Note: Please use a fixed width font (e.g., Courier) to properly display this FAQ due to ASCII text pictures and formatting. ___ ___ /\/ \ The Ants Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) / \/\ / / o | | o \ \ / /)____/ Last Updated On: 2002.06.10 \____(\ \ ======================================================================= CONTENTS 0.0 Introduction 0.1 [2000.01.07] Authors 0.2 [2000.01.07] Disclaimer, Trademarks, Copyright 0.21 [2001.01.21] Guidelines for FAQ conversion to HTML 0.3 [2001.12.25] Foreword by the Authors 0.4 [1999.09.10] About The Ants FAQ 0.5 [1999.09.10] UK/US Spelling and Grammar Issues 0.6 [1999.08.26] Submitting Stuff to The Ants FAQ 0.7 [2000.01.07] Updates 0.8 [2002.06.10] Revision History of This FAQ 0.9 [2001.12.25] Acknowledgements and Major Contributors 0.10 [1999.09.22] FAQ Notes 0.11 [2001.12.25] Afterword Questions and Answers 1.0 Queen Ants 1.1 [2002.01.13] Where can I get queen ants? 1.2 [1999.09.10] What does the queen ant look like? 1.3 [1999.09.10] Why can't I order queen ants? 1.4 [2002.01.10] What happens if I don't have a queen in my Ant Farm? 1.5 [1999.09.22] Do queen ants ever leave their nests? 2.0 Ant Farms 2.1 [2001.05.10] Where can I buy an Ant Farm? 2.2 [2001.11.16] How can I build my own Ant Farm? 2.3 [2001.01.21] What is good food for ants in my Ant Farm? 2.4 [1999.09.10] Where can I get ants? 2.5 [2001.12.15] How do I catch ants to put in my Ant Farm? 3.0 Identification 3.1 [2000.01.07] Is there a way to tell an unfertilized queen ant (princess) and a male ant (prince/drone) apart? 3.2 [1999.09.22] I need help identifying this ant/insect? 3.3 [2001.01.28] What are the differences between ants and termites? 4.0 Ant Facts 4.1 [2000.01.07] How long do ants generally live? 4.2 [2002.01.10] Can ants talk/communicate? 4.3 [2001.11.05] What do ants eat? 4.4 [1999.09.22] Are all ants female? 4.5 [1999.09.22] How do ants clean themselves? 4.6 [2000.07.15] How much weight can a worker carry and why? 4.7 [1999.09.22] Why can ants/insects carry so much? 4.8 [1999.09.22] Do ants get lost? 4.9 [2000.01.10] How long for an egg to become an adult worker? 4.10 [2001.08.13] Are leaves the leaf-cutter ants' favorite food? 4.11 [2002.04.03] How many different species of ant are there? 4.12 [2000.04.07] Do ants "go to the bathroom"? 5.0 Habits 5.1 [1999.09.22] Why are there winged/flying ants from this one ant colony? 5.2 [1999.09.22] Why do ants fight even if they look the same? 5.3 [2002.01.10] Do ants work all the time and do they ever sleep? 6.0 Extermination 6.1 [2001.01.28] Why are ants coming into my home? 6.2 [2001.01.28] How do I get rid of them? 7.0 Miscellaneous 7.1 [1999.09.22] What is this fuzzy/hairy ant with a huge stinger I found? 7.2 [1999.08.15] What is myrmecology and myrmecologist? 7.3 [1999.08.20] Where can I find more information on fire ants? 7.4 [2001.01.21] What about carpenter ants? 7.5 [2001.01.21] What books are good to read on ants? 7.6 [2001.12.25] What other excellent Web sites to find more information on ants? 7.7 [2001.01.21] I have a few questions that are not listed in this FAQ. ======================================================================= 0.0 Introduction 0.1 [2000.01.07] Authors FAQ is maintained and hosted by: 1. Phillip Pi (aka Ant) -- Main maintainer E-mail: philpi@apu.edu The Ant Farm: http://antfarm.ma.cx 2. Randy Rencsok (aka Mr. Ant) -- Coauthor & host of the Web version E-mail: rencsok@channelu.com AntCam: http://www.antcam.com 3. Andre Schmidt (aka Jinei) -- Coauthor E-mail: andre@myrmecology.org Myrmecology: http://www.myrmecology.org 4. James Trager (aka Dr. Ant) -- Myrmecological consultant E-mail: doctorant@prodigy.net Send all FAQ comments and submissions to the FAQ maintainer Phillip Pi (philpi@apu.edu). 