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What got you interested in ants?


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15 replies to this topic

Poll: What first got you interested in ant keeping? (28 member(s) have cast votes)

Check all that apply.

  1. The look and design of formicariums (5 votes [4.27%])

    Percentage of vote: 4.27%

  2. Interest in other pet insects and exotic pets (8 votes [6.84%])

    Percentage of vote: 6.84%

  3. The look and design of terrariums and outworlds (4 votes [3.42%])

    Percentage of vote: 3.42%

  4. Encountering ants in daily life (14 votes [11.97%])

    Percentage of vote: 11.97%

  5. Finding out that queens can live for decades (2 votes [1.71%])

    Percentage of vote: 1.71%

  6. Online videos of colonies (16 votes [13.68%])

    Percentage of vote: 13.68%

  7. General interest in biology (12 votes [10.26%])

    Percentage of vote: 10.26%

  8. Reading about remarkable ant behaviors such as farming and raiding (7 votes [5.98%])

    Percentage of vote: 5.98%

  9. Ant Man (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

  10. Curiosity about the queen, eggs and ant life cycle (9 votes [7.69%])

    Percentage of vote: 7.69%

  11. The way that ants look, their diversity of forms and textures (6 votes [5.13%])

    Percentage of vote: 5.13%

  12. The intelligence of ant colonies (7 votes [5.98%])

    Percentage of vote: 5.98%

  13. The idea of keeping a whole little "civilization" (7 votes [5.98%])

    Percentage of vote: 5.98%

  14. Famous dangerous ants like the bullet ant (4 votes [3.42%])

    Percentage of vote: 3.42%

  15. Curious about how ants communicate with each other (4 votes [3.42%])

    Percentage of vote: 3.42%

  16. Something you learned in school or at university (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

  17. Antkeepers just seem like such cool people and you want to be like us. (9 votes [7.69%])

    Percentage of vote: 7.69%

  18. other! (share in comments) (3 votes [2.56%])

    Percentage of vote: 2.56%

Vote Guests cannot vote

#1 Offline futurebird - Posted March 4 2024 - 3:58 AM

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Can you remember what first caught your eye about antkeeping? What got you interested in the hobby? I've always liked insects, and was considering getting a pet spider, but when I saw this video by "Ant's Australia" from Jordan Dean I was enthralled by the look of the little formicarium he creates. It seemed so exciting to be able to watch the queen and the brood-- having a window into that hidden world. 

 

 

For the longest time I thought that I *had* to find AAC (ytong) to keep ants, but then I saw this video petri-dish nests, and realized that there were more options. I think people new to the hobby tend to get dazzled by all of the options for formicarium. Test tubes are often the best. Less is more is a hard lesson to learn with antkeeping. But, part of the issue is the beauty of formicariums is part of what draws people to the hobby. 

 

 

And by this time I'd gotten a few books about ants and started learning more about them. I would end up buying a colony of Pogonomyrmex from Tar Heel ants. A colony that would thrive and last nearly 3.5 years. The queen passed away last year, sadly and I'll miss them ... though I don't think I'll get Pogonomyrmex again. Although I never got stung worrying about it gave me constant anxiety. And it's nice to be able to pick up ants with your hands and Pogonomyrmex just can't do that. 

 

Was there anything that first got you excited about ants? I'm looking forward to raising founding queens again this year. The founding stage is so remarkable. I've come to like smaller ants more than I ever thought I would. It's hard to imagine a time before I was obsessed with ants... what did I do with my time?

 

 


Edited by futurebird, March 4 2024 - 4:07 AM.

  • UtahAnts likes this

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<


#2 Offline GOCAMPONOTUS - Posted March 4 2024 - 7:40 AM

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When I first found antscanada a few years back when he was really doing good content and then I was hooked with Jordan dean.


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Currently keeping: 2 C.vicinus colonies.2 C.sansabeanus. 1 C.leavissimus. 2 C.Ca02. 1 V.pergandei. 4 T.immigrans.1 F.pacifica. 1 C.hyatti

1 M.ergatognya

 

 

 

 

Trying to get my hands on :C.modoc,A.vercicolor, and Any Honeypots

  

 

 


#3 Offline Artisan_Ants - Posted March 4 2024 - 12:22 PM

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I watched AntsCanada many years back. I most of all my main knowledge from there. I found many queens (P. imparis) years back but was only successful with them last year.
  • futurebird, bmb1bee, GOCAMPONOTUS and 1 other like this

Keeping:

3x - S. molesta (colonies and single queen)                1x - C. nearcticus (founding but no eggs)   (y) New!

1x - C. chromaiodes (colony)                                       1x - C. subbarbatus (founding)  

1x - F. subsericea (founding)                                        1x - T. sessile (mega colony)

3x - P. imparis (colonies)  

2x - L. neoniger (founding)

 

Check out my C. nearcticus journal here: https://www.formicul...cticus-journal/

Check out my C. chromaiodes journal here: https://www.formicul...aiodes-journal/


#4 Offline Rrar - Posted March 4 2024 - 1:42 PM

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I believe AntsCanada got me real hooked when I saw his massive colonies. Took me a while to realize that was took a longggggggggg time.  :/


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canada = boring!!!!!

