113 replies to this topic

[Kaelwizard]

I found Prenolepis last year, but I found a Ponera queen this year. Sorry for the confusion. I saw the Ponera part of the post and I was like "I caught one too!" I didn't read the rest of it. 

[AntJohnny]

I just caught one today.

Nice. These are actually quite common around here.

Oh, I meant Ponera, not Prenolepis, sorry. I've only found Prenolepis in one place, and one place only. They're not common around here.

Lol I was thinking I just have horrible Pernelapis luck lol

[AntsDakota]

They seem to be very picky about habitat.

[Kaelwizard]

I haven't located any wild colonies, but I found 3 alates last year. (4 including the male that mated with one of them).

[Peanutty]

Last year I caught 13 prenolepis but a few weren’t fertile. I eventually just had a colony of 6 queens but within a few months they killed each other until there were only 2 left. Sadly that colony didn’t survive hibernation

[Kaelwizard]

Aphaenogaster later this year - colonies have alate larvae.

[Polyacanthus]

I saw these looking like they wanted to fly this evening but then all went back inside?

[Antkid12]

They do that sometimes.

[Kaelwizard]

I saw these looking like they wanted to fly this evening but then all went back inside? IMG_20200708_182854490_resize_56.jpg

Is that parasitic Formica?

Edited by Kaelwizard, July 9 2020 - 6:35 AM.

[NickAnter]

Alates seem to enjoy teasing antkeepers by all coming out like they are going to fly, but instead just go back inside the nest, and especially when you can only be in that place for a certain amount of time.

 

 

 

Just kidding. They only do that to judge the weather conditions, and if they arent perfect, they won't fly. It does mean, however, that they will fly soon.

[Kaelwizard]

Aphaenogaster and Lasius have nuptials in their nests.

[AntsDakota]

I saw these looking like they wanted to fly this evening but then all went back inside?IMG_20200708_182854490_resize_56.jpg

The alates are testing the weather to see if it's suitable to fly. They went back in because they either didn't like the conditions or didn't like you standing by their nest. 

[Kaelwizard]

I have found many Aphaenogaster dealates under rocks lately. The colonies still have alates in the nest so I would expect many more still to come.

[Kaelwizard]

A couple days ago there were Crematogaster queens along the beach getting ready to fly, but I didn’t find any dealates later that day. I did find a Formica dealate wandering around yesterday, though. I caught her too. The Aphaenogaster queen I kept laid eggs surprisingly.

[Kaelwizard]

Ponera are now flying and have flown.

[DerkaDoesGaming]

Grand Rapids MI Here! Just caught 4 Crematogaster Sp. Queens yesterday on my back porch. Labor Day coming up those Labor Day ants will be flying soon! So excited! 

[DerkaDoesGaming]

Ponera are now flying and have flown.

In Michigan? What other name do they go by? Tooth Ants?

[AntsDakota]

Ponera are now flying and have flown.

In Michigan? What other name do they go by? Tooth Ants?

I’ve never heard of a common name for Ponera. I always just called them Ponera because the name is relatively short compared to many other taxonomic names.

[DerkaDoesGaming]

Ponera are now flying and have flown.

In Michigan? What other name do they go by? Tooth Ants?

I’ve never heard of a common name for Ponera. I always just called them Ponera because the name is relatively short compared to many other taxonomic names.

They look interesting. Aren't the workers like blind or something? And they burrow under ground? How would I find one of their queens?

[Kaelwizard]

Ponera are now flying and have flown.

In Michigan? What other name do they go by? Tooth Ants?

I’ve never heard of a common name for Ponera. I always just called them Ponera because the name is relatively short compared to many other taxonomic names.

They look interesting. Aren't the workers like blind or something? And they burrow under ground? How would I find one of their queens?

I have only found queens under rocks so far. They are quite common but are really small so they may be hard to find. I find colonies under wood rocks, and moss. Queens will be much easier to find now, and they are polygynous so I suggest combining the queens in a test tube or Petri dish that has dirt in it. They cannot climb smooth surfaces or walk well on plastic so make sure to have dirt in their set up so that they can actually walk around. They are semi-claustral and will require food. Large insect parts work, but small insects such as springtails or fruit flies would be preferable. You can put live springtails or fruit flies in their set up and watch them hunt.