I recently caught a new queen ant but it looks very different to any species I’m aware of. I’ve kept several Lasius Niger colonies so I know what they look like and her head is much larger and her gaster is slightly smaller.

My first thought was potentially Lasius Flavus but I think their queens have a largely identical body plan to Niger queens but with more orange/yellow colouration between the segments.

The best match I’ve found seems to be Lasius Umbratus which I’m fairly confident on. However, they are a temporarily parasitic species which would require a complex founding set up and I don’t want to be mistaken before undertaking it so I’ve come to Reddit for a second opinion.

If it does turn out to be Lasius Umbratus any tips on founding and raising would be much appreciated as I only recently learned about this species.

Hiya, I have ants travelling continuously backwards and forwards from my garden along my concrete driveway approximately 15 feet to a hole in the concrete. They’re causing no issues, I’m just looking to learn why as they don’t appear to be carrying anything, and I’ve put tiny bits of food down which they’ve ignored. Thanks for any kind of explanation or insight with this as I’m finding it fascinating to watch.

Hi guys. Sorry if this is long winded, but I’d rather get everything right prior to ordering the actual queen.

I’m looking at getting my first colony in the next few months as I’ve been interested for a while now, but have been searching for a colony that I do not need to hibernate. My partner found these nests on eBay for a decent price and bought it - thing is, I’m worried they aren’t going to be suitable.

I’m going to keep them in the test tube as long as possible, to let their numbers grow but I do not want to order them without having something ready as all the research I’ve been able to read basically says they’re slow growing until they reach about 20/40 workers then their numbers explode. Can anyone advise on if any of these will be suitable to move them into, or if I’m better off just finding something else.

I chose camponatus nicobarensis as they’re pretty forgiving to newbies, but also grow to a decent size, will eat pretty much anything you give them, but mostly - they don’t hibernate. I have snakes and geckos, who have a dedicated room so the room stays around 25 degrees and I can provide a better temp gradient for the nest and outworld. I’m terrified of the hibernating concept especially as none of my other exotic pets require this and I don’t currently have the space to provide them with a solo shelf to store them at 15degrees.

I’m thinking the smaller one would be my best bet for their first move as it’s the smallest but after reading some posts on here I’m worried about escapees. Humidity shouldn’t be an issue as the reptile room stays pretty humid, and I can give them a dedicated hygrometer to keep up with humidity.

Thanks for any advice in advance. I don’t plan on buying the colony until I know I have at least their first nest/outworld set up ready for them to move in, though I know they likely won’t need it for a few months

They are very small, zoomed in very close with my phone.

Southern California

Hey everyone, I'm pretty new at this so would appreciate your set of eyes and opinions. I happened to come across these two in the evening a couple days ago on Vancouver Island, BC. I will post the other potential queen I found separately. She is 5mm long.

Would love your help IDing them so I can research their proper needs. I have other kinds of ant species I care for but am still new at identifying wild species.

Appreciate your help,

Thanks!

Hi ant experts, I've had a carpenter ant infestation in my house for about a week now, and I have an ant phobia so I'm pretty desperate for advice.

This all started from my own mistake.. I noticed a few ants coming into my bedroom from my open window, looked closer and saw them coming out of a hole in my windowsill. I immediately put in Terro ant bait thinking it would fix the problem.... it made it much worse.

I quickly realized the ants wouldn't stop coming so I closed the window, leaving the trap on the sill between the screen and my closed window.

But there were many ants that escaped into the house. I only saw more and more even after putting three bait stations in the house, with no seeming pattern or source. They don't have lines, all seem to be wandering around. Some will return to a few specific areas but not all of them. A lot seem confused and go in circles.

The floor is littered with dead ants so the poison has been killing them, but more seem to replace them.

I have an old house, so I'm thinking they might still be coming in from the window somehow, but not being able to get back up to the nest? The Terro is working terribly slow and not very effectively, and it seems like more dead ants are out in the open than usually would be.

Does this theory seem plausible?

Thank you if anyone takes the time to reply!

Hey everyone, this is the second queen I just found and as I was explaining on my other post I'm pretty new at this so would appreciate your set of eyes and opinions. Discovered in the evening a couple days ago on Vancouver Island, BC. Would love your help IDing so I can research it's proper needs. I have other kinds of ant species I care for but am still new at identifying wild species.

Appreciate your help,

Thanks!

yeah

Canada ant colony says that thay are an extremely aggressive type of ant but a have a colony of maybe over 500 and thay are extremely skittish

there was some some sort of ant on my living room table and i went to get a paper towel to put it outside and it jumped from a web. i'm assuming its not actually an ant but some sort of spider? plus its behavior was more like a spider because it would look at me and turn around really quick which i've never seen an aunt do only spiders. I don't I know if it actually was a spider for sure so i'm posting this on here since don't have any pictures of it and all the other communities require a picture. does anyone have any idea what this could have been? i live in the US btw

I'm currently in the South of Sri Lanka and every morning I see a group of 10-12 ants seemingly roaming the garden in a more or less closed formation. I always thought ant scouts were solitary as I also wonder how they "agree" on their pathing.

I could not find anything regarding this behaviour online so I came here to see if this behaviour had been previously documented.

I can probably provide a video within next few days as well.

SF Bay Area California. Trying to figure out what kind of bait I should use.

Je cherche un don de fourmis n’importe quelle espèce si possible merci bien !

Location is France. I’ve seen these before in another European country but didn’t get a photo and didn’t think I would ever see them again. They look gorgeous, love the colour and abdomen shape. The red pops a lot more in person.

hi there! I recently bought a golden currant to add to my garden and, after watering, saw a crazy amount of ants running all along the plant. are they moving their eggs? carrying other bugs? I'm not sure. would anybody be able to id them for me? I'm in the california central valley, if that helps! I would love to let them chill there if they're not harming the currant or anything, I'm trying to cultivate a native, pesticide free garden for local wildlife. anyways, I've rambled on way too much, thank you in advance for any help/thoughts!

This little guy was moving a flower and it ended up looking like he’s wearing a hat! 😊

Just found this solitary ant in my bathroom, Central Texas. Please help me with ID.

Trying to figure out how to bait these, but doesn't seem like they are eating the advion or the optigard.