0.2 [2000.01.07] Disclaimer, Trademarks, Copyright Disclaimer: This FAQ is for people who want to know about ants and related topics. By reading and using this document YOU the READER agree that this FAQ is furnished on an AS-IS basis. Neither previous or current Author(s), Maintainer(s) Contributor(s), or Distributor(s) makes any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, as to any matter whatsoever, including without limitation the condition or fitness for any particular purpose. Neither do the previous or current Author(s), Maintainer(s), Contributor(s), or Distributor(s) assume any liability or responsibility regarding the contents, use, profit, loss, direct, indirect, consequential or incidental damages resulting from the reading or use of this FAQ. Trademarks: Ant Farm is a registered trademark of Uncle Milton Industries, Inc. and used with permission. Note: If a trademark isn't here, then please e-mail us so it can be added. All trademarks (shown and not shown) are acknowledged. Copyright: The Ants FAQ is Copyright 1999-2002 by Phillip Pi, Randy Rencsok, and Andre Schmidt. All rights reserved. You are granted the following rights: I. To make copies of this FAQ in original form, as long as (a) the copies are complete and are unaltered by anyone other than Phillip Pi, Randy Rencsok, and Andre Schmidt; (b) the copies are in electronic form; (c) they give credit to Phillip Pi, Randy Rencsok, Andre Schmidt; II. To distribute this work, under the provisions above, as long as (a) the copies are complete and are unaltered by anyone other than Phillip Pi, Randy Rencsok, and Andre Schmidt; (b) no fee is charged (public domain); (c) they give credit to the authors: Phillip Pi, Randy Rencsok, and Andre Schmidt in any description; (d) the distributed form is not in an electronic magazine or within computer software; (e) the distributed form is the newest version of the FAQ (check The Ant Farm, AntCam Web site, and Myrmecology Web site to find the latest revision); (f) the distributed form is electronic. You may NOT distribute this FAQ in *any* non-electronic media. You may NOT distribute this FAQ in any electronic magazine. You may NOT distribute this FAQ within computer software. Notes: These rights are temporary, and may be revoked upon written notice by the current FAQ maintainer. If you wish to distribute this FAQ within a printed or electronic magazine, contact the current maintainer (Phillip Pi). 0.21 [2001.01.21] Guidelines for FAQ conversion to HTML Because we anticipate that people might wish to convert this FAQ to HTML those wishing to do so must adhere to the following guidelines. Failure to follow these mandatory guidelines will be considered a violation of copyright as noted in section 0.2 above. 1.M) On any Web page(s) which intends to HTMLify The Ants FAQ the following HTML must be inserted directly after the title and before any other text from the FAQ. AUTHORS
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Randy Rencsok
Andre Schmidt
James Trager		E-mail
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Ant
Mr. Ant
Jinei
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Note: Slight modification to the above HTML can be made due to design necessity, but the order and structure and links for all the entries must be retained. 2.M) The title "The Ants FAQ" must be maintained and displayed at the top of all pages which display FAQ information. FAQ pages can be embedded (i.e. as in frames), but within this embedding 1.M and 2.M requirements must be adhered to. 3.M) A link to this text version must be provided. 4.M) Any conversion of FAQ text to links must be done consistently throughout the FAQ text and not in a hodge podge manner. To obtain the current suggested string to link conversions see the following URL(s) or they may be obtained by mailing a request to the current maintainer or co-authors. Here are some examples: String(s) optional string to link conversion, blah blah E-mail link foo@bar.foobar antcam.com or antcam AntCam 5.M) Final notes: You are free to add your own string to link conversions as long as they don't overlap and supercede the suggested ones and are kept consistent throughout the FAQ text displayed on any Web pages containing FAQ information. Above all we encourage people to contribute links and text to enhance the FAQ. However, we feel that any additions should be made in consistent and appropriate ways. The FAQ is intented to be an information resource not a link list -- Some people may have access to newsgroups (i.e. ASCII), but not Web browsers. Hence the addition of links placeholders in the FAQ should also include copies of the relevant information contained in the Web pages provided they do not duplicate information already existing in the FAQ. Allowing linking to a Web page in Web versions allows the FAQ maintainers to not have to be concerned with changing FAQ text when