4 replies to this topic

[HumanSuit]

Hey folks,
New member here. For as long as I can remember, ants have been my favorite animals. I just decided this summer to have a colony of my own. Things haven't been going too well for me, I'm afraid. I've been looking for about 2 months, and haven't seen a single queen! It's been frustrating. I've been walking around neighborhoods and parks(both in the city where I live, and in suburbs outside the city) so far with no luck. I'm trying to stay motivated and keep on looking. This weekend I plan on making a light-trap. I'm confident that even if I don't catch a fertile queen, at least I'll see one!

[Mdrogun]

Hey folks,
New member here. For as long as I can remember, ants have been my favorite animals. I just decided this summer to have a colony of my own. Things haven't been going too well for me, I'm afraid. I've been looking for about 2 months, and haven't seen a single queen! It's been frustrating. I've been walking around neighborhoods and parks(both in the city where I live, and in suburbs outside the city) so far with no luck. I'm trying to stay motivated and keep on looking. This weekend I plan on making a light-trap. I'm confident that even if I don't catch a fertile queen, at least I'll see one!

 

I'm glad to see another person near me! Do you live in Illinois or Missouri? I did quite a bit of black lighting myself this year and caught a ton of queens. It is a little late in the year to try and black light but you might be able to get some queens. When you are black lighting make sure you find a large open area. The effectiveness of light traps is completely based off of their visibility. Good luck!

[HumanSuit]

Thanks for the suggestions! I mostly want to try black lighting to broaden my possibilities of finding a queen. I know it's getting late in the season, but that's only making me want to look that much harder.

I'm right in the city on the Missouri side of the river.

[Mdrogun]

Thanks for the suggestions! I mostly want to try black lighting to broaden my possibilities of finding a queen. I know it's getting late in the season, but that's only making me want to look that much harder.

I'm right in the city on the Missouri side of the river.

Do you know what species are common in your area? The only thing flying near me is Lasius spp. and Myrmica spp. If we knew what was common we could figure out if you were likely to catch something.

[HumanSuit]

I'm not really sure what's common here. I find colonies all the time, under logs and rocks. But they're way too big by the time I find it. I haven't been able to ID them, but I'll take some pictures next time I go out and try to narrow it down.