I want attaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!

also: Camponotus ca02 ( probably not possible though)


#5 Offline GOCAMPONOTUS - Posted March 4 2024 - 2:11 PM

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Yes antscanada hooked many of my friend into ant keeping when I showed them .


Currently keeping: 2 C.vicinus colonies.2 C.sansabeanus. 1 C.leavissimus. 2 C.Ca02. 1 V.pergandei. 4 T.immigrans.1 F.pacifica. 1 C.hyatti

1 M.ergatognya

 

 

 

 

Trying to get my hands on :C.modoc,A.vercicolor, and Any Honeypots

  

 

 


#6 Offline antsriondel - Posted March 4 2024 - 2:24 PM

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Once on a vacation a found a massive parasitic Formica colony that got me interested. I soon found out about ant keeping through several Ants Canada videos and soon after that I started catching Queens. Now I am a experienced ( At least I think so) ant keeper with several Ant colonies.


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#7 Offline Manitobant - Posted March 4 2024 - 2:55 PM

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I've been into insects since i was really young and always knew i wanted to pursue entomology, but funnily enough i never really cared about ants until I randomly stumbled upon an AC video in my youtube feed. Before that they were actually among my least favourite insects to look at and study!
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#8 Offline Virginian_ants - Posted March 4 2024 - 4:03 PM

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You probably could've had a thing named "Ants Canada"  because he got a lot of people in.


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#9 Offline thatoneperson - Posted March 4 2024 - 5:25 PM

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Empires of the Undergrowth. Search it up.


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:)


#10 Offline T.C. - Posted March 5 2024 - 1:55 AM

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The gel ant farms many many years back. I thought it was cool and later on looked into the potential of long term options. That was the end of the gel farms.

#11 Offline Mushu - Posted March 6 2024 - 5:33 AM

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I grew up with a backyard that had about 5-6 Pogonomyrmex spp colonies. I used to see nuptial flights often. I was young and ignorant at the time. I was always interested in them and anting is a fairly small(though gaining popularity) community and even smaller back then.

I really got into it years later when I visited an ant forum, I believe it was on taptalk that a guy named Antdude moderated. He was a spelling Nazi so some old timers may know who I am talking about.

I actually met and use to converse with Antscanda on there. He was barely starting out at the time. I had no idea who he was until he posted a YouTube video of his Canada for talent audition. No wonder his videos were always top notch and had good music(I asked him about a Hispanic song that I liked from one of his videos), even though I was Asian.

I was planning to catch a Pogonomyrmex queen at my uncles place that summer and asked my brother who still lived there to keep and eye out after rain in summer for winged ants outside the nest the day after. As luck would have it my buddy who works at LAX saw a nuptial flight while working on one of the sites and he picked up a few queens. I took one and was the only one who successfully founded the a colony in a test tube. I made hydrostone nests with Petri dishes with a 10 gallon outworld. I was always interested in nature and watched lots of ant documentaries but just used logic. I just thought to myself queens who found after a rain, the chamber must be pretty humid so I just tried to mimic the environment. The colony grew to about 500+ before I gave it away to my same buddy who gave me the queen as life got in the way.

I posted pictures on the ant forum and Antscanada actually asked me to post some care tips for harvester ants on his brand new site that sells ant equipment. I felt I just got kinda lucky so didn’t feel qualified to give care tips but he was nice and insisted so I did.

After getting back into the hobby recently, I’ve always wanted honeypots and had planned a trip to look for them back then but never got around to doing it. With more disposable income and much more information and advancements in the hobby it made it much easier and part of the fun I enjoy is creating a setup you enjoy and that works. I picked up M. placodops and they’re doing quite well even with some self inflicted setbacks. I also picked up a Texas Placodops queen from Antopia(great service and healthy queens) recently and is still in the founding stage.
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#12 Offline AntsGodzilla - Posted October 30 2024 - 4:41 PM

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Definitely AntsCanada lol.


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And many Carnivorous plants such as: Dionea muscipula (fly trap), Sarracenia x 'Fiona' ( American Pitcher plant), Nepenthese ventrata (Tropical Pitcher plant), and Pinguicula agnata x emarginata (Butterwort) (show off your plants here)

Godzilla thread

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

 


#13 Offline RushmoreAnts - Posted October 31 2024 - 2:23 PM

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When I was a kid, I used to flip over rocks that had Formica colonies underneath with Ants_Dakota. Thankfully neither of us got formic acid in our eyes, though it definitely got our attention.


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"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

 

Keeping:

Tetramorium immigrans

Formica cf. pallidefulva, cf. incerta, cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva, cf. subintegra

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis

Pheidole bicarinata

Myrmica sp.

Lasius neoniger, brevicornis


#14 Offline Yusteponant - Posted November 1 2024 - 7:15 AM

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When I first found antscanada a few years back when he was really doing good content and then I was hooked with Jordan dean.

Same here!



#15 Offline Yusteponant - Posted November 1 2024 - 7:17 AM

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Empires of the Undergrowth. Search it up.

W game played it.



#16 Offline mbullock42086 - Posted November 1 2024 - 1:36 PM

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it was actually meteorology that got me into it, i always loved storm chasing and weather.

  going with people to chase storms for honeypots was pretty fun and that got me hooked.


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