What is this blog about? 10/8/2017

-

        Welcome to Bay Area Ants! On this blog, I will explore the fascinating and diverse world of ants, including, but not only, ants in the San Francisco Bay Area. These creatures are much more interesting than most people think. For example, did you know that ants started farming well before humans ever roamed the earth? Or that ants have wrestling matches to settle territory disputes? If you find this interesting, you have come to the right place. Enjoy!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Experience Raising Honeypot Ants 3/9/2020

-
Image
     Throughout the years I have kept ants, honeypots have been one of my favorite types of ants to raise. Here in California, our native honeypot ants are all of the genus Myrmecocystus . These ants are visually stunning, producing large food-filled workers called repletes. Here are some repletes of one of our native species,  Myrmecocystus mexicanus :        Generally , honeypot queens will have a captivity success rate of less than 25%, which make them very hard to keep. In the years I have been raising ants, I have kept five unique species of them, all native to California. In this post, I will describe in detail the methods, tips and tricks I use to raise honeypot ant colonies. Founding       The  most difficult part of raising honeypot ants is the founding stage. Certain species, such as Myrmecocystus navajo , aren't too temperamental during this stage. However, others, such as Myrmecocystus mexicanus  are.      Honeypot ants do best when kept warm, around 80-90F, and un
Read more

Species Profile: Camponotus fragilis

-
Image
    California is one of the most diverse states in terms of ant species. One of the most unique species native to California is Camponotus fragilis . These ants are known for their distinctive yellow coloration, which is uncommon among the Camponotus  species in California. They are one of the fastest growing Camponotus species , and are a great species for beginner and expert antkeepers alike. Species Name: Camponotus fragilis Photos: Camponotus fragilis colony with their first major worker Difficulty:  Beginner California Distribution:      This species is found in abundance throughout the deserts of southern California. Species Description:       This species is one of the few yellow Camponotus  species present in California. These ants usually nest under rocks or debris in desert regions. They have colonies that get quite large, with some colonies in captivity having several thousand workers. This species is monogynous, which means there is only one queen in a colony.      In capt
Read more

Myrmecocystus mexicanus: California's Largest Honeypot Ants 1/18/2019

-
Image
     During the summer of 2019, I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to the Mojave Desert. While the deserted landscape may seem desolate, it is teeming with an abundance of creatures, if you look in the right places.      One of the best times to see desert life is right after a monsoon storm, which often take place in the summers. These storms drop immense amounts of rain in a short time, which often causes flash floods. However, these rains can also trigger the nuptial flights of ants, where the reproductive males and females fly out of the nest in search of a mate.      Luckily for me, I visited the desert at the perfect time. A storm had come through and dropped multiple inches of rain over some easily accessible desert. Upon arrival to the sites which had received the most rain, I was able to find queens of many different species. One of the species I collected was Myrmecocystus mexicanus, the largest species of honeypot ant in California.      Despite being amazing ants
Read more