Web pages they link to change unless the original FAQ information is found to be out of date and in need of updating. Above all, our goal is to provide information to all who seek such and to give credit to the providers of such information. We would hope that everyone would seek to recognize others work(s), and be recognized by their work. 0.3 [2001.12.25] Foreword by the Authors Here's the updated FAQ with major revisions and additions. We, the authors, have been very busy like ants! --Ant 0.4 [1999.09.10] About The Ants FAQ We created this FAQ because many people kept asking the same questions, and we had to give them the same old answers. Other ant fans and experts had the same feeling. Hopefully, this FAQ will cut down the number of common questions and answers. As new common questions appear through e-mails, message forums, and mailing lists, we will be adding them to this FAQ. We encourage anyone who wishes to contribute to this FAQ to e-mail the current maintainer with suggested modifications or additions. 0.5 [1999.09.10] UK/US Spelling and Grammar issues In order to make The Ants FAQs look the same each time, we have decided to use US spellings of all words. It also makes spell checking a lot easier. We encourage anyone who finds spelling or grammatical errors to submit corrections to the current maintainer (Phillip Pi; Ant; philpi@apu.edu). 0.6 [1999.08.26] Submitting Stuff to The Ants FAQ If you have some useful information you want to share with everyone else, then please e-mail them to Ant at philpi@apu.edu. All submissions will be checked, and may be altered for reasons of space or clarity. The authors are under no obligation to include any information submitted to him/her. All submissions also become the property of the authors. Credits will be given to you for your information. 0.7 [2001.12.25] Updates New, major versions of The Ants FAQ will be posted on these Web sites: The Ant Farm, AntCam, and Myrmecology. Ant mailing lists sci.bio.entomology.misc newsgroup, and other Web sites (e.g., translated into another foreign language) will also have the FAQs. The FAQs will be released whenever the current maintainer, and author(s) feel they are ready. 0.8 [2002.04.03] Revision History of This FAQ 2000.01.02 -- First FAQ released to the public! 2000.01.10 -- A few updates, corrections, and additions made to the FAQ. 2000.03.25 -- Section 4.11 is added, as well as some minor corrections. Second FAQ released. 2001.12.25 -- Section 4.12 is added. Fixed scientific names since genus name is always capitalized and the species name is not. Updated Section 4.6. Added Section 0.21 FAQ conversion to HTML Guidelines. Added Section 3.3 Differences between ants and termites, as well as a new chapter 6 for Extermination. Updated sections 0.9 to include new contributors, 1.1, 2.3, and 7.4-7.7. The old chapter 6 was moved to chapter 7. Updated Uncle Milton's contact information in section 2.1. Broken links fixed and many other minor changes. Third FAQ released to the public. Rereleased to The Ant Farm due to minor changes. 2001.12.29 -- Minor changes (e.g., spelling and grammar). 2002.01.10 -- Added more paragraphs to sections: 1.4, 4.2, and 5.3. 2002.01.13 -- Added Dr. Ant's comment to section 1.1. 2002.04.03 -- Revised section 4.11 with the new ant species number. 2002.06.10 -- Updated The Ant Farm's URLs and made the ants' eyes bigger in ASCII pictures. 0.9 [2001.12.25] Acknowledgements and Major Contributors -Myrmecology Majordomo Mailing List (sign up on http://www.myrmecology.org) -Myrmecology Mailing List on eGroups http://www.egroups.com/group/myrmecology/ -Andrea Schmidt (aka Jinei; http://www.myrmecology.org; andre@myrmecology.org) -Randy Rencsok (aka Mr. Ant; http://www.antcam.com; rencsok@channelu.com) -James Trager (aka Dr. Ant; doctorant@prodigy.net) -Will Demuth (http://www.antcolony.org; membership@antcolony.org) -Stewart Clark CEO of Terro, Inc. (http://www.terro.com) -Ant fans -- Without them, The Ants FAQ would not have existed. -The ants themselves of course -God (Proverbs 6:6-8 and 30:25 in the Bible) 0.10 [1999.09.22] FAQ Notes 1: Each date inside the brackets, for the rest of the FAQ, tells you when the information was last updated. The format is [ccyy.mm.dd]. 2: UMI means the source came from Uncle Milton's Ant Watcher's Handbook. It comes with the Ant Farm package. 