41 replies to this topic

[Crystals]

With the fire ant thing about them being bullet proof, do you mean with all or most Solenopsis or just actuall fire ants?

I was referring to Solenopsis invicta (imported red fire ant).  Some Solenopsis such as Solenopsis molesta have big issues even with condensation on the glass - they can drown pretty easily due to their small size.

 

 

what happens if a queen escapes and starts a colony in your area and it spreads ? that would actually be cool, in my area we have nothing but argentine ants 

If you queen escapes, she stands even less chance than the wild ones who have newly flown (less than 1 in 100 chance).  Even less of a chance if you have as many argentine ants as you say you do - remember, the argentine ants killed the native species off first and they were large established colonies.

If you are actually in the middle of a massive argentine ant super colony, you will have to make sure that the argentine ants cannot get into your own formicariums as they will try to eliminate your colonies as well.

[Alza]

i found out they would try because i had a pogonomyrmex subnitidus colony outside near my pool and the next day i found a legion of argentine ants fighting them.

but the argentine ants seem kinda weak in my opinion. once i dismantled the trail, subnitidus had no problem taking them out. every time i see them war its a loss. and are you saying solenopsis invicta is stronger then solenopsis xyloni, and can escape test tubes ?

[Mercutia]

I just want to point out some things about S. molesta.

 

They can actually often be found living in the nests of other usually bigger species like Formica sp. I've even seen them living within Tetramorium sp. E colonies. The laymans term for them are "thief ants". They basically eat the leftovers of the other colony that they are nesting with.

 

With this being said, I still wouldn't reccommend sticking random colonies together in captivity.

[Alza]

wait hold up. does that mean they are peaceful with other ants ??? also do they have the soldier caste?

[Gregory2455]

Yes... Please stay with low maintenance ants, if you study enough to know what I know about them, I will give you a queen with fungus next year they fly (If I catch any.)

 

ill stick to fire ants and honey pots. btw can solenopsis invicta and xyloni escape test tubes ?

and i hear they can eat through their homes, what do i do about that ?

 

 As far as my experience with xyloni, they can't get through cotton if it is tightly enough packed, and unless you are using dirt, clay, or cork, they will not be able the chew through. One thing to look out for- they CAN climb the glass of the formicarium. 

 

solenopsis invicta

 

Do you have Solenopsis invicta?

[Mercutia]

A lot of the time they are.

 

And they are polymorphic but I don't think they have a specific "soldier" caste. They just range in size.

[Alza]

a queen with fungus for how much ? and i do not have invicta, but I'm thinking of buying invicta and xyloni. btw i hear invicta are more dominant, is this true ? like if they were to fight 1v1 who would win ? i have no intention of making ants fight to the death so its a question of which you think is stronger 

[Gregory2455]

I am actually pretty sure S.xyloni would win 1v1, but S.invicta colonies grow slightly faster, and have overall larger colonies, therefore have the numbers in a war.

[Alza]

if only there was a realistic computerized way to find out .-.

[Alza]

when the colonies get really big what do i put them in ??? i have an antscanada small omni nest but they can climb out the outworld so i don't know what i would do with them 

[Mercutia]

Do you have a PTFE barrier around the top of the outworld?

[Alza]

PTFE ???

[Mercutia]

It's Insect-a-Slip. It keeps the ants from crawling out.

[Alza]

i don't have that, where do you get it ?

[Crystals]

S. invicta can climb over almost every escape barrier except for fluon (aka. insect-a-slip or PTFE).  You do have to keep an eye on it incase they decide to build a "living bridge" out of themselves to get out.  Some people put an upside down ledge covered in fluon on their outworld to eliminate any escape chance.  ()

Fluon can be found several places online, a bit pricey, but the bottle lasts for years and is worth it if you don't want to find ants crawling around your house.

Bioquip sells it -  https://www.bioquip....t.asp?pid=2871A

I have seen it occasionally on ebay, amazon, and a few other sites.

 

As for size, I believe those omni nests can be connected together to give the ants more space.  Did you see AntsCanada's videos with his colony?  They should be on his site or on youtube.

I really would pick only one of the 2 fire ants - choose either invicta OR xyloni.  Perhaps save the money for a Pogonomyrmex colony or for a different colony that isn't quite as hard to contain as the invicta and xyloni.

S. invicta and xyloni are so similar that it wouldn't make much difference - why not get two completely different species?

[Alza]

true, i like xyloni better 

[Gregory2455]

There is a Solenopsis molesta colony that has set up satellite nests all over my house... I am pretty sure I know which area the queen is, and I am going to use an aspirator to get them out alive. Is there any specific needs these guys need? I know they love grease. 

[Alza]

I'm not sure its a good thing  if they are on your house... they steal from OTHER ants. so they might not be the only species up there

[Gregory2455]

Not definitely, they are able to exist without other ants, as far as I know, the queen seems to be in the kitchen wall, but there are satellite nests everywhere.

[Alza]

In your kitchen wall...