Any of y’all kept wasps?

Ponerinecat

Arachnobaron
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Apr 3, 2020
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I have kept Polistes dominula before. Certainly one of the more demanding insect pets I've had, but a fun experience.
 

Ponerinecat

Arachnobaron
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I keep bull ants, with despite their names, are basically wingless wasps. I catch their queen, put her in a test tube setup, and watch the colony grow. there might be ants like these around you and might be easier to find.
Sadly wasp like ants aren't all that common in other parts of the world. Ponerinae resemble wasps but behavior wise are far from it. Pseudomyrmecinae resemble wasps and do behave like them to some extent but can be hard to obtain(common in some places) and raise, as they're arboreal twig nesters. Amblyoponinae are some of the most primitive ants and as such are wasp like in some respects, but are subterranean, slow growing specialist predators that are hard to even get a glimpse of, let alone keep. Myrmeciinae really are a special little subfamily, you're lucky to have access to them.
 

scolopendra277

Arachnoknight
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May 22, 2020
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254
yes, they are! it takes soo long trying to find queens, like I caught my first myrmecia after trying for about 3 years or so. I would go out after literally every rainy day.
 

KitsInvertsVa

Arachnopeon
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If your looking to keep wasps I started out keeping ants but that's just basically a flightless wasp if you don't know what your talking about, you can catch a queen wasp they kinda have like a dome shape thorax like ants, they should be either digging to get into the ground, or flying around looking for a good place to dig.
 

XxSpiderQueenxX

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Feb 14, 2019
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If your looking to keep wasps I started out keeping ants but that's just basically a flightless wasp if you don't know what your talking about, you can catch a queen wasp they kinda have like a dome shape thorax like ants, they should be either digging to get into the ground, or flying around looking for a good place to dig.
thank you! :)
 

Snailientologist

Arachnosquire
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Sep 26, 2020
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I'm not sure if this has been said already but if you'd be alright with an animal that actually is a wasp but looks like an ant try velvet ants. They aren't social and cant be kept in colonies, but they are very active and generally hardy.
 

XxSpiderQueenxX

Arachnobaron
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I'm not sure if this has been said already but if you'd be alright with an animal that actually is a wasp but looks like an ant try velvet ants. They aren't social and cant be kept in colonies, but they are very active and generally hardy.
the thing is, i have heard their stings are reallyyyyyy painful, more so than normal wasps
 

Snailientologist

Arachnosquire
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Sep 26, 2020
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Yes. That is definitely true. You really have to be confident in your ability to safely transport and contain them.
 

Ponerinecat

Arachnobaron
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If your looking to keep wasps I started out keeping ants but that's just basically a flightless wasp if you don't know what your talking about, you can catch a queen wasp they kinda have like a dome shape thorax like ants, they should be either digging to get into the ground, or flying around looking for a good place to dig.
I'm not sure what you're referencing. Few social wasps are subterranean, and the ones that are like vespula are notoriously aggressive, populous, and hard to keep. Another thing to keep in mind is that wasps do not have obvious anatomical differences between castes like ants do. Polistes like wasps are generally near identical between workers and gynes, and hornets, vespula or vespa and such only have a size difference.
 

XxMochiixX

Arachnosquire
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Oct 16, 2020
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For anyone looking for a queen, most Vespula sp. queens have slightly different color patterns than workers. Other than that and the size difference queens have a bulkier thorax and wider abdomen, and have less hair on the head and thorax than workers

V. maculifrons - queen is on the left, worker on the right
20201028_163834.jpg
 

XxSpiderQueenxX

Arachnobaron
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Feb 14, 2019
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For anyone looking for a queen, most Vespula sp. queens have slightly different color patterns than workers. Other than that and the size difference queens have a bulkier thorax and wider abdomen, and have less hair on the head and thorax than workers

V. maculifrons - queen is on the left, worker on the right
View attachment 364208
thankss!!!
 

KitsInvertsVa

Arachnopeon
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Sep 11, 2020
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Crematogaster cersei, pogonomyrmex occidentalis, Lasius neoniger, and formica palludulfulva.
 

Ponerinecat

Arachnobaron
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Apr 3, 2020
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what species of ants do you keep?
I'm aware you were referencing XxSpiderQueenxX, but Pseudomyrmex apache, Camponotus vicinus, C. hyatti, C. quericola, Aphaenogaster occidentalis, Pheidole californica group, and I'll be getting some Hypoponera opacior when rain comes in. Nice to see other people interested in ants!
 

XxSpiderQueenxX

Arachnobaron
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I'm aware you were referencing XxSpiderQueenxX, but Pseudomyrmex apache, Camponotus vicinus, C. hyatti, C. quericola, Aphaenogaster occidentalis, Pheidole californica group, and I'll be getting some Hypoponera opacior when rain comes in. Nice to see other people interested in ants!
I absolutely adore Hypoponera! How do you go about finding them? Cryptics in general are some of my favorite ants~
 

Ponerinecat

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I absolutely adore Hypoponera! How do you go about finding them? Cryptics in general are some of my favorite ants~
Up here, the species starts to split their colonies prolifically once the first rains hits. This is because Hypoponera opacior has ergatoid gynes and ergatoid males, which are both capable of inbreeding and tolerant of others of their kind. That basically means Hypoponera opacior colonies are immortal under the right conditions, and can replace their old reproductives with new ones. When the first rains hit, groups of these fertilized ergatoid queens split off with a few workers to try and form a new colony. That means I can find an abundance of polygyne, easily keepable colonies under most large pieces of cover. Of course, alates will also fly in late summer and early fall and you can find dealates underneath rocks and wood for a while afterwards. Heres a really bad picture of a colony I collected a while ago, ergatoid gyne is on the pile of pupae. Difference is subtle, but she has a slightly larger body and a swelled gaster to accomodate her ovaries.

RSCN0214.JPG
 

kevinlowl

Arachnoknight
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Aug 21, 2015
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For anyone looking for a queen, most Vespula sp. queens have slightly different color patterns than workers. Other than that and the size difference queens have a bulkier thorax and wider abdomen, and have less hair on the head and thorax than workers

V. maculifrons - queen is on the left, worker on the right
View attachment 364208
They look huge! How big are these things?
 
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