Hello again! Ant questions once more!

[Malhavoc's]

great black light trap that I use, just remove the killing agent, it even pre sorts insects by size (bottom design with the funnel)
http://mississippientomologicalmuse...ting.preparation.methods/Blacklight.traps.htm

just take the light, shine it on a sheet, with a bucket under neath, and wait.

as far as bait. I have heard of taking a can with loose soil/nesting material they like, putting it under a piece of wood with some honey on top and a small enough clearance, that ants will be attracted and move into the can, but never tried it so can't gurantee.

 

[The Snark]

I saw the coolest black light collecting lamp the other day. Battery powered from a pack carried on a belt it had a powerful UV spectrum and a weak white LED just to help illuminate the area. No idea where to find that thing.
Black lights are very common but not sold where regular light bulbs are as a rule. It's like an entirely different purpose and product. Best is to find them on line where there's thousands to choose from.

 

[SandDeku]

thanks guys. I went to the forest/river and the nest was still there but after an hour of submerging the ants and the queen not comming out i gave up on it D: so now im back to step 1 Flipping rocks, looking carefully when I mow the lawn. 2. When I ride my bike I'll check the roads.

---------- Post added 05-02-2013 at 11:44 PM ----------

Is this habitat too small for a camponotus colony? These habitats seem on the small scale in my opinion. For future long run. WITHOUT needing to connect to other habitats.

http://www.tarheelants.com/products-page/tha-formicaria/nostromo

 

[SandDeku]

I ended up looking today around my house and found two wolf spiders(or possibly grass spider) one with an egg sac. But no queen ants. lol. I guess I'll keep looking.

 

[nepenthes]

" A separate foraging arena is required for this formicarium. "

From the page you linked. I would wait to make any big purchases, you haven't even found a queen yet, and she will enjoy a cozy test-tube until she has quite a few workers, and probably 2-3 more test tubes before the colony will need a large enclosure like that. Unless you plan on boosting the colony after the first 20 or so workers.

 

[SandDeku]

" A separate foraging arena is required for this formicarium. "

From the page you linked. I would wait to make any big purchases, you haven't even found a queen yet, and she will enjoy a cozy test-tube until she has quite a few workers, and probably 2-3 more test tubes before the colony will need a large enclosure like that. Unless you plan on boosting the colony after the first 20 or so workers.

I guess you're right because if I don't find a queen... then I'm stuck with a formicarium with no ants. :x

 

[SandDeku]

HEY GUESS WHAT!? I didn't find an ant but I found a few good finds! Two cicada nymphs(1inch yellow), a whole big nest of yellow/orangy ants and I think these are what -I- call citronella ants because they give an odd scent(not like bad-- just sweet to me atleast lol) they had satelites all over the yard. I counted at the very least 5 satelites and I have yet to find the main nest. One of the rocks was FULL of these ants like when I flipped it over(huge 3ft long rock) was completely full of ants and larvae!

This is at the new house. It's been abandoned for years(untouched) and I guess since last summer i been finding cool finds. Also I got a weird question. Is there a way I can attract insects to call part of my yard their -home-? We don't spray pesticide except on the walls of the house and inside the house and basement(because we found wasps and I don't care what anyone says but I'm terrified of wasps/bees)

Looks just like this

http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/p11010pc.jpg

 

[Malhavoc's]

HEY GUESS WHAT!? I didn't find an ant but I found a few good finds! Two cicada nymphs(1inch yellow), a whole big nest of yellow/orangy ants and I think these are what -I- call citronella ants because they give an odd scent(not like bad-- just sweet to me atleast lol) they had satelites all over the yard. I counted at the very least 5 satelites and I have yet to find the main nest. One of the rocks was FULL of these ants like when I flipped it over(huge 3ft long rock) was completely full of ants and larvae!

This is at the new house. It's been abandoned for years(untouched) and I guess since last summer i been finding cool finds. Also I got a weird question. Is there a way I can attract insects to call part of my yard their -home-? We don't spray pesticide except on the walls of the house and inside the house and basement(because we found wasps and I don't care what anyone says but I'm terrified of wasps/bees)

Looks just like this

http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/p11010pc.jpg

Ah my favourite ant, did you know those are parasitic? they found their coloney by taking over another species of ant! they also live completly beneath ground, and farm a type of aphid type creature on the roots of grass and other plants.

Their not easy to keep, I've yet to get a successfull coloney going

look up Acanthomyops, its probably one of them.

---------- Post added 05-06-2013 at 10:24 AM ----------

Also, Tarheel ant nests are amazing, I had one custom built for myself to look like a AVP sign

Lastly a few posts back you were wondering how to determine a queen from workers, with poor eyesight, thebest way, is how they move. Workers dash, and stop, and are sparadic, Queens, they just run in a straight line none stop to the nearest dark place. Sit and watch worker ants on the pavement, you'll get used to their dash and stop style, where queens just flat out run.

 

[SandDeku]

Ah my favourite ant, did you know those are parasitic? they found their coloney by taking over another species of ant! they also live completly beneath ground, and farm a type of aphid type creature on the roots of grass and other plants.

Their not easy to keep, I've yet to get a successfull coloney going

look up Acanthomyops, its probably one of them.

---------- Post added 05-06-2013 at 10:24 AM ----------

Also, Tarheel ant nests are amazing, I had one custom built for myself to look like a AVP sign

Lastly a few posts back you were wondering how to determine a queen from workers, with poor eyesight, thebest way, is how they move. Workers dash, and stop, and are sparadic, Queens, they just run in a straight line none stop to the nearest dark place. Sit and watch worker ants on the pavement, you'll get used to their dash and stop style, where queens just flat out run.

thank you very much. it seems so. Tarheel ant nests are very small...

