It just seems like all this info i've been finding lately counteracts the other info i come across. The last 3 species i've researched have information that's inconsistent with other sources. This is why i hate that other ant keeping companies want to keep their communities exclusive. We're not a hobby of freestyle biking, or something that's been researched and redone 100x over. Ant keeping is still relatively new. There's countless species we have some info on, but nothing solid when it comes to keeping them. If we could centralize the hobby to one main forum, the content that would be shared could help out hobbyist to a much better extent. Instead, we have great information being put in places others can’t find.
How many of you guys have had to scour other sites and pages just to get an answer to your question or needs? I’m sure many of your answers came from other journals or threads in various forums. You can’t expect actual research teams and companies to have all the information on each species we come across in this hobby, especially when it comes to a captive life. We have to rely on our own experiments and research when it comes to care, but what about the few of us that have species you don’t find often? What about the new hobbyist that are unable to readily find new queens when their first batch fail? I feel that as an experienced ant keeper, it is my duty to help the amateurs succeed in this hobby. With each new hobbyist, there’s the chance for a journal and content that can help another hobbyist along the way. These same amateurs you help out could end up solving an issue you’re having with a certain species or even inspiring them to go to school for entomology. I personally have taken advice from someone that I brought into the hobby. They were able to figure out how to solve an issue I was having with L.neoniger and stop me from possibly killing more queens in a failed attempt to found a colony.
I also dislike FB for any kind of journal keeping or passing of information. FB is too much "hey look at me" and not enough "Use this to help yourself". You’ll find some great information and when you need it a week later, you can no longer find it in the mass of retarded posts. There’s absolutely zero organization to Facebook pages and this results in countless lost posts that could solve your problems.
And instead of having great minds that help correct mistakes when they see them, they just don't see them at all. This causes people spreading false information to be able to continue to do so. Nobody to check them on their facts. This results in countless keepers swearing by honey as the best, or calling a certain formicarium or company "the best" when they've yet to actually explore the hobby. I’ve come across “tests” with information that will “Help your ants”, but they were merely a weeklong trial period resulting in inconclusive data. I’ve seen countless posts from people explaining that Honey works well, then to later read in the comments that they haven’t tried sugar water, sunburst, or any other solution????
We have some of the greatest ant keeping minds right here at Formiculture.com. We also have some of the greatest ant keeping content and information right here at Formiculture.com as well. Why would anyone want to share their opinions, thoughts, questions, and results with a community that’s not going to give them anything in return? Are we not all here to learn and explore this amazing hobby? I can promise you won’t find a better gathering of Entomologist and Myrmecologist ready to answer your ant related questions in any other corner of the internet.
/Rant