0.11 [1999.08.22] Afterword We hope you will find this FAQ helpful in whatever it was you wanted to know about. If you have any comments, suggestions, additions, corrections or complaints, then please e-mail Ant at philpi@apu.edu. Questions and Answers 1.0 Queen Ants 1.1 [2002.01.13] Where can I get queen ants? There are a few possibilities: a. You can dig her nest up and find her. This is a tedious and difficult method and may not always be successful. The queen is very difficult to get. --Ant I have done this numerous times. For Formicas (larger small mound building species) I use: 1. Spade shovel 2. 2 five gallon buckets 3. 2 covers for buckets 4. Metal spoon. 5. Newspaper (a section will do) 6. Jars/bucket with 1-2" inside near rim treated with oil The process I use is to locate less developed nests (smaller). Then I carry shovel, buckets, and covers to site of nest during mid to late day (when sun has warmed upper soil). Next, I cut a circle around colony usually about size of bucket or smaller if possible. Think of this like cutting a 6" deep hole of sod; but don't pull up the section until you have made your circular cut. When your ready lift the whole section out of ground -- intact if possible -- put in first bucket. Then while the nest is disturbed, begin to quickly dig the rest of the soil following chambers and tunnels until few ants are found or bucket(s) are full. As buckets get full, place covers on them. Now, take the bucket(s) home and begin to manually sort (using spoon, newspapers for the refuse soil and jars/bucket to put the workers, pupae, larvae, eggs in while looking for the queen(s). Once the queen is obtained, then one can decide whether to keep sorting to obtain more workers or eggs, larvae pupae, etc. I have found eggs are very difficult to spot in many species unless they are still in wads of multiple eggs. Under large rocks mid-day or there about: Similar process as above, but usually one doesn't need to get as much soil and one may see immediately the queen. I've turned large blocks many times and seen huge colonies -- with a queen scrambling for cover. --Mr. Ant b. Rotting boards are good candidates. In West Virginia this summer (1999), I found three species all with queens under a rotting dog house we had to move. Carpenter ant queens, at least in Michigan, can relatively easily be found in late fall or early spring (in cool temperatures) by locating a large tree stand with a fair amount of downed and rotting logs. By carefully peeling off the bark one should easily be able to find a carpenter queen with her first brood (in some stage) in a egg shaped chamber between bark and wood of tree. Being prepared with collection jars (large mouthed mason work great) and sharp long knife. One places a small section of bark over the 1.5" oval chamber and cuts into the tree to extract completely the 1.5" oval chamber and surrounding wood. --Mr. Ant c. Wait for the nuptial flights during the spring and summer seasons. The new queen ants usually fly away after a rain storm during a warm temperature. It depends where you are, and the development of the colony. Most species of ants will mate in late spring and summer (June through August). --Ant and Angelo Scott Nuptial flights are the best time to get queens. Many times I seem to miss them for various reasons. The best reason to get nuptial queens is they are MUCH less sensitive to light than full blown native colonies (which I have observed take some time to acclimatize to light). Also, you get to see the full development cycle. It is important make sure to feed your queen before she enters the chamber as this will give her a much larger first brood than otherwise would have occurred. She will greedily gorge herself and then you can finally put her in your terrarium. --Mr. Ant d. Finding colonies with queens is best done during the first really warm weather of spring. At this time, queens come near the surface to warm up (just as they later retreat into the depths to keep cool once hot weather fully sets in). Placing covering objects such as flat bricks, stones, or old boards over known nest sites will help induce the ants to come gather under these in a few days or a week, making it easier to capture a whole colony. When you find the queen, capture her FIRST in a small container, and