ANTSTORE World of Ants

[bryguy97]

Hi

I was wondering if there were any Pheidole ants in Massachusetts. Thanks for any help you can give.

[bryguy97]

Hi.

I just did some research and found that there is one Pheidole species known to live in MA.! It's Pheidole pillifera. Does anyone have any experience with collecting and keeping this species? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[aka ant]

I live in MA as well. I tried digging up a colony of them a few years ago but failed to find the queen. You will find them mostly in sandy grassy dry areas.

[bryguy97]

Thank you so much for you're advice! Hopefully I'll find a queen. Or be lucky enough to find a nuptial flight of them. Do you live on Cape Cod? I hope so because that would mean they're definitely here!

[aka ant]

Sorry I live in western mass.

[bryguy97]

Hey, what was the exact habitat that you found them in?? Was is sand dunes, an open field, or what?

[aka ant]

I mostly find them in sandy grassy well drained areas in small open fields or paths.
I found many colonies along this path.

[bryguy97]

All right. Thanks!

[bryguy97]

BTW, do you know if they monogyne or polygyne?

[aka ant]

Not sure.

[bryguy97]

How big is the size difference between major and minor workers? ( I know I have a million questions, but I can't find much info about this specie on the web.)

[bryguy97]

Also, how large are their colonies??

[aka ant]

The colony I found had 300+ workers. I would guess they can have 100's to 1000's of workers but I can't be 100% sure.

[bryguy97]

Great! What about the size variation, though?

[bryguy97]

BTW, thanks for answering so many questions.