2 replies to this topic

[electrodynamix]

any tips for catching queens in urban areas (lot of buildings)? I've done my due research and it says just to look in parks, pavements, and such. that does seem to work except the ants i catch always seem to be infertile/ die a few days because of pesticides and such. also, I've never caught more than 2 ants in a single area, so they very well could have just wandered out of the nest than being from a nuptial flight

 

there happens to be no forest areas around where i live. do you people have any tips? please do let me know. will it attract the nuptial flights if i use a blacklight? I've been looking for queens since april of this year, and considering its monsoon here (south india) i should have definitely caught more than 8 queen ants (most of them are infertile; saying by the fact that the eggs never develop and some of them don't care for the eggs)

i do know that the species of ants i can get in an urban area is limited, but i should be doing better than I'm doing now i feel, it being monsoon.

any advice is appreciated! thanks!

[Djanello]

I have been on the lookout since January, but never saw any until just two days ago. We had a nuptial flight in my area (western europe). There were literally hundreds of wingless Lasius niger queens on the roads and pavements. Being prepared I was able to catch 108 Queens. One day later I could find only 11 additional queens after quite a bit of searching.

 

They were especially present in paved alleys and sidewalks. Less so out in the open and I didn't even bother with sandy underground seeing that they were abundant on the pavement.

 

After this experience I'm inclined to say that it happens on a single very specific day per year, with some stragglers the day after. I will be on the lookout since it's nuptial flight season, hoping for other species and/or nests to emerge.

[rptraut]

Hello electrodynamix;

 

I hope these suggestions help.

 

UV light (blacklight) can be used to attract flying ants.    A brightly lit parking lot or any brightly lit area will also attract them.   A bright light behind a white sheet will attract insects right to your location.    For some reason, alates seem to be attracted to water, this includes swimming pools, ponds and lakes.   Alates found in these places may look drowned but dry them off and warm them up and you'll be surprised how many of them are very much alive.   Maybe you have lots of standing water during monsoon season.   In urban areas where trees are sporadic, the trees that do exist can be a landing place for flying alates and you'll see them crawling down the trunk to the ground.   

 

Locating ant colonies in your collection area that are large enough to produce the reproductives you desire, gives you the opportunity to monitor them and catch their nuptial flights.   As Djanello has stated, many nuptial flights happen very few times each year.   Fewer ant species in an area may mean fewer nuptial flight events, but those flights can be quite large and dramatic.   Don't miss those opportunities.  Good Luck

RPT