THEN go about scooping up the rest of the colony. Queens are very shy, and hide quickly at the first disturbance of the colony. --Dr. Ant 1.2 [1999.09.10] What does the queen ant look like? A queen ant is usually biggest in the colony with her fat abdomen. --Ant While it is true the queen is usually the largest ant in the colony, I personally find the most identifying trait is her large thorax (mid-section). If you compare the thorax of a queen to a worker of same species, it will be up to 4x larger than that of worker. While the abdomen is also larger -- sometimes the workers will have very enlarged abdomens while queen is not enlarged (or in egg laying phase) at all. Carpenter ants have workers with nearly queen sized bodies, particularly the heads. When all else fails, check the thorax if it is about the size of the head or larger you probably have a queen. --Mr. Ant 1.3 [1999.09.10] Why can't I order queen ants? It is illegal in the United States and a few other countries because one doesn't want to import or export a queen to a non-native region where indeed the species can run rampant or cause ecological damage. --Ant and Mr. Ant Examples: Fire Ants and Killer Bees in the Southern United States. Also a mollusk from Red Sea in northern lakes (imported on bows of ships). The examples are numerous... There are many in Australia (imported dung beetle, cats, etc.) --Mr. Ant United States Department of Agriculture (USDA; http://www.usda.gov) permits are required for legal shipment of insects across state lines. Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute (SASI; http://sasionline.org) won't even consider supplying material outside of Arizona without one since SASI could be shut down for violations, as well as losing its permit to import Atta mexicana. The regulations are a pain, but introductions of non-native material is wreaking environmental havoc globally Ants are especially troublesome, e.g., Imported Fire Ant. --Steve 1.4 [2002.01.10] What happens if I don't have a queen in my Ant Farm? Your ant colony probably will not survive for more than a few months, depending on its size and various other factors. --Ant and Mr. Ant A colony without a queen has very little motivation. They will still construct tunnels and be fun to watch. If you want to study them properly, then you need a queen. When the workers die in a queenless colony, they will not be replaced, thus the colony will only last a short period of time. This depends on the age of the workers/eggs/pupae/larvae you collected as well as the species of ant, but don't expect your colony to still be thriving after six months. --Richard Smith 1.5 [1999.09.22] Do queen ants ever leave their nests? She never leaves her nest unless there is an emergency like a disaster or the colony wants to move to a better or larger place. Most of the time, it is to find a more favorable home (current one too hot, too cool, too wet, too small, mold, etc.). --Ant and Mr. Ant However, some multiple queen colonies (e.g., Formica polyctena) build daughter nests as a part of the colony with brood and queens. Queens leave the nest together with some workers and some broods to find a place to build new colonies. --Jinei 2.0 Ant Farms 2.1 [2001.05.10] Where can I buy an Ant Farm? You can buy Uncle Milton's Ant Farms (children's version; not a professional type) at many toy stores or you can try contacting Uncle Milton Industries: Ant Farm, Dept. AM 5717 Corsa Avenue Westlake Village, CA 91362 Phone : (800) 869-7555 : (818) 707-0800 Fax : (818) 707-0878 E-mail: info@unclemilton.com There are other brands out there. --Ant and UMI 2.2 [2001.11.16] How can I build my own Ant Farm? There are many ways. Visit these Web sites: 1. Myrmecology at http://www.myrmecology.org --Ant 2. AntCam at http://www.antcam.com --Ant and Mr. Ant 3. Entomological Society of America: http://entsoc.org/education/projects/ant_habitat.htm I used to make these all the time. The main drawback is usually ants obscure the outer glass with soil. However, this method is simple and cheap. --Mr. Ant I used to use those clear, plastic tennis ball containers with soda cans. Same method as this link. The only problem was that this was plastic and not thick enough for the bigger ants. It is great for tiny ants like Argentine Ants. Just don't squeeze the containers! --Ant 