How to Collect and Store Queen Ants During Nuptial Flight Season - AntsCanada Tutorial #5

[kkiittoooo]

Is this Mikey Bustos???

[ERuBI13]

what are you gonna do with all does queens. dont u need one only for a colony ?

[taylorswiftlover88]

He looks like he's about to crush the first ant!!!!

[SuperSk8ta]

when do ants mate (black ants) because i live in hawaii and we cant have out side ants because of the agraculture cheack pleese right back thankyou :D

[diamondchuck1]

@AntsCanada i was thinking of raising an ant colony but what do you do during nuptial flight? i dont want ants flying around my house and my mom wouldnt like that at all :/

[stargate1451]

UR FROM CANADA !

AWESOME I FROM TO U KNOW!!!

[dapoopta]

what ant forum are you a part of? Anyone have any good recommendations for forums?

[AmericasAntNest]

Haha "I am not going to create an ant store"

Right....

[mrsBieberLoverxxx]

Those look like flies at the beginning

[sammyloy123]

which one is male and which one is femalE??????

[bigboy751000]

did ur site get shutdown cause i cant find it

[d4v1d1999]

Hey where kan I catch a queen ant I'm starting a colony

[Zealotmanify]

i have caught what i believe is a lasius claviger here in nova scotia and ive test tubed here up and putting her up for adoption for one of my friends when he gets back from vacation im not sure if it is lasius claviger

[94Jkim]

You can't buy/sell a queen ant; its against Federal Law, unless you have a license from the USDA.

[scooterforlife1999]

how can you tell if it is a male

[carpetmonk]

how long are nuptuals for fire ants? they just took flight, most likely around 20 to 40 females (although i didnt not find any males.. but 1 dead beside the colony) i captured a queen after she took off.. like immediately, and have started her a little place.. do they mate immediately after taking off? days? thanks.. bart

[MegaBonkai]

the queen hav like a hunch back i have lots of queen on my porch but i dont know

which type it is its kinda black shes looking around do get some dirt or make it with stirafoam

[MegaBonkai]

the queen hav like a hunch back

[7mean7bunny7]

Also I am in Central Georgia, USA.

[7mean7bunny7]

Hi there Ants Canada, I have been an ant lover all my life and for the first time at age 24 I am finally going to build my first formacarium (huge one) and after thinking about it extensively I decided to keep Solenopsis Invictus "Fire Ants" even though they are not good pets usually. If you have any info on that species if they fly late summer or not. Thanks.

[MrKibbleCat]

how can i tell if its a male or female ???

[Coolyaya12]

you ever have any ants excape?

[farmerz245]

What if you catch a virgin queen?

[MrKibbleCat]

@farmerz245 if you catch a virgin queen it would still lay eggs but they will be males (drones) and no female {workers)

[dataworld1]

how do you know if its a male or female? O.o

[crewifyable]

what whould happen if the queen was not fertilized?

[dcoop060]

What are the months so you can collect the fertle queen

[IKeiichiroI]

Hey...Can i catch "any" queen and i put the queen in my current working colony ?

[Zamorak4251]

AntsCanada, I have recently become intreseted in myrmecology...(I think that's how its spelled...) which of your nests and ant species do you reccomend for a begginer colony? I live in the U.S.

[robertadamplant]

you are right... myrmocology is a fantastic field of study. I have just placed my first order with the German, AntStore, to which I presume you are referring when you refer to Europe's ant stores. I will let you know how I get on.

[dinosaurman1000]

umm u shouldnt sell queen ants if u sell them in the us u could go to jail or be fined!

[jadbb11]

@dinosaurman1000 the global ant nursery doesnt allow for the shipment over state borders so he is in legal rights do it, plus its the owner who does the transaction with the receiver :D

mikey making ur life a little simpler for ya haha

[thewhorulesall]

What time is this i live in the midwest of nebraska and ive never seen it

[gtariman03]

TO PICK THEM UP, USE TWIZERS BUT DONT PINCH TOO HARD... THELL DIE

[PreppyPoser1]

@thejuanandonly505 That is not true, some colonies do have more than 1 queen such as Fire Ants, they usually have more than 1 queen, and a species of weaver ants, usually have several queens who work together to weave a single nest together. But, most ant colonies do start with 1 single queen though. But not all do, some start with more than 1 queen. Some nests over time, gain additional queens.

