Large flight

[markm]

We had a large flight last night of what I suspect were Camponotus Noveboracensis. I have never seen so many ants and was able to collect MANY queens. I literally walked around my block and found over 20 queens without even having to really look. I kept about 14 just to find the fastest producing and I will let most go after I get a healthy colony going.

Here are a few I kept!

[Wood~Ant]

Nice find Mark, and thanks for posting the pics

I think I'd be inclined to keep say the best 3 queens who lay the most, and let the rest go after about a month. The 3 that are kept could then be watched to see which produces the best colony, and then if you can only keep 1 colony you could let the other 2 go later on, or keep the 2nd best as a spare

It pays sometimes to have more than 1 colony of a species, as often what seems the best one can suddenly die out. Then at least you still have 1 or 2 more as a reserve

[markm]

Wood Ant- that is my plan for the most part. I have heard these queens will get along during colony building so I may introduce a few together to see if that will speed up the process. With so many I can try a few things, warmer temps for some, multiple queen tubes, etc and see how it works out.