Fire ant colony

Mikey_Deadcat

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
58
Alright i have all the neccesary provisions for a fire ant colony. But i have some questions i was wanting a self sustaining colony with a queen. Now i have a whole load of workers and soldiers and i have a bunch of winged females and males i was wondering if theres a way that i could get a queen and king out of the winged females and males. Im not sure if they have the winged females as backup queens incase the queen is dead or gone. Or is there anyway i could stimulate them to restart a colony any info on them and there behaviors and caste would be appreciated?
 

syndicate

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,497
u need to find a queen without wings.the winged queens in the nest will all scatter out with the males during a nuptial flight to mate and then go start new colonys of there own.some species tho will have multible queens per nest.so unless u found these during a flight chances are there unfertile.i imagine collecting these ants could be quite painful lol.would love to see them in the wild one day
 

syndicate

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,497
oh and theres no way u could get them to mate in captivity sorry
 

Drachenjager

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Messages
3,509
Alright i have all the neccesary provisions for a fire ant colony. But i have some questions i was wanting a self sustaining colony with a queen. Now i have a whole load of workers and soldiers and i have a bunch of winged females and males i was wondering if theres a way that i could get a queen and king out of the winged females and males. Im not sure if they have the winged females as backup queens incase the queen is dead or gone. Or is there anyway i could stimulate them to restart a colony any info on them and there behaviors and caste would be appreciated?
hmmm i cant imagine anyone wanting to keep fire ants lol
i want them to all go back where they came from and let me have my harvester ants back lol
 

nepenthes

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
561
The impressive numbers a fire ant colony can reach is one reason I would assume. Wait till after a nice down pour and look under rocks and things that would protect a queen while she is dealating her self, bring a breathable container, test tube with cotton is what I use. Female Alates can spend the night fine in one.

NO, ants aren't like T's unfortunately, they need specific conditions. Certain species of ants will "Bud"which the queens mate with males in the next, "recruit" so many workers and move off. These ants are generally pests. Pharo ants are an example.

good Luck
 

Ganoderma

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
467
interesting, i kill thousands seemingly daily. but i can see them being interesting to watch, until they chew through your containers....(thats a warning ;) )
 

kahoy

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
859
do you got a horned devil? i think it would be worth keeping ants...
 

nepenthes

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
561
Keeping a Productive colony is great to watch, ants wont Chew through your containers like Termites. In fact Plaster nests are great "containers" to keep them in. I use test tubes to start a colony, bung up the tube half way filled with water drop the queen in close the entrance, keeps the humidity for a long time, perfect for rearing colony's.

Just watching the way ants work is 10x more interesting than a couple of T's to me. (NOT THAT T's ARENT GREAT, Other wise I wouldnt be hear :} )

Just use Insect-a-slip, vasoline, or 3-1 oil and they wont climb out an open container, Depending on species, I dont think you have to worry about Solenopsis (fire ant genera) but Bigger ants are allot cooler, Camponotus are the biggest ants in North America, but Pheidole though small, have Major castes or "worriers" which have huge heads, and they are just plain neat. The world of ants is endless to what you can do, and FREE besides the building of plaster set ups.

I dont think 1 colony of ants (It would have to be Pogonomyrmex i beleive) will keep a horned devil fed. They need LOTS of ants, and it just isn't ideal.
 

Ganoderma

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
467
they wont chew through a container? the fire ants and misc black ants in my yard chew through concrete, plastic, Styrofoam, wood etc....i just has some little buggers carrying out earthworms from my compost, up my wall into their nest.

they are indeed fascinating, but i just now got 17 stings on my hands pulling some corn plants, so i am not exactly friends with them.
 

nepenthes

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 16, 2006
Messages
561
I can see Styrofoam, but NOT Concrete, and I haven't had a problem with plastic.
 

8+)

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
645
Fire ants are a scourge here in the southern US. I know many naturalists and biologists lament their introduction here, because they have wreaked havoc on the diversity of fauna in many areas where they have become established. Not only are they able to out compete many native species of ant, but they are fierce predators that many small animals are not able to deal with.

I've observed them (and been stung by them! :rolleyes: ) since I was a little boy. I can definitely see where they would be interesting to keep, kinda like mini army ants.
 
Top