[AntsCanada]

@PreppyPoser1 And just like that, ant education was promoted! So proud of you, PreppyPoser. Great work!

[Mega1kenny]

im in florida where to get ant colonys from

[AntsCanada]

@Mega1kenny We have a new ant nursery, and we have a wanted section. If you enlist we may find a colony for you to purchase from your area. The site is called GlobalAntNursery, dot, com

[spikeycrap]

im from alberta lol

[lonesoldier33]

Hey, after I caught my first few possible queens, their wings dropped off. Is it natural for that to happen just minutes after capture?

[ertesdfds]

@lonesoldier33 yes

[cupwnd]

Nothing beats cuttling with your hibernating queen ant whores right guys?

[porfistar]

your an ant freak

[sawu101]

you should treat her mejesty with more respect

[qsvrwlsn]

i cought a very small winged ant more of an orngy brownish colour she had a smaller winged ant detached to her abdomen i believe tht means she was mated but i dont have a test tube or an ants cananda nest so i just let her go

[russel123you]

Oh Yesterday I think it was Nuptial Flight Season, There were Lots of Ants Flying Around. I managed to catch one and I think it already mated with some worker ants in my ant farm because some died and her wings fell off.

[cobraopts7]

@russel123you worker ants are all female drones are males and are large and have wings like the queen

[nhothing]

yo mikey I dirent now you sing

[samenatorful]

cane i remove the white stuf if there is no water anymore?

[destroyer0323]

does the ants u catch hav 2 b in nupial flight in ordr 2 put the in a test tube? i mostly catch pavement ants, carpenter ants and black field ants. would they b good 4 testtubing

[demasoni521]

How do you tell if it is a male? because I caught one with wings and it seems to be a little small...thanks

[AntsCanada]

@demasoni521 See our video entitled: Collecting & Discerning Queens from Males/Worker Ants Tutorial #16

[cobraopts7]

@demasoni521 does it have a skinny head and a skinny thorax then its a drone

[kittygirl19191]

i live in uk, its july and i was wondering when i could get a ant queen from nuptial flights? i heard the best time is in august

[AntsCanada]

@kittygirl19191 In North America August is a great time for catching gravid queens during the nuptial flight seasons of various species. I assume the UK may be the same! Good luck!

[kittygirl19191]

@AntsCanada oh erm the day after or theb same day i posted that comment i got a queen ant! i was looking in the allies of my town about 6:00pm ( the best time in june-july cause of sun ) and i found a queen with no wings walking on the ally path so.. she was realy hard to catch and i needed help, i put her in my ant farm but she went to the corner i cant see ( not in dirt ) but i took off side panel to look in and it seems y she has been in the corner forever is cause she has long eggs lol

[cobraopts7]

@AntsCanada when will it happen ive only seen a few flying aroud i checked all ant hills have no drones or queens i checked the fire ants and the crazy yellow ants dont either do carpenter ants breed in august

[RajaofNYandPGH]

No joke, I was expecting to see some sort of dork collecting ants but you have a shaved head and an earring. Slightly more bad ass than your average bug collector.

[AntsCanada]

@RajaofNYandPGH

LOL! Grew up in the hood like everyone else. Being an insect nerd doesn't mean you can't be cool! Ant-keeping is definitely BADASS!!!

PS - Even pop celebrities keep ants mikeybustos[dot]com

[antssanmateo]

 stop being mean to antscanada @AntsCanada

[antssanmateo]

stop being mean to antscanada AntsCanada

[nafaka12]

i cought a lasius niger queen last year , but she did nothing , did not try Lay eggs , nothing but she had Mated becasue she already ripped her wings off and saw her digging for a burrow. so after a couple of hours i Let her go , prob needed to wait longer tho lol.

[motocrazy994]

ZEQCv CA

[motocrazy994]

where did you get the test tubes

[lukehedgerburchell]

hey m8 love all your vids i was just wandering i live in england do u know when nupital flight season is here?

[Treebie124]

Hi AntsCanada, Love your video uploads. Good to see someone willing to share their knowledge. Keep up the great work!!!

[xrichpkx]

i found and ant queen and i want to know what kind it is it has kind of red belly and black bottom and head it has wings and mated also i want to know how to make a double colony?

[AntsCanada]

@xrichpkx It is difficult to ID species without a clear photo! Join antfarm.yuku[dot]com and post the photo there for the identifying pros to help you out! :) Good luck!

