Here is mine.
Tactical urban anting kit.
- aspirator
- test tubes prepared for queens
- vials
- loupe
- camera light
- cat treats (bait)
- candy (bait)
- honey(bait)
- soft tweezers
- myrmecophile& NASA badges are optional
am I missing anything?
Here is mine.
Tactical urban anting kit.
am I missing anything?
Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.
I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.
If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<.
No pics, but a belt bag with at least 2 pairs of latex gloves, a few cotton swabs, test tubes, cotton balls, and a couple plastic vials. In my backpack I have 2 black lights, some deli cups, other junk, my aspirator, a shovel, a screwdriver, and sometimes my 4 foot long net.
Current Colonies:
Cardiocondyla mauritanica (5 queens 35+ workers and 7 queens 15+ workers)
Monomorium ergatogyna (4 queens 200+ workers and 1 queen 150+ workers plus alate pupae)
Tetramorium immigrans (1 queen 200+ workers)
Pogonomyrmex rugosus (1 queen 13 workers)
Camponotus us-ca02 (1 queen 3 workers)
Tapinoma sessile (1 queen 3 workers)
Prenolepis imparis (1 queen plus brood)
Liometopum occidentale (1 queen plus brood)
Here is mine.
Tactical urban anting kit.
- aspirator
- test tubes prepared for queens
- vials
- loupe
- camera light
- cat treats (bait)
- candy (bait)
- honey(bait)
- soft tweezers
- myrmecophile& NASA badges are optional
am I missing anything?
Is that a filter for your aspirator? If so I'd love more details on that. Especially how it works for ants with formica acid.
Currently kept species
L. neoniger, P. occidentalis, C. modoc, C. novaeboracensis, T. immigrans, B. depilis, A. occidentalis, P. imparis
Previously kept species
T. rugatulus
Looking for
Myrmecocystus kennedyi, Myrmecocystus pyramicus, Myrmecocystus semirufus, Myrmecocystus testaceus
Pheidole californica, Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole inquilina, Solenopsis molesta, Crematogaster coarctata, Crematogaster mutans
Now that BioQuip is closed. I have no clue where to get an aspirator. I might need to invest in a loupe. I have never thought about bait. I also carry a little garden shovel, post its (I fold it to scope up the queens into the test tubes), and hammer.
Edited by aznphenom, May 13 2022 - 10:33 AM.
Wants (Please reach out if you have them for sale if you’re in the US): Acromyrmex Sp., Atta Mexicana, Cephalotes Sp., Myrmecocystus Sp (Prefer Mexicanus), Odontomachus Sp. (Prefer Desertorum), Pachycondyla Sp., Pheidole Sp (Prefer Rhea. The bigger the better. Not the tiny bicarinata), Pogonomyrmex Sp., Pseudomyrmex Sp. (Prefer the cute yellow ones)
Edited by ColAnt735, May 13 2022 - 11:53 AM.
Keeping ants since 2020
I keep:
Myrmicinae: Solenopsis molesta( 2 queens). Tetramorium immigrans ( 3 colonies with the biggest nearing 800 workers!),
Crematogaster cerasi ( 1 colony with a worker). Temnothorax curvispinosus ( 1 queen with colony of 2 workers).
Formicinae: Prenolepis imparis ( 2 single queen colonies). Lasius brevicornis ( 19 founding queens) haven't seen many journals of them. Lasius Neoniger (a founding queen).Formica incerta( 1 colony with 22 workers)
Previously kept: Pogonomyrmex occidentalis ( 1 colony with 9 workers).
As you can tell I like ants
Guard that Rose aspirator with your life, with Bioquip gone they are going to be nearly impossible to find.
Edited by gcsnelling, May 13 2022 - 2:40 PM.
Backpack (to store all this stuff)
Containers (for any colonies I collect or large Myrmecia queens)
Aspirator
Test tubes (sometimes)
Vials
Featherweight Forceps (I wish they were Myrmecia forceps)
Paper/Cotton (to make it easier to get ants into vials/tubes)
Grandmother (she's good at finding liftable rocks) (and I really only go anting near my grandparents' place since there's nothing interesting near me) (also she's not in the backpack)
Edited by Leptomyrmx, May 13 2022 - 3:42 PM.