2.3 [2001.01.21] What is good food for ants in my Ant Farm? It depends on the species of ants you've chosen since different species like different things. Most ants will eat some kind of sugar mixed with water (e.g., honey, sugar, maple syrup, etc.). It is a good idea to add a little bit of powdered multivitamin or mineral tablets to this mixture. Also, most (not all) ants appreciate pieces of insects etc. Species of leaf-cutter ants actually consume the fungi they grow on the leaves they bring into the nest. They don't eat the leaves, but they do need fresh leaves to grow the fungi on! Harvester ants require seeds. When it comes to feeding, I find the key element is not to add the food to the terrarium but to have a foraging zone for the ants. This will allow you to be able to clean the foraging zone if mold occurs etc. From page 219 of the Book, "Journey to the Ants" by Holldobler & Wilson, the following is reported: "To feed ants in the laboratory, we employ the Bhatkar diet (named after it's inventor, Awinash Bhatkar), which is prepared as follows: 1 egg 62 ml honey 1 gm vitamins 1 gm minerals and salts 5 gm agar 500 ml water Dissolve the agar in 250 ml boiling water. Let it cool. With an egg beater mix 250 ml water, honey, vitamins, minerals, and the egg until smooth. Add to this mixture, stirring constantly, the agar solution. Pour into petri dishes (0.5-1 cm deep) to set. Store in the refrigerator. The recipe fills four 15-cm diameter petri dishes, and is jellylike in consistency. Most insectivorous ant species thrive on this diet when fed it three times, weekly along with fragments of freshly killed insects, such as mealworms (Tenebrio), cockroaches (Nauphoeta), and crickets, offered in small quantities. If the ants are also predators, they do especially well when allowed access to bottles containing fruit flies, preferably flightless mutants. Alternatively, fruit-fly adults can be frozen and sprinkled onto the foraging arenas for the ants to discover." --Holldobler and Wilson Diet and Nutrition Web page: http://www.antcolony.org/diet.htm --Will Feeding: A varied diet is very important for the ants. A monotonous diet will result in failure. It is also necessary to feed the ants with very fresh food (every day). For hunting ant species, mealworms, flies, and larvae and pupae of other ant species. Even raw meat may be used as food. It is recommended to keep one's own insect breedings to feed the ants. You could, for example, put a piece of cheese rind into a container filled with coffee grounds to lure flies. Once they have laid their eggs on the rind, you can put it into a closed insect box out of which flies and larvae for feeding can be taken continuously. Mealworms (Tenebrio) are bred by putting mealworms bought in a pet shop onto a mixture of bran and flour. On top of it, you should put a piece of dry bread. The larvae gather in the moist and crumpled cloth everything is covered with. Pupae should be put into a separate breeding container (lest they are eaten by the larvae) as well as the hatched beetles. A nourishing diet can be mixed out of egg yolk, yeast, trypsin, pepton, ovomaltine and pollen. Diet mixture for ants: Diet #1 125 g cane sugar 31 g pure natural honey 42 g soya flour 42 g dry egg-white 42 g baking yeast 10 g pepton 5 g ovomaltine 5 g trypsin vitamins A + B 1,2,6,12 hen©s egg yolk agar water --Mr Ant Look at section 4.3 for more details in the FAQ. --Ant 2.4 [1999.09.10] Where do I get ants? Check outdoors. Ants live in most climates and across the globe excepting the extreme northern or southern polar regions. They can be found almost anywhere. It is also possible to set out bait to collect many ants. See the following question "How do I catch ants ...? (section 2.5)" --Mr. Ant If you don't have or don't want to catch them, then you can try ordering worker ants (no queens) from: Ant Farm, Dept. AM 5717 Corsa Avenue Westlake Village, CA 91362 Phone: (800) 869-7555 : (818) 707-0800 Fax: (818) 707-0878 E-mail: antworlds@unclemilton.com Frankly, purchasing ants seems an incredible waste of planetary resources. They generally can be found in your backyard, parks, deserts, mountains, etc. They even can be found in cities relatively easily and can be attracted even more so. --Mr. Ant Not only that, local ants are more accustomed to the climate in your