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Anyone Name Their Queens?


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10 replies to this topic

#1 Offline cap_backfire - Posted July 7 2021 - 9:39 AM

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OK so this may stem from me starting my ant keeping journey, like many of us have, with AntsCanada.   I don't name the colonies but the queens are hit or miss as far as naming.   I named my first colonies' queens Lucy (Camponotus Discolor), Ethel (Camponotus Novaboreancis) and Delilah (Camponotus Chromaiodes).   I honestly don't remember her species just now... I'm a bad dad.   Also she may have escaped.  

 

I need to come up with names for my Trachymyrmex queen (But I have 3 queens at LEAST in that colony) and my Formica Queen.   

Anyway, do you guys name your queens?   I feel like it's appropriate since they can live 30 years.   

 

Thoughts?  


Edited by cap_backfire, July 7 2021 - 9:42 AM.


#2 Offline Kaelwizard - Posted July 7 2021 - 9:49 AM

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Many people in the forum do. I know ANTdrew has Norse(?) mythology themed names.
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#3 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 7 2021 - 10:24 AM

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Yes, I do Norse names for all my queens.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#4 Offline DDD101DDD - Posted July 7 2021 - 10:28 AM

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Personally I don't, mainly because I don't think of my ants as I would a dog or something.


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He travels, he seeks the p a r m e s a n.


#5 Offline Spazmops - Posted July 7 2021 - 10:51 AM

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I name a few of my queens. I've stopped naming them until they actually have colonies though. 


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Co-owner and founder of Mountain Myrmeculture and The Menagerie Discord Server

Ants I have:

1 Formica fusca group- 0 workers

1 Tetramorium immigrans colony-20 workers

1 Dorymyrmex insanus- 1 queen, used to have workers

 

1 large P. occidentalis colony- around 50 workers, plenty of brood

 

 


#6 Offline cap_backfire - Posted July 7 2021 - 11:34 AM

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ANTDrew, I've seen this in your discussions about your colonies.   Great theme.  

 

DDD, you just need to teach them to fetch!   I mean... mine won't bring things to ME yet but they definitely go get whatever I put in their formicarium! 

 

Spazmops, this is a very good policy.   Keeps you from getting attached!   


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#7 Offline Manitobant - Posted July 7 2021 - 2:19 PM

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I’ve thought about naming a polyergus queen after the mamluks, which were islamic slave soldiers that did plenty of enslaving themselves. Perhaps “Baibars” (a famous ruler of the mamluk sultanate) or “sultana” (just the female form of sultan) would work.
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#8 Offline Nanahira - Posted July 7 2021 - 2:39 PM

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I often name my queens after anime girls. This reminds me that I have to feed Megumin later today.


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#9 Offline TestSubjectOne - Posted July 7 2021 - 6:49 PM

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When I was starting antkeeping, I had three Novomessor cockerelli queens. I named the fastest growing two of them "Hippolyta" and "Metis", well researched names from Greek mythology that reflected their personalities. The final queen, who was unremarkable and had mediocre brood growth, I just called "Queen two". As you can imagine, the two star queens died within a few months, and my remaining colony is that of queen two, the boring queen. While I think that naming queens is a good idea in principle, I would highly suggest that you follow Spazmop's advice and wait until you get workers before you name your queens, as it will narrow down the amount of work you need to put into it by a lot.


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TestSubjectOne's Experiences in Antkeeping General Journal

 

Currently Keeping:

- Veromessor pergandei (1 queen, 600 workers)

- Novomessor cockerelli (1 queen, 200 workers)

- Myrmecocystus mexicanus (1 queen, 100 workers)

- Brachymyrmex patagonicus (3 queens?, 2,000 workers? & alates)

- Crematogaster sp. (1 queen, 600 workers)

- Liometopum occidentale (1 queen, 800 workers)

- Camponotus absqualator (1 queen, 130 workers)


#10 Offline ANTdrew - Posted July 8 2021 - 3:22 AM

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When I was starting antkeeping, I had three Novomessor cockerelli queens. I named the fastest growing two of them "Hippolyta" and "Metis", well researched names from Greek mythology that reflected their personalities. The final queen, who was unremarkable and had mediocre brood growth, I just called "Queen two". As you can imagine, the two star queens died within a few months, and my remaining colony is that of queen two, the boring queen. While I think that naming queens is a good idea in principle, I would highly suggest that you follow Spazmop's advice and wait until you get workers before you name your queens, as it will narrow down the amount of work you need to put into it by a lot.

Exactly. I usually collect more than one of a species I keep the most productive queen and sell the rest. I only name the most productive queen I keep. Nothing is guaranteed, though, so you’ll always have disappointments. Myrmy’s Law.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#11 Offline strawnkayden1 - Posted July 8 2021 - 8:26 AM

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I’ll name mine when I can command mine to do things.
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