Ant Colony

[-Exotic]

Hi everyone the question is that does anyone know any good sites or people on this site that ship ants? ( I dont care what specimen it is)

 

[cjm1991]

Im also interested in this. I have been wanting a colony of large ants for some time now.

 

[Vulgaris]

As far as I know, there are very strict laws about shipping ants.

Its not even permitted to talk about shipping ants at this Myrmecology forum

http://antfarm.yuku.com/

 

[What]

As far as I know, there are very strict laws about shipping ants.

Its not even permitted to talk about shipping ants at this Myrmecology forum

http://antfarm.yuku.com/

Indeed, it is illegal to transport any queen ant(even if it is native to both states) across state lines...

Now Canada might have different laws on the topic, but I would doubt that.

 

[redsaw]

Hi everyone the question is that does anyone know any good sites or people on this site that ship ants? ( I dont care what specimen it is)

I ordered some when I gat an ant farm, only got 25 for $4 or $5. Of course no queen. http://www.unclemilton.com/products/AntFarm/content/af_oaf_main.html

 

[calum]

ach an ant colony isn't a colony without a queen, is it?

you could try catching some native species perhaps? if there are any.

I think most species have "mating flights" for a few days at the peak or end of summer. A few hours into the flight you could look for wingless, large ants scurying about. these are the fertilized queens looking for a suitible new nesting sight. mabye you could catch one. I'm not sure on the rest but you could probably find that info on any good ant site or from a seller.

 

[Vulgaris]

yeah looking for queens after mating flights is a good idea.

I found a carpenter ant queen and kept her and she now has 16 workers. here are some early pics of her

First batch of eggs

first pupae

first batch of workers

 

[calum]

quite amazing little critters, aren't they?

the only native species near me that I'm aware of (they take over the drivway and front yard in the summer) is Lasius niger. I might try and catch a few queens this summer.

 

[redsaw]

ach an ant colony isn't a colony without a queen, is it?
.

Not really, but the OP did not say they were looking for queens, just
somebody to ship ants.

 

[Vulgaris]

Not really, but the OP did not say they were looking for queens, just
somebody to ship ants.

Its pointless to ship ants without a queen, isent it? I assumed he meant with a queen because without a queen the colony would die off and it would be useless shipping them in the first place

 

[calum]

yeah, worker ants don't live that long. your wasting quite a lot of money for import fees and all that crap when the colony will only live for a few months.

 

[redsaw]

Its pointless to ship ants without a queen, isent it?

Apparently not, the people selling the ant farms make quite a bit of money from it. lol

 

[GideonSmith08]

Indeed, it is illegal to transport any queen ant(even if it is native to both states) across state lines...

Now Canada might have different laws on the topic, but I would doubt that.

If it's illigal to ship across state lines, is it legal to ship within the state?

 

[-Exotic]

Hm well i live in alberta and wood ants and carpenter ants are natural in calgary. ( where I live)
also what type of habitat ideas would be a good idea?

 

[bhoeschcod]

well im no expert but vulgarias has had some experince with carpenter ants

 

[auroborus]

one thing that i found by luck is that some queens like to travel at night, i attracted some very large black and red ant queens and there drone counter parts to my black light, pity my pet queen escaped, i'll have to try that again next spring. And when i say large, about the size of a carpenter ant queen, though the one I found was probably a field ant. there I go again rambling on...
hope that helps with capturing a queen.

 

[Vulgaris]

Yeah a lot of species mate during the night (such as carpenter ants) and then as soon as a queen has mated, she lands, drops her wings, and searches for a nest place.

Its best to go out like around 9 PM with a flashlight and just look around all over for queens.

 

[eelnoob]

ach an ant colony isn't a colony without a queen, is it?

you could try catching some native species perhaps? if there are any.

I think most species have "mating flights" for a few days at the peak or end of summer. A few hours into the flight you could look for wingless, large ants scurying about. these are the fertilized queens looking for a suitible new nesting sight. mabye you could catch one. I'm not sure on the rest but you could probably find that info on any good ant site or from a seller.

ah no wonder the queens I caught last spring never laid eggs, they still had their wings when found.

 

[calum]

yeah, I think they rip thier own wings out after they have mated.

ouch.

 

[bhoeschcod]

Yep or else they are not mated.