24 replies to this topic

[Manitobant]

As the weather gets colder and the 2021 anting season comes to a close, i feel that it is time to make my yearly “highlights of the season” thread. This is a thread for talking about our biggest catches, discoveries, achievements and overall highlights of the season.

Like always, i will start:


2021 has definitely been my best anting season in terms of the quantity of queens caught. I probably caught close to 500 queens of various species, including 70 parasitic lasius queens, 175 myrmica queens and 50 formica queens. I also caught 2 polyergus colonies, successfully founded parasitic lasius and found crematogaster, which is a new record for manitoba.

[Antkeeper01]

This has been my best season because I have applied for a permit for 6 species which are Myrmecocystus navajo, Myrmecocystus mexicanus, Myrmecocystus mimicus, Myrmecocystus mendax, Myrmecocystus placodops, and Pogonomyrmex rugosus it was applied for a month ago 3 days ago and it hasn't even gone into scientific review yet sooooo. But vie found lots of species I've never seen before and that's great and I now have a place for Pheidole flights.

[ANTdrew]

2021 wasn’t that great for me in terms of ants. I’d say the highlight was learning how to find Aphaenogaster queens by blacklighting at dawn. Another highlight was watching my big Crematogaster colony stage a nuptial flight on my patio. I also got two other species to alates, Pheidole bicarinata and Nylanderia vividula.

[NickAnter]

2021 was an incredible year for me.

I caught around 30 Strumigenys queens, caught a bunch of parasitic Lasius, along with so many other species.

 

I have also finally managed to get Hypoponera to lay eggs, and get a stable Temnothorax colony. I have also gotten a hopefully stable Solenopsis truncorum colony. I was able to get a polygynous Solenopsis "plebeius" colony to over 300 workers as of now, and they grow all year. I was able to get a parasitic Lasius queen to larvae, not sure if they will pupate before or after hibernation, and I also got an S. amblychila queen to lay eggs(sadly died). I was able to find Monomorium at over 7,000 feet in elevation, in a place far away from any records of the genus.

[CheetoLord02]

I got Pheidole rhea. I actually caught Pheidole rhea. And she didn't die! I still can't believe it, it feels like a crazy dream. 

I also got several more insane species that have become some of my favorite colonies ever, like Polyergus topoffi, Pheidole obtusospinosa, etc.

I even started a business! Starting arthropodantics.com was a crazy dream of mine but so far so good with it, so I suppose it's here to stay!

Furthermore, not necessarily related to ants, but I finally found a Scolopendra heros, which is amazing. I've been looking for one for like a year now!
 

[JamesJohnson]

It wasn't the best year, having only found one flight in all my searching, but I've learned a lot of stuff while doing so and am (hopefully) more prepared for next year. 

 

As for highlights I have to say finding Leptomyrmex darlingtoni was definitely up there. 

Edited by JamesJohnson, October 1 2021 - 2:37 PM.

[NancyZamora4991]

this my best year (first year) and I caught 80 Lasius queens, one parasitic formica(mold grew on it and I had no host workers) 3 infertile unknown queens, Pheidole and Aphaenogaster occedentals queens

 

[B_rad0806]

Early on I caught a bunch of Camponotus. Caught M. placodops which I spent a while figuring out where to catch, obtained A. versicolor, finally got a colony of N. cockerelli going, and caught a total of 116 P. rugosus this season. Sadly missed out on most Myrmecocystus this year due to a vacation, but I luckily made up for it with all them rugosus lol

Edited by B_rad0806, October 1 2021 - 9:18 PM.

[M_Ants]

Catching a yogi.

[Kaelwizard]

Back in Michigan I saw the most Prenolepis imparis I have seen in my life. After I moved to California I found a S. xyloni queen, who was sadly infertile, but it gives me hope for finding more next summer.

[Leptomyrmx]

It wasn't the best year, having only found one flight in all my searching, but I've learned a lot of stuff while doing so and am (hopefully) more prepared for next year. 

 

As for highlights I have to say finding Leptomyrmex darlingtoni was definitely up there. 

Queen or workers?

 

And aren't L. darlingtoni only found in parts of Australia?

 

And for me, I'm midway through the anting season, but on the first day of spring I found about 6 Iridomyrmex queens... actually not many seeing everyone saying that they found 500 queens in a few months...

Can't wait for summer though so I can catch some night-flying species, and for lockdown to end so I can go into the desert and see what I can find there.

[antgallery]

Maybe not the greatest but I found a lasius queen. 

[mmcguffi]

I've been trying to get Atta texana for the past 3 years, and this year I finally caught the main flight and successfully raised a number of colonies  

[JamesJohnson]

 

It wasn't the best year, having only found one flight in all my searching, but I've learned a lot of stuff while doing so and am (hopefully) more prepared for next year. 

 

As for highlights I have to say finding Leptomyrmex darlingtoni was definitely up there. 

Queen or workers?

 

And aren't L. darlingtoni only found in parts of Australia?

Workers only. I found them in a (mostly) undisturbed part of Hawaii near a waterfall. Seeing ho they forage was quite cool. There were thousands of them each foraging in a specific spot individually, almost blanketing the terrain in ants, which was added upon immensely by their disposition.

[Leptomyrmx]

 

 

It wasn't the best year, having only found one flight in all my searching, but I've learned a lot of stuff while doing so and am (hopefully) more prepared for next year. 

 

As for highlights I have to say finding Leptomyrmex darlingtoni was definitely up there. 

Queen or workers?

 

And aren't L. darlingtoni only found in parts of Australia?

Workers only. I found them in a (mostly) undisturbed part of Hawaii near a waterfall. Seeing ho they forage was quite cool. There were thousands of them each foraging in a specific spot individually, almost blanketing the terrain in ants, which was added upon immensely by their disposition.

 

Wow, sounds amazing, that's another thing I'll do once I'm out of lockdown, spider and hunting with help from iNat. Guess we can't always trust antmaps! I thought they were only native to Australia. Maybe they're introduced there or something.

[ReignofRage]

Catching several Camponotus yogi.

[M_Ants]

Catching several Camponotus yogi.

You stole mine and did it better. 

[JamesJohnson]

I thought they were only native to Australia. Maybe they're introduced there or something.

There are no native ants to Hawaii, so probably yeah.

[ReignofRage]

 

Catching several Camponotus yogi.

You stole mine and did it better. 

 

You'll do better next year.

[Antkeeper01]

 

I thought they were only native to Australia. Maybe they're introduced there or something.

There are no native ants to Hawaii, so probably yeah.

 

if i am correct there is atleast like 1 sp of undescribed ant in Hawaii