So I became fascinated with my grandkids "green gel" ant farm they got last year. I thought it was so cool I bought one myself,and this winter accidentally uncovered a large clutch of some kind of ants huddling against the cold between some old boards in my shed.
I put them in this ant farm and they have dug a few tunnels but for the most part they still seem to be kind of slow and clustered. I have since learned that they are probably still in hibernation. And without a queen I don't expect them to survive long so now that it is warmer I plan to liberate them.
I have since been all over the web to learn as much as I can about raising a successful colony.
Ants Canada had a lot of very informative videos but I am so glad I stumbled across this sight!
It is here that I learned that the gel style ant farm is pretty much a toy and not conducive to raising a healthy nest.
So I have molded a formicarium from grout borrowing fro ideas I found in this forum (unfortunately ytong or hydra stone is not available where I live) and an out world that I will connect (I work on draft beer systems so I have all sizes of tubing).
Now I have been chomping at the bit to find a queen!
It is the last week of March and the temps have been starting into the 60's and 70's so I have been on high alert but so far have only found a few workers straggling about. My wife says she has seen flying ants where she works but refuses to capture for me for fear of her co-workers ridicule. Haha.
So tell me, is it still too early for nuptial flights for my area? And what species should I try to obtain for my first attempt at a viable colony.
Any advice from you experts would be greatly appreciated.
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Franz