 

[Malhavoc's]

The one I bought, is approx 8 by 10 inches, not very small.

 

[SandDeku]

ant colonies can get up to 3-6ft... as far as I know...4thousand workers would barely fit a 3ft long enclosure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u-n0vGwkFo

---------- Post added 05-06-2013 at 08:14 PM ----------

Also I found this music and idk I kinda wanted to share it-- only hiphop music ill ever like that's fer sure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwhZiduarU

 

[Malhavoc's]

Ant Colonies, can span the lengh of a foot ball field, however, You will not be ableto obtain nor maintain such a coloney, the food resources alone, not to mention needing to hibernate.. you'd need a specialized room in your house. No, start small with a foundress, and work your way up, the one I got from Tarheel will last my coloney two three years probably. after that its an aquiram.

 

[SandDeku]

Ant Colonies, can span the lengh of a foot ball field, however, You will not be ableto obtain nor maintain such a coloney, the food resources alone, not to mention needing to hibernate.. you'd need a specialized room in your house. No, start small with a foundress, and work your way up, the one I got from Tarheel will last my coloney two three years probably. after that its an aquiram.

I'm afraid that when I move them I will end up screwing up. Which is why I like to keep them in their max size container.

---------- Post added 05-06-2013 at 11:28 PM ----------

I'm afraid that when I move them I will end up screwing up. Which is why I like to keep them in their max size container.

do you think that they could make a bigger container?

 

[nepenthes]

Moving them is allot easier if you use test tubes. It also makes it easier if you allow your formicarium to have an extra "port" other than one to the outworld. So you can move them easier to the new enclosure; so you don't screw up. Putting them in a ten gallon tank of the get go makes it incredibly difficult to transfer the colony should you need too. You would have to set up an open "bridge" from outworld/formicarium to another. Ants wont be comfortable in an HUGE enclosure, that they only take up a small section of.

Personally I love Tarheelants set ups, they are how ever expensive. I would rather get a router and buy some ytong from them and make some my self. I do have plans for a Carpenter ant set up If I can find any alates this summer. It will probably be a winter project, ready for them in the fall.

 

[SandDeku]

So that's why you told me to try the test tube set ups... while not the prettiest they are the most effective.

Also their stuff is made of plexiglass... I'm terrified of plexiglass for the fact it scratches soo easily just looking at it scratches it. .___.;;

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also I read now that it's supposed to rain(with thunder) wed, thurs, friday and it'll be cloudy on sat, sun , monday, tues, . Now question could you find them -before- it rains AFTER tomorrow? it'll be raining tomorrow--- so after tomorrow(thurs) can I look in the morning before it rains again? Or will they not mate before then?

 

[Malhavoc's]

So that's why you told me to try the test tube set ups... while not the prettiest they are the most effective.

Also their stuff is made of plexiglass... I'm terrified of plexiglass for the fact it scratches soo easily just looking at it scratches it. .___.;;

The enclosure I bought was glass, It is essentially a glass photo frame, with ytong adhered to the back, routed and grouted, very nice display piece.

Harmless endoursement of Tarheel aside;

The test tubes are the best setups, as too much space is actually detrimental to the coloney who are very choosey when it comes to homes; as far as moving them and fragileness of an ant nest, remember most ants you find are considered to be "pests" and as such, are actualy quite hardy, Test tube set ups are the best way to go until a year or two down the road. My carpenter ant coloney is in its second year and has reached 20 or so workers this will be their second summer, I expect it to grow to 50 or 60 workers, so I imagine the large tarheel I have for them won't be used for another year or two.

 

[nepenthes]

Look after it rains in the morning. they typically fly in the evening, then again it also depends on the species. Some might fly during the day. You are on the right track for looking though!

 

[SandDeku]

I was never fond of the picture frame set ups. Like they're okay looking. But I prefer the fishtank set ups. I guess the thing about space is true since I just saw a million ants in one little space. o___e;; I caught something which i think it's either a parasitic wasp or parasitic ant. It was just outside the ant mounds. It had wings. It's been cleaning a small stinger it has. It's very tiny the size of a mosquito basically. It's antannae don't look ant-like the antenna look like this http://bugguide.net/node/view/169871

it sorta looks like that bug but the "Gaster" is rounder with a sharp needle (very thin though-- thin for a wasp) and as I said it constantly licks its feet to then polish it's stinger thingy.

I have been founding these very fast red ants in my yard i don't think they're fire ants because they're not in thousands... I see them sporadically like they're scouting... They went from one end to the yard to the other. I'm very impressed. I do like red colored ants because of visibility. But yeah... are there any white colored ants? and what about termites. Can they be kept in a formicarium like the ants but give it wood to feed on?

----

I wonder if there is such a thing as a wingless or flightless wasp that lives underground(and not an ant xD)

 

[SandDeku]

Notice on the third picture(ant tube) there's a white spot there. I think that's either an egg or a now to be larvae. One of the ants been carrying it everytime I pick up the tube.

First picture is what I think to be a parasitic wasp. Second one I have no darn clue.

 

[nepenthes]

The top two pictures are not ants. The second one looks like a Crane Fly. Im not certain, but the only two outlines I can make out on your bottom two picture (the ones away from the group) are just a minor and major workers. Their might be a queen in there but I cant make out anybody in the mass of ants, with how blurry it is.