Ant farm given for Xmas

[padkison]

The kids each got one of those off-the-shelf ant farm thingies for Xmas. From reading a couple ant discussions, I gather these aren't the best habitats, but that's what we got to work with.

I went out with the kids and flipped over rocks and dug through some logs without luck. Ants aren't as prevalent as last summer. Will I have any luck finding a colony w/ queen this time of year in central NC?

Anyone got some extra ants?

 

[It_lives!]

Well i was flippin rocks yesterday lookin for rollie pollies (no luck) but i did flip a rock that had a ton of big-fat black ants under it, but i didnt see a queen i dont THINK, they were in hibernation i think b/c they were all moving mega slow. I live in NC to, maybe you should go a little deeper into the woods???

 

[Waspman]

Pogonomyrmex badius, the only harvester ant East of the Mississippi, should be in that area. They're large dark red ants and have conspicuous nests (a large dirt circle 1'+ diameter with bits of debris such as gravel, most vegetation has been removed from around the nest). Harvester ant workers are usually the ants that are mailed to you after buying a farm and are the best for it imo. And you can just use the workers, a queen is not always needed.

You could look for dry areas that are sandy and have a lot of gravel. Here's an example of a mound, though some are flatter than this: http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/sgoldsmith/skg_ebe/pogomound.jpg

Did the farm come with a slip of paper for a free shipment of ants? Most usually do.

 

[nepenthes]

Look for ants in the spring. If you want to start a colony with a "Queen" wait till spring and have test tubes ready.

Similar to this.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/alaskaheadbanger/Ants/abe6bc1e.jpg

You can see scars where the wings used to be on the mated female alates, aka "queens". It can take a while (2-3 years with dormancy depending on the species) To get a good running colony, usually in the first year their are 40 workers at most, and can get up to 150 the next year depending on how they are feed, and how much sugar and other things they get.

Do not put in ants from other colony's, but you can boost a queen with Larvae or pupae, they will either accept it or eat them, usually doesn't matter what species.

queens are usually much larger than workers but like I said can be identified by their build, even if they are the same size their will be scars or a difference in build because they have to house the equipment of their mega ovaries!

If you order the ants, dont expect a "queen" this is illegal to send "queens".

http://antweb.org/index.jsp

find a " bio-region" or state close to yourse you should find some interesting fauna!

If you want information on how to build a decent ant farm ask me I will let you know.

Cheers

 

[TNeal]

Don't those kits come with certificates for some live ants you send away for? Any kit I have ever seen did.

Ants farms are great, even at 50 years of age I am considering an elaborate one.

Tom

 

[8ball]

My cuz got me one for x-mas, instead of dirt it's some kind of gel they used in outer space as a project to see if ants can live in 0 gravity, they can feed off the gel and make tunnels in it so its pretty cool.

 

[arachnocat]

I really want to get an ant farm. Those gel ones are pretty cool. I've seen ones that connect together too. I wonder how long a whole colony could live in there. I searched the internet for some nicer ant farms but the traditional plastic one and the gel farm are all I could find. Maybe I'll try to make my own if I'm feeling crafty later this year.

 

[arachnocat]

This page has a few nice ones. Look pretty easy to make yourself though:
Ant Farms