Andrew: Question about Western Harvester Ants (29. Mai 2008 01:32)

Hi, i have been studying ants since i was 3 years old. I have recently captured a young Western Harverster queen with workers when i dug her up. I placed her in a gallon jug with sand and dirt. they dug in pretty quickly, and now i have lost track of her, i don't know if she is still alive. How do I tell if she is still alive?

Also i have discovered larvae of a different ant species and placed them into the jug. Will the new ants be able to work with the ants already there?

Thank you for reading this.

miszt: (29. Mai 2008 01:41)

no they will probably be eaten

unfortunetly theres not really any way to see if the queen is still alive, as long as you have been feeding them insects and seeds and they have had a good supply of water, they should be ok, have you noticed more workers appearing?

Andrew: (29. Mai 2008 03:15)

i don't know, i mean I supply crickets and other bugs for them. they only appear when they feel threaten and when a cricket is found. do you need a foraging chamber for ur ants or will just a jar do it/

tail__: (29. Mai 2008 07:50)

It's a pity you keep them in such way you can't see the nest inside, but it's probably too late to do anything with this. Maybe when colony will grow, the ants will start eventually dig corridors near the glass.
Ants of other species, or from another colony of the same species, will be always treated as intruders.
Observations of ant behaviour in foraging will be much more interesting if the foraging area will be large.
And, as miszt said, if they are harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex) they probably would need also some seeds.

SteveUK28: (29. Mai 2008 09:42)

Hi Andrew and welcome to the forum. Depending on the size of the jug you put them in, you could always make a new setup. An aerated concrete block attached to a large outworld, then put the whole jug into the outworld and hopefully they would move on there own into the aerated block. That way you could keep tracks on the queen and colony. But yeh, you def need a basin to feed them whateva way you go. Good luck with them.

Andrew: (29. Mai 2008 14:09)

I placed them in a one gallon just and they have plenty of seeds to eat trust me my dad is a farmer, so i can just go outside and pick them up. Steve what do you mean aerated concret block attached to a large outworld? I might cut a hole in the side and use tubing to connect to a container. They are doing pretty good with the food on top of the dirt. I clean all the dead and empty carcasses before mold spreads.

I have a question if anyone knows about North America ants. My question is that i have small black ants that measure in 2mm long. They have a peculiar shaped abdomen. It is in the shape of a heart. It would be nice to know what this ant is called and what a queen looks like. thank you.

KiamCameron: (29. Mai 2008 14:20)

I heard of the 2mms ants from one of my american friends he says they are always in his office lol but dont know which species...

JimmyVe: (29. Mai 2008 15:55)

Hello Andrew en welcome to the forum.

You can go to the gallery here at the site and look a some nice setups (farms) from concret blocks (y-tong).

It would be easier if you could post some pictures of the ants. There are many species so it is hard to tell which one it is.

tail__: (29. Mai 2008 15:57)

I don't know many American species, but maybe Monomorium minimum? I'm only guessing.

Andrew: (29. Mai 2008 17:16)

ill try to take some pictures if i can find them. i have a question, is there a way for me to buy a starter kit from this site, just a starter kit?

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