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Funny Story (and Solenopsis invicta queen capture)

funny story queen solenopsis invicta anting trash

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#1 Offline jdsaunders1390 - Posted April 6 2017 - 10:40 AM

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It was a Monday night. I took my trash out to the bin because the garbage truck comes on Tuesdays. I came back to my kitchen to find that I forgot to throw away the bones of a rotisserie chicken I ate that night. Not wanting my kitchen trash can to stink, I put the bones in a small plastic bag and toss it in the bin outside to be picked up tomorrow.

 

It is Tuesday night. I wheel the trash bin back from the side of the road and notice that the plastic bag filled with chicken bones is still there, and grease has filled the bottom of the bin. Gross.

 

Fast forward one month. It's April and I have just started anting. I have never kept an ant colony before, but have always been interested in social insects. I caught my very first queen last night (a Solenopsis invicta dealate), and am confident about finding more queens today! I spend an hour and a half this morning walking down sidewalks, looking for ants, only to come back home empty handed. To add insult to injury, I pass by the trash bin and am assaulted by a terrible aroma. After 4 visits by the garbage truck, the plastic bag of chicken bones still refuses to budge from the bottom of the trash bin. I decide that enough is enough. Today, I will clean the trash bin. 

 

At this point, other trash has begun to cling to the bottom of the bin. There are bright pink packing peanuts, little pieces of paper, and the like. I first grab the bag of bones, peel it away from the greasy plastic bin, and place it in a new trash bag. There are fly maggots inching their way across the grease slick. *stifle vomit* I contemplate just hosing the rest of the debris out of the bin so I do not have to reach back in there, however, I know that it will not get nearly as clean that way. I use another plastic bag to grab the packing peanuts and other pieces out of the bin. 

 

A smile spreads across my face. Amidst the maggots, melted chicken fat, and bright pink packing peanuts, I see a Solenopsis dealate nestled in a bottom corner of the bin. I quickly grab a test tube to scoop her up. Queen number two, in the bag. 


  • Kevin, Martialis, T.C. and 3 others like this

#2 Offline Loops117 - Posted April 6 2017 - 10:51 AM

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Nice find! I love hearing capture stories like this.


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#3 Offline Jelly - Posted April 6 2017 - 6:17 PM

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Awesome capture story!

I've taped a bag of chicken to the bottom of my trash can, here goes nothing!


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#4 Offline thosaka - Posted April 6 2017 - 6:20 PM

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Man, you can be an author, write a novel. I wanna live in Florida! Congrats on the queen!


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#5 Offline Alabama Anter - Posted April 10 2017 - 6:20 AM

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Lmao so funny  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:


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YJK


#6 Offline xTNxANTMANx - Posted April 12 2017 - 10:16 AM

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Oddly enough, I have been checking the bottoms of my trash bins even b4 reading this :-). But now, at least I know it hasn't all been in vain! Just shows, you have to keep your wits with you no matter where you are when finding a queen. I have only seen mostly drones but the next few days here in went TN is gonna be gr8 I hope. Temps in low 80s with lots of rain yesterday!
Love ur storyy friend!
  • jdsaunders1390 likes this
Keeping:
Camponotus subbarbatus
Camponotus pennsylvanicusx3 (founding)
Dorymyrmex bureni
Formica pallidefulva x3
Formica subsericea x4
Tetramorium immigrans

Have kept many other ant species but now keep over 100 tarantulas and other inverts! Mantids, centipedes, and scorpions to name a few 😁





Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: funny, story, queen, solenopsis, invicta, anting, trash

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