Tag: ant farms

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Ant Farm Question: Big Scale Ant Farm

Question:

I’m extremely interested in developing and maintaining a massive ant colony. I have been fascinated by insects since i was a child, and i now have the time to put forth some effort. So what kind of ants are good for ant farms, and by ant farm i mean i am converting my 40 gl breeder tank into a giant ant farm. So i got plenty of room because i want a self sufficient colony, so which types are the best for homes.

I am most interested in leaf cutter ants, or some exotic species, but i highly doubt they are available for homes.

-Adam

That sounds like a fascinating project.

The first thing to consider is what are the laws/regulations where you live. The rules about capturing and buying and selling ants/queens/colonies varies considerably from country to country and even state to state. There are other concerns about collecting wild animals, too. Where do you find out regulations? Your local department of agriculture, and/or game and fish departments will have information of local wildlife and transportation regulations. (Did you know it is illegal to possess a wild bird feather in Arizona?) Without knowing where you are located, I hesitate to give you any specific advice as to what you can and can not do.

The Ant Farm and Myrmecology Forum has a great deal of general information about obtaining ant queens. You might want to start with this thread, which talks about different policies in Europe and North America. You can find a wealth of information at the forum, and if you join, ask questions too.

The Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute has information about raising insects in captivity, including ants. At the home page, click in the left sidebar on Education Center. When the Education Center page comes up, click on the Arthropod tab at the top. Scroll down the arthropods page until you find “Casa Hormiga.” Click on “Casa Hormiga” and a page of posts about various ants comes up. There are papers about several different ants in captivity, including leafcutters.

You also might take a look at the Antscanada website. He has many species in culture and offers advice.

I can fully understand your interest in Atta leafcutter ants, they are so amazing. If you are looking for  a self-sufficient system, however, then I would probably shy away from them. Atta need constant supervision and attention. Keeping leafcutters is rather like adopting a herd of cows that bite and are constantly looking for ways to escape. 🙂 You know about fluon, right?

Two popular kinds:

The ants that are sent through the mail for commercial ant farms are usually harvester ants. They are big and tunnel in sand or soil readily. The down side is that they do have stingers.

Camponotus carpenter ants are popular because of their large size. They are relatively docile and are abundant in many areas, so finding a queen is not too difficult. They do not have stingers.

With careful research and a bit of good luck, I suspect you are going to be able to achieve your dream and find an ant species that will fit your requirements. If you want to give me a general idea of where you live, I might be able to be more specific.

(Note: As I mentioned previously, I have been the “Consult-Ant” on the Leaping from the Box website. I answer questions about ants and ant farms. From now on I will post the answers here, and when Karen has time she will also post the answers on her site.)

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New Carpenter Ant Queen Question

I have an ant question!

Hi I’ve been trying to start an ant colony and haven’t had much luck but
the other day i found a queen in the yard while mowing. She still has
her wings i put her i my farm but don’t know if she has already mated or
not. If i can find a winged male of the same species will they mate in
the farm? I know they mate in flight but thought maybe they would mate
in the farm to?


She is about 3/4 of an inch long. I live in eastern Tennessee. I was
also curious what species this is?
Any help would be appreciated thanks.ant-queen-photo

Well, you are in luck with identification. Based on your estimate of her size, I think I can safely say your queen is a carpenter ant, genus Camponotus. I can’t be sure about the species.

Has she taken her wings off yet? I once had a queen that delayed taking her wings off until she had laid her first batch of eggs (which became workers, so she was mated), but usually they come right off. It’s a bit early to be seeing mated queens, but possible.

As for putting a male in the ant farm, it’s not likely to work, plus it is hard to find males of the correct species. Why don’t you hold her for a few weeks and she what she does?

You might want to look at the links in this post too.

Now you know there are ants in the area, chances are good you will find another. Good luck and let me know what happens.

(Note: As I mentioned previously, I have been the “Consult-Ant” on the Leaping from the Box website. I answer questions about ants and ant farms. From now on I will post the answers here, and when Karen has time she will also post the answers on her site.)

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Another Question About Ants

I have an ant question!

I live in Arkansas and caught a colony of rather large ants. There
about the size of carpenter ants but are an orange color with dark
brown on the abdomen and head, usually I find them under large rocks,
I was curious as to what kind of ant they are and also that I have
them in the new gel type of ant farm which they seem to be doing
rather well they have a few tunnels and chambers but they seem to be
staying out of them.


Will they eventually move into them or should I get a larger container
for them?


I also have found some species of ant in the woods that look every
similar to harvester ants but 1/2 the size and they don’t sting, last
time I tried to colonize that species in the gel they never dug…iare
there just some ants that would rather make a nest in an abandoned nest
then dig there own?

I think your idea to try to figure out what kinds of ants you have is a good one. How you should treat them, what to feed them and what to expect all depend on what kind you have. Unfortunately I can’t tell what kind they are only from your description.

Here are some things you can do:

Take a good look at your ants and then go on the Internet and check ant websites for photographs. One great place to find descriptions and photographs of ants is antweb.org. Under the first tab labeled “bioregions” scroll down to nearctic. You will find lists of ants from nearby states, for example Alabama.

Or if you have a camera that can take close-up photographs, try to take some. The Ant Farm and Myrmecology Forum has experts that might be able to help you. Be sure to read their rules about posting first and check the ant FAQ’s.

If you post photos on a blog or website, send me a link and I’ll see if I recognize them. Some of the characteristics used to tell ants apart include things like number of segments in the antennae, etc. It really helps to have the photos as close and as clear as you can make them.

As for the gel ant farms, I have found that certain ants will tunnel and other won’t. If you are interested in keeping ants, and it sounds like you are, you might want to check into some of the more traditional ant farms that are designed for long term use. Here’s one link to building artificial ant nests. The forum I mentioned above also has a lot of good information.

Let me know if you post some photographs and happy anting!

(Note: As I mentioned previously, I have been the “Consult-Ant” on the Leaping from the Box website. I answer questions about ants and ant farms. From now on I will post the answers here, and when Karen has time she will also post the answers on her site.)

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Ant Eggs Versus Pupae

Question:

Sorry I could not find the question box, but me and my cousin were digging through a ant hole and we found ant eggs. What do they need to grow? Sunlight, coldness, what kind of environment can they live in?

Thanks!
Alexis

Dear Alexis,

The first question I have for you is: did you collect ant eggs or ant pupae? The second question is:  did you collect worker ants too?

Ant eggs are tiny (much smaller than worker ants), white, shiny and oval.

ant-eggs

You can see a pile of ant eggs in this photograph in the middle and a little to the left.

Ant pupae are as large or even larger than worker ants and often have a beige silken sac around them.

ant-pupae

They also have a black dot at the end.

If you have eggs, then you will really need worker ants to take care of them. The larvae that hatch from the eggs will need workers to feed them, clean them etc. The larvae are helpless.  I have a post about ant larvae, if you’d like to learn more. And just so you know, there is a chance the workers will eat the eggs.

If you have pupae, they could become worker ants. Again, they will do better if there are some worker ants to take care of them. Without a queen, they will not live as long as they would in nature.

In their nest under the ground, the ants normally grow up in dark, moist and relatively moderate temperatures.

I am glad you are interested in ants. Let me know whether you have eggs or pupae.

(Note: As I mentioned previously, I have been the “Consult-Ant” on the Leaping from the Box website. I answer questions about ants and ant farms. From now on I will post the answers here, and when Karen has time she will also post the answers on her site.)