsnelling - Posted May 31 2020 - 2:09 PM

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I feel they would be somewhat easy to breed in captivity if all the normal conditions (food, waste, etc) can be met, considering the more subdued mating habits compared to the mass flights of other species. Males seem to be relatively common in the right environment and conditions, and then its just a matter of introducing them to new queens.

Breeding I suspect would not be as easy as you think, partly because male and workers are in most cases not associated as a result there is not telling what males belongs to what queen, provided you can find a virgin queen. Even the males of common species like nigrescens need dissection to confirm species identification.There are only a couple species which can easily be identified with out surgery.

To my knowledge there is no evidence that virgin queens will mate with males from the same colony. There is some evidence however that the queens do mate with multiple males. This may turn out to be the norm rather than the exception and could further complicate things..


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#10 Offline AntsDakota - Posted May 31 2020 - 4:48 PM

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I feel they would be somewhat easy to breed in captivity if all the normal conditions (food, waste, etc) can be met, considering the more subdued mating habits compared to the mass flights of other species. Males seem to be relatively common in the right environment and conditions, and then its just a matter of introducing them to new queens.


Breeding I suspect would not be as easy as you think, partly because male and workers are in most cases not associated as a result there is not telling what males belongs to what queen, provided you can find a virgin queen. Even the males of common species like nigrescens need dissection to confirm species identification.There are only a couple species which can easily be identified with out surgery.
To my knowledge there is no evidence that virgin queens will mate with males from the same colony. There is some evidence however that the queens do mate with multiple males. This may turn out to be the norm rather than the exception and could further complicate things..
Perhaps the way to tell if they’re the same species is to simply put the males in the out world. If they are indeed the same species, the workers will welcome them into the nest to mate. If they are of a different species, I would assume they would be eaten.

"God made..... all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. (including ants) And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 NIV version


#11 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted May 31 2020 - 5:41 PM

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Thank you all for your participation.  I found a N. nigrescens colony today, it was huge.  I left it alone but it was nice to have seen one.  It seems to me the workers of this species  are overall a bit larger than opacithorax.


Edited by PurdueEntomology, May 31 2020 - 5:42 PM.

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#12 Offline gcsnelling - Posted May 31 2020 - 5:43 PM

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I feel they would be somewhat easy to breed in captivity if all the normal conditions (food, waste, etc) can be met, considering the more subdued mating habits compared to the mass flights of other species. Males seem to be relatively common in the right environment and conditions, and then its just a matter of introducing them to new queens.


Breeding I suspect would not be as easy as you think, partly because male and workers are in most cases not associated as a result there is not telling what males belongs to what queen, provided you can find a virgin queen. Even the males of common species like nigrescens need dissection to confirm species identification.There are only a couple species which can easily be identified with out surgery.
To my knowledge there is no evidence that virgin queens will mate with males from the same colony. There is some evidence however that the queens do mate with multiple males. This may turn out to be the norm rather than the exception and could further complicate things..
Perhaps the way to tell if they’re the same species is to simply put the males in the out world. If they are indeed the same species, the workers will welcome them into the nest to mate. If they are of a different species, I would assume they would be eaten.

 

Not necessarily, I know of several cases where one species of male was found with a colony of another species.


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#13 Offline PurdueEntomology - Posted May 31 2020 - 5:46 PM

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Well as long as they can tell each other apart...


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