Colonies: Camponotus humilior 1w, Opisthopsis rufithorax 6w, Aphaenogaster longiceps ~5w, Pheidole sp. ~150w 8m, Iridomyrmex sp. 2q ~20w, Maybe Solenopsis or Monomorium 5w, Brachyponera lutea 6w
Queens: Myrmecia brevinoda , Polyrhachis australis
Previously Kept: Colobopsis gasseri, Technomyrmex sp., Rhytidoponera victorae, Nylanderia cf. rosae
Key: Q = Queen, W = Worker, M = Major
Youtube Channel: Ants of Sydney - YouTube
Aspirator
vials
tubes
cotton
medical equipment
floral shovel
Camponotus dumertorum. 3 workers
lasius americanus x2 4 workers
Tetramorium immigrans eggs
Pheidole californica eggs
Nylanderia vividula eggs
Nothing wrong with "anting kits" All professional myrmecologists have essentially the same thing they take into the field.
I think that people can get frustrated and impatient about wanting a colony and fail to understand that digging up a colony is very difficult, will stress and probably kill the queen(s) what you get probably won't last that long.
That said if you have a positive ID on an invasive species dig away IMHO.
Thought keeping invasive ants has never seemed that fun to me. They tend to be messy and less interesting but that's just me.
Me? I'm anting in NYC mosty trying to get interesting videos of ants doing things like interacting with other ants and insects etc. I'm also looking for queens though that isn't what I expect when I go out.
Hence, good bait and lights matter most for my kit.
Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.
I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.
If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<.
That’s true anting then, even better finding cool ants in a bustling city.I think that people can get frustrated and impatient about wanting a colony and fail to understand that digging up a colony is very difficult, will stress and probably kill the queen(s) what you get probably won't last that long.
That said if you have a positive ID on an invasive species dig away IMHO.
Thought keeping invasive ants has never seemed that fun to me. They tend to be messy and less interesting but that's just me.
Me? I'm anting in NYC mosty trying to get interesting videos of ants doing things like interacting with other ants and insects etc. I'm also looking for queens though that isn't what I expect when I go out.
Hence, good bait and lights matter most for my kit.
Edited by ColAnt735, May 14 2022 - 4:51 AM.
Keeping ants since 2020
I keep:
Myrmicinae: Solenopsis molesta( 2 queens). Tetramorium immigrans ( 3 colonies with the biggest nearing 800 workers!),
Crematogaster cerasi ( 1 colony with a worker). Temnothorax curvispinosus ( 1 queen with colony of 2 workers).
Formicinae: Prenolepis imparis ( 2 single queen colonies). Lasius brevicornis ( 19 founding queens) haven't seen many journals of them. Lasius Neoniger (a founding queen).Formica incerta( 1 colony with 22 workers)
Previously kept: Pogonomyrmex occidentalis ( 1 colony with 9 workers).
As you can tell I like ants
As a rule of thumb I only take polygynous ant species or young colonies that I know I can collect every worker of. I take workers and brood from established colonies in order to boost my ant colonies.I believe it is completely fine to take workers and brood from established ant colonies and young colonies that you can get every worker of. When it comes to rare species I would never take them from the wild unless I found a queen without workers.
I agree with this. I think collecting colonies that are in annoying/inappropriate? places (e.g. your uncle's air conditioner) is ok too.
Although, digging up colonies is generally a pain anyway, and every colony I've collected has either escaped or died.
Edited by Leptomyrmx, May 14 2022 - 3:09 PM.
Colonies: Camponotus humilior 1w, Opisthopsis rufithorax 6w, Aphaenogaster longiceps ~5w, Pheidole sp. ~150w 8m, Iridomyrmex sp. 2q ~20w, Maybe Solenopsis or Monomorium 5w, Brachyponera lutea 6w
Queens: Myrmecia brevinoda , Polyrhachis australis
Previously Kept: Colobopsis gasseri, Technomyrmex sp., Rhytidoponera victorae, Nylanderia cf. rosae
Key: Q = Queen, W = Worker, M = Major
Youtube Channel: Ants of Sydney - YouTube
Containers. (for ants)
My body. (For walking)
A snack. (If I get hungry or if I'm bored and want to watch a wild colony eat)
My PFP is an ant. Yes. An Ant. I promise.
My all in one journal: https://www.formicul...-april-22-2022/
What is the thing on the bottom right that looks like a leather handcuff with a chain? lol
Also totally jealous of your setup. I just bring plastic containers. I want an aspirator so bad.
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users