[AntsCanada]

@Smartster621atzcmd60 There are many kinds of black ants that come in all sizes. Queen ants are usually larger than the workers in most species.

[Pentatleta]

@AntsCanada You are wrong

[AntsCanada]

@Pentatleta I'm sorry but I am not wrong. You are wrong. I have ant experts and myrmecologists who can back me up on my claims. I feel privileged to commune with and learn from the best. :)

[AntsCanada]

@Pentatleta Watch this video "KEEPING QUEEN ALATES WITH WINGS DURING NUPTIAL FLIGHT - TUTORIAL #10 " It's in my video list.

See those wings, Pentatleta?

I highly recomend you read Holldobler & Wilson's The Ants, pg 157...

[AntsCanada]

"

The external trigger for wing shedding and histolysis is not exclusively insemination, as one might guess. When virgin queens of some species are taken from the presence of other queens, they drop their wings after about a day and begin to behave more in the manner of inseminated nest queens. In the case of Solenopsis invicta in particular, the crucial signal is a relatively nonvolatile pheromone produced by queens and conveyed to the virgin alates."

[AntsCanada]

@Pentatleta Go to @1:38 and click on the linked Annotation. I put it up just for you! ;)

[AMDEATH45]

what ant forum are you part of?

[AntsCanada]

@AMDEATH45 Almost all of them lol on Antstore, dot, net I am Mikey_Bustos

[Pentatleta]

and do not collect winged queens....they probably are not fecunded

[AntsCanada]

@Pentatleta I'm sorry but you are incorrect. Please refer to my last response and go to 1:38 Thank you :)

[stahalaep]

@AntsCanada thanks for all your help! Nuptial flights are currently taking place in El Paso! This is my first time tubing queens, GENERALLY how long until they lay eggs?

[Pentatleta]

use an aspirator (venturi´s or direct)

[AntsCanada]

@Pentatleta An aspirator is unnecessary for collecting queens, but it can be helpful, especially with smaller species.

[darkj8090]

waht is nuptial flight season?

[AntsCanada]

@darkj8090 It's when reproductive ants mate. Look up our "life cycle of the ant" video in our channel. Hope that helps! :)

[SuperElectricPower]

dont queen ants have a giant abdament? how can u tell if its male, female or a queen?

[AntsCanada]

@SuperElectricPower Queens are indeed larger but large abdomens (gasters) aren't always the case (e.g. social parasitic queen ants). Males often have larger eyes and smaller mandibles. They look more wasp-like than ants. Males of some species have bean-shaped gasters. Overall, the best way to distinguish is to study photos of the species existing in your area. Antweb, dot, org has great closeup photos of ants. Hope this helps!

[Mozers05]

I just found 10 queens of unknown species of Solenopsis in my house. I saw them in clutch with few workers (10 to be exact)

I have put them all in 1 testube with the workers and in the process accidentally injured one queen who died after two days.

today is their 4th day in the testube and is now have laid a big pile of eggs.

[klumps13]

i just found a nest with 50 winged ants and i live in michigan :)

[AntsCanada]

That's great, but I hate to break this to you. They won't be able to give you a colony. They're all virgins and ant mating only occurs above ground at certain times of the year, during what are called Nuptial Flights, not year round. You will have to wait until it is the Nuptial Flight season for the ants and catch them while they are out flying or on the ground searching for a new nest site.

[AntsCanada]

You cannot break into a nest and collect winged queens and expect them to give you colonies. Even if they end up laying eggs for you, they will all turn into males. You have to wait for the Nuptial Flights, like in this video.

[AntsCanada]

Unfortunately most don't. It's currently sort of considered a novelty hobby, which my store is trying to change. Ants are amazing creatures deserving of proper homes.

[n2488]

I live in UK but its really hard to find info on it plus what's your career

[AntsCanada]

We have a lot of great info at The Ants Canada Store website. Visit us at AntsCanada, com (turns out, I changed my mind and opened an Ants Store). I am also a recording artist, music distributed by Universal Music Canada/Soul Kiss/Maplecore. My fans know me as Mikey Bustos.

[filoviyas]

how can i tell a male or a female ant queen?? and how do u tell if they're pregnant or not?? ur videos helped me alot thnxs for posting them!!!

[AntsCanada]

You may have to go on Google and study what the males and queens look like for the species you have in your area. Generally males have smaller heads and tinier mandibles and smaller gasters (abdomens). Visit the FAQ section of our website for more on your questions. Lots of information. Thanks!

