Where can I find ants for sale in the US?

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

I know ants being available in the US is pretty tricky, since (if I remember properly)...

A: non-native Queen ants are prohibited. Whether it’s simply from another country or if it’s in between state boundaries (or probably both lmao)
B: non-native ants period are prohibited from other countries AND states.

I know these regulations are the exact reason why most people who keep ants live in different countries, so I was wondering-where can I get an ant colony? Being clear-I have zero intentions of getting a Queen (ant colonies can function without a Queen, right?), just a small colony.

Either that, or it’s back to buying Pogonomyrmex shoved in little plastic tubes.

Or digging up ants. I mean one of my friends has his own colony of Fire Ants which he dug up, Queen and all, pretty cool to watch.

 

[schmiggle]

Ant colonies can function with no queen, but obviously they die off pretty quickly.

I think there are people in each state who catch and sell queens, but the truth is it's easier to wait until they're out flying and catch them then. If you don't want queens it should be very easy to just collect a bunch of ants from the woods yourself. I've found them under logs, under rocks, and in leaf litter. They're everywhere if you know where to look. Getting a particular genus or species is obviously much harder, particularly if they're rare. I've never seen any ponerinae, for example, and I only rarely see Crematogaster.

Termites are convenient in this regard, because I believe that if you collect a bunch of workers a couple will actually molt into a new king and queen. But I bet your parents wouldn't be thrilled with that.

PS are you still in Vermont, and is your friend local? If so, where did your friend get fire ants?

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Vermont

Yep. And yes, my friend is local. As far as where he found them I have no idea, he most likely dug them up, but again I have no clue

 

[schmiggle]

Yep. And yes, my friend is local. As far as where he found them I have no idea, he most likely dug them up, but again I have no clue

Hmmm...do you know the species? The standard southern invasive, Solenopsis invicta, can't survive northern winters.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

do you know the species?

Unfortunately not. Theres always a possibility, however, that he dug up some Pogonomyrmex instead and mistook them for fire ants. Kinda hard to tell, but I'll definately take a closer look when I see him again

 

[schmiggle]

Pogonomyrmex

A southern US native. Probably more unlikely. If you post some pictures we can try to ID to genus, at least.

My instinct is that he has a species of thief ant (other Solemopsis sp. that are less aggressive and are also native) or a Myrmecia (not that similar to a fire ant, but reddish-brown with a a somewhat painful sting and still in Myrmicinae like Solenopsis).

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

My instinct is that he has a species of thief ant (other Solemopsis sp. that are less aggressive and are also native) or a Myrmecia (not that similar to a fire ant, but reddish-brown with a a somewhat painful sting a

That would be my guess. I mean, he is one for dramatization/misidentification (once telling me he found a muskellunge, when in reality it was a pickerel of some sorts). I could probably get images though when I see him next

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

A southern US native. Probably more unlikely. If you post some pictures we can try to ID to genus, at least.

My instinct is that he has a species of thief ant (other Solemopsis sp. that are less aggressive and are also native) or a Myrmecia (not that similar to a fire ant, but reddish-brown with a a somewhat painful sting and still in Myrmicinae like Solenopsis).

*Myrmica. Myrmecia are australian bulldog ants.

Anyway, some people seem to call any ant that's even vaguely reddish in color a fire ants, even things like Formica that can't sting.

 

[schmiggle]

Myrmica. Myrmecia are australian bulldog ants.

Oh yeah. Good catch. I'll leave it so the thread isn't confusing.