19 replies to this topic

[BugFinder]

Hello, I'm so excited to be here.  I'm brand new to ant keeping.  I bought my kids a "wild science" ant farm with about 25 harvester ants and was hooked.  I quickly realized the wild science thing and 25 worker ants isn't going to quench my desire to be an ant keeper.  I'm trying to make arrangements to obtain a queen, and when I do, I'm going to by a farmicarium from ants canada and embark on my ant keeping journey with my kids.

 

I've been keeping worms for several years with great success, and I'm also interested in keeping colonies of bed bugs, lady beetles, and black soldier flys.

 

I'm hoping to meet some new friends that share my interest in ants and network to share resources.

I am curious, since it's winter, when I do obtain my queen, and she'll probably be hibernating, what month do I encourage her to end her hibernation and introduce her to that farmicarium.  Anyone have any advice on that?

 

Thanks, I look forward to chatting with all of you!

[dean_k]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Anting will test your sanity and patience in new unimaginable ways.

[Gregory2455]

Welcome! 

As mentioned above, ants will test your patience a lot!

They also give a great amount of pleasure. You mentioned getting a queen, did you buy a colony through the GAN program or something?

[BugFinder]

I'm hoping to very soon!

[drtrmiller]

Hey there!  At first, I thought you might be one of my customers, since I recently had a couple from San Jose!  Indeed the Wild Science product is geared toward children, as the 25 worker ants will quickly die off, whereas a colony with a queen can live for decades!

 

As I mentioned, there are a few folks in San Jose and the surrounding area who also keep ants.  Unfortunately I don't have any way of getting you in touch with them—but keep your eyes peeled for anyone walking around town looking intently at the ground, or on their hands and knees as if they dropped something—they're probably looking for ants.

 

Ants that go through diapause (hibernation) are generally from very cool climates, so whatever ants you obtain will probably not require hibernation.  There are a number of how-to videos on how to introduce a queen ant or small colony to a formicarium, or you can post here for advice if you need some that is more specific to what you are trying to do.

 

You may want to start with something smaller than any of AntsCanada's options, however, as queens and small colonies do not tend to do as well with an overabundance of space.  AntsCanada options may be great if you have at least 100 to 200 ants.  Ask around for some opinions from people that have posted about their formicariums (notice the correct spelling), when you actually obtain a colony, to see if the product would accomplish your desired purpose.

 

Best of luck!

[BugFinder]

Thank you for your advice.  I was going to go with the ant box, so they could dig as much or as little room as they needed.  Bad idea?

 

Also, it's my understanding the omni box can close off chambers to make it smaller until the colony is big enough to use the entire box.  Am I mistaken?

[drtrmiller]

I'd ask around about the "Ant Box" from someone who has used it.  Most of us here do not prefer nests with an abundance of soil or substrate, because it can impair visibility, especially in small colonies.

 

As to the Omni Vertical, you can block off entire rows of cells, but not individual chambers.  The design feature is likely due to how the humidity source is placed at the far end on only one side.

 

It is important to note that I am not an expert on AntsCanada products, and I do recommend them in many cases—just probably not for a single queen or handful of workers.

Edited by drtrmiller, December 6 2014 - 11:44 PM.

[dean_k]

AntsCanada omni nest will be fine. It has an ability to lock floors. At least my small Myrmica colony seems to be be doing fine.

 

http://forum.formicu...olony-crystals/

 

But I do not recommend it for a founding queen or a queen with only nanitics. A test tube or Grotube which is drtrmiller's product or Tar Heel ants(google the name)'s growth chamber will be far better off. Don't let them dig. You will have a very hard time relocating them later. You may give them some soil to play with but don't let them dig into Heaven.

Edited by dean_k, December 7 2014 - 7:40 AM.

[dspdrew]

Welcome.

[AntsAreUs]

Welcome! You might have to wait til next year for queens, enless they are still flying.

[James C. Trager]

I lived in San Jose from ages 10-16, in a part of town that had recently been converted from heavily sprayed fruit orchards to tract housing. There were very few insects around then, and I only recall about 4 species of ants, 3 of them rare, and the relatively abundant one was Argentine ant - Linepithema humile. I haven't been back for decades, and wonder if it's better there now? 

[Crystals]

Welcome.

You may have seen this link Guide for Beginners, if not it may be of interest to you.  http://forum.formicu...-for-beginners/

http://forum.formicu...of-handy-links/

 

Most people raise queens in test tubes or small (and easily accessible) founding chambers.  Queens often encounter difficulties, and oftne need to be reached for some reason or other (newly eclosed worker with feet tangled in its cocoon to mold issues).

 

I am not sure of the climate or weather around there, so I will leave those details to someone who knows when the flights are occuring.

It is possible to buy workers, but it isn't possible to ship queens over the state borders.  If you can find someone within your state selling a colony/queen then that is great. 

Many of us prefer to catch and raise our own queens, although we often sell, trade, or donate queens or small colonies amongst ourselves where the law permits.

[uusak]

Welcome to the forum dude! (:

[DesertAntz]

Welcome to the forum. And yet another Cali resident

[Bigb]

Welcome to the forum!

[antsinmypants]

Welcome, Bugfinder! I live in Fresno,CA and caught 62 harvester ant queens last March a mile from house. If the area hasn't been developed by the developer yet, and if more newly mated queens are in that general location this coming spring, then I'll work on sending you some by mail. Be forewarned, however, that most of the queens will either ultimately die or be unproductive. I only have two queens left with 1 - 3 nanitics each that are in diapause for the winter.

[BugFinder]

Thank you all for your warm welcomes and your advice.  It's really appreciated.  I was able to obtain my first colony and I'm really enjoying it!  I'm thinking about getting the Nucleus for the colony when they are large enough....

I live in Fresno,CA

 

We just got home from Fresno, we spent the holiday there.  Maybe I'll have to come to town to go anting with you this spring

[BugFinder]

Thank you all for your warm welcomes and advice.  Truly appreciated.  I was able to obtain my first colony and I'm really enjoying it!  I'm thinking about going with the Nucleus, but I haven't decided for sure just yet.  It seems I have some time to decide as the colony is still tiny.

[antsinmypants]

The developer has not done much to the area where I found my queens last spring. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but the past 2 years I have noticed that the queens mate here in Fresno in the first week of March. I got permission to go anting on the developer's property before, and so I hope that they will grant me access this coming spring as well.

[BugFinder]

The developer has not done much to the area where I found my queens last spring. I am keeping my fingers crossed, but the past 2 years I have noticed that the queens mate here in Fresno in the first week of March. I got permission to go anting on the developer's property before, and so I hope that they will grant me access this coming spring as well.

 

Great, I'll join you if you want some company/help.  I'd much rather go anting with someone who knows what they are doing instead of trying to figure it out on my own.