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Post by imisky on Jun 1, 2007 7:56:21 GMT
Hi everyone,
I am new to keeping ants, I live in Canada BC and I started a ant farm today, I caught some ants ( not knowing the species ) and put them in the soil which was around them, and soon they started to build there nest.
I read on the forum that there will be a mating flight, which is when I will be able to capture queen ants to establish a colony of ants without having the workers die off. I am new and have no idea how to go about in doing so, as I can't seem to find the entrance to the ants nest.
Can anyone help me with starting a colony which is able to live by itself, without having to keep gathering worker ants every few months?
Thanks Eugene
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Post by Jenny on Jun 1, 2007 10:27:20 GMT
I am new and have no idea how to go about in doing so, as I can't seem to find the entrance to the ants nest. Hi Imisky, When the mating flights start, you cannot miss them. There are hundreds probably thousands of winged females and males in flight. They then both drop to the ground, the males die shortly afterwards having full filled their role. It is then you will see the queens, (a lot larger than the males) unhook their wings, (which is a sign of being successfully mated), and it is then you will find them frantically looking for a nesting site on the pavements and roads and in the grass. This goes on sometimes for 24hrs, as I have got up in the morning to still find the queens looking for somewhere outside our front garden. This is an ideal time for ant keepers to pick up new queens to start off a colony. See alate chamber below queenant.proboards82.com/index.cgi?board=matingFailing that, keepers look under stones and rocks, as sometimes you are lucky and the queen and workers might be out absorbing the warmth of the sun. Digging is frowned on, and in doing so you may ruin a whole colony/nesting site with no result.
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Post by imisky on Jun 1, 2007 18:49:41 GMT
thanks Jenant,
I was wondering as some say its spring thats the mating flight begin and some say late summer, so I'm assuming from april - july?
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Post by Jenny on Jun 1, 2007 18:52:39 GMT
More or less, sometimes early August depending on the year and Country.
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Post by imisky on Jun 1, 2007 23:41:02 GMT
Hi Jenant,
today I went into my backyard to look for some colonies of the ants that I picked up yesterday. I found 2 colonies but did not find any queens, do you think the mating flight has ended? I also don't know what a Queen ant looks like other then that they have wings. but then they detach them after mating. I have read that the middle section of the queen ant is bigger than the normal workers, how they move so fast I can't see...
If I wait by the colony I found today ( which is in cement ) will I be able to catch a queen? there are lots of eggs there however I don't see a queen...
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Post by Jenny on Jun 2, 2007 4:56:39 GMT
In the UK the mating flights are not ready yet. As you can see by my latest pics, the entrance holes are now in evidence and they are digging more sand/earth out as they dig more chambers. It is from these holes that the winged ants will emerge later in high to late summer by the dozens. They go in and out of the entrance hole, with their wings shining in the sun, a few days before the flights happen. It is just a case of waiting until the weather is right. You could wait all day and never see a queen by that cement, as they are deep down, at this time of year. Here is a link of a colony we keep, the large ant (thorax wise) you see is a queen, and a large gaster and thorax is usually always the case with every species. www.anthill.org.uk/antsikeep.htmYou really cannot miss them, as they always catch your eye with them being larger than the workers; and they also have wings on most new queens and males, which worker ants never have. Mating flights occur in most nests during the summer, and only on warm humid days more often than not
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 2, 2007 8:48:24 GMT
Hi there imisky, and welcome to the Ant Hill It isn't always easy to find a queen in the nest among all her fast moving worker daughters, but the newly mated queens just after a mating flight are much easier to find. Just look for dozens or even hundreds of fat looking ants running around your paths, or searching for nest sites in your garden or local park. You will soon get to know what a queen looks like, as many of the guys who keep ants have posted some really great photos of their ants in the picture gallery of Ant Hill World
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Post by imisky on Jun 3, 2007 9:04:04 GMT
thanks Jenant and Wood Ant for all the information I'm just thinking, the climate in the UK and Canada should be somewhat similar, around what time does the mating flight occur in the UK so I can keep an eye out for it here in Canada?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 3, 2007 9:35:45 GMT
Hi Eugene, Well here in Britain it depends upon the species, climatic conditions, how much food a colony collects; and also the age of the colony and its resident queen(s). Usually most mating flights in the British Isles occur between June to August, but a few species can fly as late as October, and in bad years not at all. However July and August are good months for finding newly mated queen ants, though keep a look out for the early fliers which may have their nuptial flights about now Hope this helps? Wood
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Post by Marshall on Jun 3, 2007 9:53:50 GMT
Yes it really varies the times of the mating flights, as were I live (North West England) the Lasius niger flights were in mid September. I thought that they weren't going to happen. Marshall
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