[FR3DY131]

i live in Nevada LV and i want to start a ant colony but i dont no when they start to mate so if you can help me out it would be GREAT!!

[AntsCanada]

Give them a drop of honey. They don't need much during hibernation. Look for my video on how to feed ants honey tutorial.

[AntsCanada]

If they dont come out of the sand in search of food it means they dont need to eat. When in hibernation the ants' bodily functions slow down and they enter a dormant state. They will be hungry again in the Spring. Try not to stress yourself out too much, and place them in a cool spot so they can properly get rest for wintering. Trust me. Hibernating them will cause the queen to lay an explosion of eggs by Springtime.

[Kurolli]

i can remember this time Devon was In fested with loads of Winged Ants..And i mean, infested, Loads of dad ones in the sea, buzzing and crawling all over the ground, The following year it was find though...No clue what that was about!

[azizking2]

some of them are drones.Drones are the male ants that mate with the young Queen/princess so when you find the biggest one you have the princess.

[AntsCanada]

Yes, some of the ants flying that day were males. However, all the ants I tubed up that day were all queens. I had them each looked at and identified by experts afterwards. The small ones belong to the Genus Ponera.

[azizking2]

oh now i understand

[AntsCanada]

It's cool, man. Many people have said the same thing you have said. It's hard to tell from the video and truly see the fine details. Next time I catch queens and film it I will really use Macro to zoom into all my catches. Hope you're enjoying your weekend, azizking2!

[CostesseyAntBoy]

nice vids mate, been collecting ants for a couple of years now and your vids have inspired me to keep more exotic ants :D, subbed aswell, keep the vids coming!

[AntsCanada]

Thanks, CostesseyAntBoy! I indeed make these videos for us Ant Addicts! lol :)

[thetechdeckboys]

dude those are males they find nest for the quens

[AntsCanada]

The first one I picked up was a male, but the ones I bottled up were not. Look up the Genus Ponera. There were other species of ants flying that day, as well, that were bigger than the small ones shown in this video.

Also, you are incorrect ins aying the males look for nests for the queens. The males die after mating with them. Mating is the males' only purpose in the ant world. The queens find nests for themselves after mating.

[AntsCanada]

Actually, you're incorrect. These are in fact all ant queens not termite queens. Here in Toronto we do not have many termites.

Sometimes queen ants do not shed their wings after being fertilized, and once the first workers arrive they remove them for her...

[AntsCanada]

The first species of ant you see in the video belong to the Genus PONERA. Other ants you see here are four different species of Lasius, one of Brachymyrmex, a Tetramorium queen, and two species of Ponera.

[AntsCanada]

They are definitely not termites, which belong to a completely different order, "Isoptera". Make no mistake, Snowie. I do know my ants. ;)

[AntsCanada]

NB - The messages above are addressed to Snowy

[AntsCanada]

Naturally you got owned by a 28 year old (see below). ;)

[stahalaep]

Also queens can lay eggs without being fertile, they just wont hatch.

[AntsCanada]

Actually, you're correct in saying that unfertilized queens can lay eggs, but they still can hatch and they simply turn to males. It has to do with the nature of their chromosomal structure. The unfertilized eggs that don't hatch are called 'trophic eggs'.

[azaryah1000]

plzzzzzzz do this um can u make a video on how to make those big anmt farms like the story of my ant colony myrmica rubra how to make it and are there al;ot of ants in canada

[AntsCanada]

I will the next time I make a nest which will likely be next year in the spring.

[AntsCanada]

Unfortunately, we have since opened an ant store and are selling the grout nests, so I will not be creating a video of how it's made afterall. I'm sorry.

[stahalaep]

Those ants are tiny, I work with much bigger ones. dont know my species though. She must have just mated within the hour if she still had wings and was fertile

[AntsCanada]

Yeah, we have many species here. The Camponotus species which are much bigger fly around spring time. All summer prior to this video there were many Formica species flying. This video was taken right before Fall so many Lasius, Brachymyrmex, and Ponera were flying that day - all smaller species.

[doomking126]

i would like to have some ants, can you tell me when nuptial flight is because i want to catch a queen. i live in florida um thanks for your time.

[AntsCanada]

Thanks, guys! :)

[keraktar]

yea, really nice vid =)

[Kaiserks3338]

Nice