Rearing ant colonies with queens, my other hobby! (Large Pics!)

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Those things have some killer-looking jaws on them!!!

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
They don't hurt most of the time. But the harvester ants have a pretty harsh sting. The majors of the Camponotus can make you bleed, and then they spray formic acid in the wound, now that hurts.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
They don't hurt most of the time. But the harvester ants have a pretty harsh sting. The majors of the Camponotus can make you bleed, and then they spray formic acid in the wound, now that hurts.

We have a type of harvester ant here and I had an allergic reaction to the bite and had to the hospital a few years back...they are nasty! We've been pouring diesel on their mounds and lighting them on fire each fall and spring...and spraying...they are seriously annoying! LOL

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
They don't hurt most of the time. But the harvester ants have a pretty harsh sting. The majors of the Camponotus can make you bleed, and then they spray formic acid in the wound, now that hurts.

We have a type of harvester ant here and I had an allergic reaction to the bite and had to the hospital a few years back...they are nasty! We've been pouring diesel on their mounds and lighting them on fire each fall and spring...and spraying...they are seriously annoying! LOL

Lol, I'm sure if they were that common around here I'd do the same. But since it's so humid here they are only found in select areas, I've been trying my bests to start a colony but no luck. The harvester queen that was mating in the pictures laid eggs, but didn't make it due to some serious mold. The Florida harvest ant is also polymorhpic. Meaning workers are more than just one size. With the harvesters ranging from 1/8 of an inch to 1/4 of an inch.

 

[redhen]

What do they eat?

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Quote:
Roaches from my roach colony, mealworms, earwigs, oily foods, cheese, canned tuna, honey water, sugar water, aphid honydew, and a few other things I'm forgetting. You can see a chewed up earwig at the end of the test tube for the capenter ant picture. Fun pets and a little insect-a-slip (fluon) keeps them from escaping.

 

[alicefelldown]

Fascinating. More pictures please!!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Roaches from my roach colony, mealworms, earwigs, oily foods, cheese, canned tuna, honey water, sugar water, aphid honydew, and a few other things I'm forgetting. You can see a chewed up earwig at the end of the test tube for the capenter ant picture. Fun pets and a little insect-a-slip (fluon) keeps them from escaping.

Hey.. anything that eats nasty reaches is okay in my book!!

 

[Bantimna]

Quote:
Roaches from my roach colony, mealworms, earwigs, oily foods, cheese, canned tuna, honey water, sugar water, aphid honydew, and a few other things I'm forgetting. You can see a chewed up earwig at the end of the test tube for the capenter ant picture. Fun pets and a little insect-a-slip (fluon) keeps them from escaping.

Hey.. anything that eats nasty reaches is okay in my book!!

x2!

How is the queen doing, and how long before the eggs hatch?

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Bah...sadly all of my colonies last year succombed to disease. I'm not sure what it was, but it slowly affected each one of the colonies neurologically and they suffered from motor control issues and eventually couldn't bring themselves to eat/walk. 13 different colonies died. A year of hard work down the drain, but at least this is a new Florida year. I have more experience and know where to go for certain species. Wish me luck!