2110 replies to this topic

[Nathant2131]

Best of luck to everyone looking for queens next week Super excited.

Good luck to you too! I am crazy excited as well. Just think too, our gigantic Camponotus flights are soon to come as well.

[noebl1]

Definitely good luck everyone this week.  Been a long wait.

 

Replenished and put my anting kit into my work bag on Friday.  Which could mean I jinxed myself as prepared.

[randeee]

What do you guys plan to do if you catch multiple P. imparis queens? I'm thinking of brood boosting my current queen with all the eggs from the first batches and go from there.

[noebl1]

What do you guys plan to do if you catch multiple P. imparis queens? I'm thinking of brood boosting my current queen with all the eggs from the first batches and go from there.

 

I didn't see any last year, so we'll be happy to find just one or two that are actually fertile

 

When you found yours last year, was it during the day or at night?

Edited by noebl1, April 8 2017 - 11:54 AM.

[Nathant2131]

I'm planning on just a normal glass test tube setup, with no heating since these like cold temps. My room is usually high sixties. P. imparis is really common where I am so I will not be surprised if I find many queens.

Edited by Nathant2131, April 8 2017 - 1:38 PM.

[Nathant2131]

Came across a post about P. imparis flights. Looks like MrILoveTheAnts gave a pretty good description.

 

http://www.formicult...mparis-flights/

 

So, they might tease us a lot on our warm days before finally flying later on.

[randeee]

I found my 3 P. imparis queens during the afternoon randomly right before summer ended, I think. I have them locally in my area because I just walked around the block and found them in sidewalk cracks.

I live pretty close to the city too, so I was surprised to see queens roaming around somewhere where it wasn't that foliage covered.

Edited by randeee, April 8 2017 - 5:02 PM.

[RhodyAnts]

I'm from Ri And new to anting. Getting very excited for P. Imparis flight this week. Got my test tubes all (10) set up. Looking forward to pheidole and temnothorax season as well.

[Nathant2131]

I'm from Ri And new to anting. Getting very excited for P. Imparis flight this week. Got my test tubes all (10) set up. Looking forward to pheidole and temnothorax season as well.

Hello! Pheidole is quite elusive round here, so good on you if you find any! They like sandy clay in open areas like grasslands.

Edited by Nathant2131, April 9 2017 - 4:40 AM.

[Nathant2131]

So, went out a couple hours ago and it was quite chilly, and there was some frost. Nothing that I saw besides plenty of Isopods and centipedes under rocks and logs. Hoping some alates at least surface today as it will be 67 as a high, but probably won't fly today. Then, 76 on Mon, 82 on Tues and 67 on Wed!   I will try to check the colony up my street that is often full of alates, and perhaps the colony with the males I found a few days ago if the neighburs don't mind. 

[RhodyAnts]

Nathant2131, pheidole is elusive. that's a bit of a bummer. I do have a lot of parks on the river in my city being as we are smack dab in the middle of the "mighty" Blackstone river. I'll have to maybe bait some to see if can spot the majors.

[Nathant2131]

P. imparis Foraging right now. I also saw what might be a male walking around but I'm not sure. Got some vids, I'll share them later as I will be outside for a while. 53 F right now.

Edited by Nathant2131, April 9 2017 - 6:12 AM.

[noebl1]

According to my weather station we dropped to 29F over night, but very quickly rebounded into the 50s once the sun came up.  With a high around 67F today (already 56F here), wouldn't surprise me if they start doing some flight staging as MrILoveTheAnts mentioned in the thread Nathant2131 found.  I noticed Lasius doing that a lot last year too;  all the alates would bubble up, sit at the entrances, then just turn around at dusk and go back inside.  Obviously waiting for the perfect conditions.

 

Looks like Wednesday is a bust as will rain, but since today is forecasted a bit warmer, maybe between today, tomorrow and Tues being warmest, we've got a really good shot for Tues.

 

My L. alienus queen unexpectedly died this week (had a couple nanitics and eggs/larvae), so hoping the parasitic Lasius start moving soon with these warmer temps before I write these guys off.

 

From what I have read, Pheidole also tend to fly immediately after an afternoon thunderstorm in the summer while the "trees are still dripping wet."  Last year with the drought, we had very little of that (at least where I am in MA) so that didn't help.  There's an area not far from my house that's a prime area that I'm also hoping to bait this year to investigate.

Edited by noebl1, April 9 2017 - 7:08 AM.

[Cindy]

Literally just woke up, but I'm going to be hiking later today and will check around.

[Nathant2131]

Just found some Tetramorium Foraging too.

[Cindy]

Found something that was neither Tetramorium or P Imparis, and tons of them for that matter. Foraging on pine leaf litter. Really fast

 

 

4mm in size

Edited by Cindy, April 9 2017 - 10:10 AM.

[Nathant2131]

Yeah that is not P. imparis as they have an hourglass shaped mesonotum. It seems too big for Nylanderia if the measurements are accurate. Maybe a niger-group Lasius? I would make an ID post.

[Cindy]

Could be. I'll see if I can get better photos later tonight.

[Cindy]

I am not sure if p imparis is flying but we just found a single queen with wings on a tree. Also male alates were flying. One landed on our car windshield. Caught the Queen and will have pics

[noebl1]

I am not sure if p imparis is flying but we just found a single queen with wings on a tree. Also male alates were flying. One landed on our car windshield. Caught the Queen and will have pics

 

Really only thing that would be flying would be P. Imparis right now, and nuptials on trees are sort of their MO... so that's a good sign