Wanted: Honey Pot Ants

[Fini]

I'm wanting to setup an antfarm enclosure for honey pot ants, but I don't have any. They should be available practically anywhere in the south/southwest.

Anyone interested in collecting a colony for me? I'll pay!

Thanks.

 

[What]

Just a heads up for you but transporting ant queens across state lines is illegal and ants ARE watched by the USDA/APHIS. We dont need any more introduced species whether US natives or not.

 

[froggyman]

well i dont see any problem arnt honey-pots found in southern CA?

 

[KyuZo]

well i dont see any problem arnt honey-pots found in southern CA?

to be honest, i don't see a problem either.
i think that most animals would go after something as prescious as honey ants
i doubt that they are a pest species. they sounded more like something rare to me.

 

[froggyman]

there still is a problem of transporting a queen across state lines if i was(an i may very well be) wrong

 

[Fini]

Well I'm certainly glad this came up. I wasn't aware of the legal issues around ants, though I can certainly understand the concern.

Perhaps this it's best that I attempt the collection myself.

If there's anyone is SoCal that know where to locate some, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks.

 

[froggyman]

Myrmecocystus mexicanus is found in CA around arid regions and the fringes of deserts so try there

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I read that someone was collecting honeypots in Arizona and needed a backhoe to get to the whole colony. So collecting it yourself may not be easy.

If you're just interested in getting a few repletes for a snack, there's probably somewhere you can buy them . . . but damned if I can find it.

 

[dtknow]

You'd have to collect the freshly dealated queens....which could mean a road trip to Socal.

 

[auroborus]

or you could put the queen on one side of the state line and have her scuttle over the line to the other state, lol. that way she did it herself.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I've thought about that . . . wonder if APHIS would still get upset.