ANTSTORE World of Ants

[ratgreen]

@ subn0ize: what time of year do the mating flights occur in australia, like when do you see heaps of flying ants, just asking because i have a friend who lives in australia who has a colony of Myrmecia pavida near him(well at least he says that they look like them), so it would be awsome if i could get him to get a queen.

[miszt]

it is illegal to collect Myrmecia without a licence

[ratgreen]

what even the queens after mating!? are they rare or endangered?

[Gaster]

Its just forbidden due to invasive species.
So you should get a license first.

[miszt]

Most species in Australia are protected, including Myrmecia

[subnOize]

Hmm okay, guys an update today there were heaps of little black ants scurrying around their nest and there was like 50 ants with wings but i remember you guys saying to wait for the ants to fly away but they never did they just went back inside the nest, but when they came out it looked like the workers from their nest were like attacking them, they were all over the queens. (queens were smaller then the workers and they all went back inside)


anyway then i went to my backyard and under a bucket is a red ants nest, i moved the bucket and there is heaps of eggs and workers and they are all recent because of the colour of them (really white)

so i was wondering if i can't find a queen can i just collect heaps of ants from that red nest, take the eggs and all the workers and stuff and put them in a y-tong and expect them to do anything?

will they make one of the eggs into a queen or will they all just die eventually?

[mzfckr]

i think they will die

[SteveUK28]

yer i agree i think they would just die...

[JimmyVe]

It could be that the ants you saw where males (they are smaller than queens, most of the time), the where probably scouting, if the weather was better they would fly out but maybe it was not good enough for them and than they go back inside (keep an eye on that nest, if they fly out there must be much more ants).

If there is no queen the workers will die.

[Kale^^]

Collecting a nest is an option too, but you should do it really carefully, pick every possible ant and find the queen. It is advised that you find out what species they are before you pick any, and look what the queen looks like etc.
But finding a queen is a better option because then you don't harm any ants, you probably save lives.

It'd be really cool to live in Australia because of the amazing ant species there.

Please post pictures if you find a queen (hope you do).

Wish you luck!

[miszt]

Nuptial flights need perfect conditions to take place, its a good sign that you are seeing Alates (winged queens/males), keep your eyes peeled! they will fly soon! it may be tomrow, it may be in a few weeks.

Best bet is keep an eye on the weather reports, a shower of rain during the night or in the morning, and nice hot weather in the afternoon/evening is perfect for nuptial flights.

Of course not all ants fly during the day, but the fact you saw them around the nest during the day is a good sign they are a species that do, keep checking, around the same time. Its likly that the workers where pulling the alates back into the nest, because it wasnt the right time of them to fly.


Dont bother collecting a nest, unless you are experienced enough to know whether you have a fertile queen in the colony, it will probly be a waste of time, and they will die

[subnOize]

thanks alot guys. well today it rained pretty hard and no sun was out so i guess if its warm tomorrow they might come out again.

if i do manage to get a queen ill take some photos.

[JimmyVe]

Hope they will fly out soon.

Sure do post some pictures. Good luck.

[ant dude]

yeah some pics would b real nice

good luck on this!!!

[subnOize]

Hi everyone (OP HERE), long time no see!!

I've decided to try this again, sorry about my lack of posts but i had no luck finding a queen and i've continued to want to set up an ant farm but without a queen it's impossible.