area. --Ant 2.5 [2001.12.15] How do I catch ants to put in my Ant Farm? One can use bait to catch them over a few days. Sugar water in a small bottle cap in a large jar would be enough to attract some ants. Simply collect the ants in the jar periodically and put them into your terrarium. --Mr. Ant Mr. Ant's idea works very well. I have done this many times in the past, especially with Argentine ants. --Ant Another option is to just dig up a colony and sort the ants, pupae, larvae, and eggs manually from the soil. For wood ants, this is more difficult since extracting them from the wood nest can be tedious at best. Place ants and nest material in an escape-proof container under a bright light with a dark humid refuge (their artificial nest) off to one side. In a day or two, the ants will separate themselves from the too-warm and too-dry nest material and move into the artificial nest. --Dr. Ant Wilson and Holldobler comment on using an aspirator (also known as pooters) for ant collection. --Mr. Ant and Myrmecos1 Parts needed: 1. F - Large clear elbow flask (250 - 500ml) the larger the better 2. s - One holed stopper that fits large hole in flask 3. T - Metal or glass tube that fits center hole in stopper and is about same height as flask 4. T1 - 1' clear plastic tube that fits snugly over the elbow of the flask 5. T2 - 3' clear plastic tube that fits snugly over metal or glass tube of #3 6. S - Fine screen which has a mesh smaller than the ants you wish to collect Assembly: 1. Put Tube #3 into center hole of #2 stopper so that end of tube is near bottom of flask when stopper secure in the top 2. Fasten screen #6 over elbow of flask -- then fit Tube T1 #4 over the screen and elbow so that the screen is secure and that sucking air through tube T2 is relatively unobstructed. 3. Snugly fit Tube T2 #5 over the part of Tube #2 which will be on the outside of the flask. When your finished your Aspirator should appear as follows: -----> To Ants ___|___ / T1 / / / || || | | _ ____| |____ _ |\\ s | | s //| | \\ | | // | -------___| \\_| T |_// | To <--- T2 S___ | | | Mouth ------- | | | | / | | \ / | | \ / F | | F \ / \ /_________________________\ To Use Aspirator: One simply finds a nest -- break it open and start sucking up the ants into the aspirator jar. When enough are collected, the ants can be transferred from the aspirator to another container. A bucket or large X shaped jar treated with oil of some kind 1-2" wide near the rim works great to keep ants from escaping. WARNING: Agitated ants spray formic acid, etc. Their fumes are noxious. When one sucks, use only the mouth and not the lungs, and be sure to blow out quickly. --Mr. Ant 3.0 Identification 3.1 [2000.01.07] Is there a way to tell an unfertilized queen ant (princess) and a male ant (prince/drone) apart? The male is much smaller than the queen and princess. The male has a small thorax and abdomen compared to the queen and princess. --Jinei and Ant Within each species, the male is usually smaller, and differs consistently in proportions, namely: * Antennas long, but with a short first segment * Head relatively small, but with huge eyes * Thorax the thickest body part (big wing muscles) * Gaster slender and with paired plier- or mitten-like clapsers (used for holding on during mating) at the tip --Dr. Ant 3.2 [1999.09.22] I need help identifying this ant/insect? This question is asked repeatedly. Even a trained entomologist would probably need a microscope to actually identify the actual species. In most cases, the genus is relatively easily identified with a magnifying glass. Identification cannot be accomplished sight unseen. If you wish to have an insect identified, then it is best to take some to your nearest University Entomology department. If a clear photograph can be obtained of a individual specimen, then a sufficiently good quality genus and possibly species identification can be accomplished. --Mr. Ant 3.3 [2001.01.28] What are the differences between ants and termites? ANTS: * Have bodies which, in the various species, can have many colors ranging from black to orange or yellowish coloring, or various combinations, and even with iridescence. The exoskeleton is opaque, i.e. internal organs cannot be seen from outside (except when very swollen, as in honey ants). * Fore- and hindwings differ in size and vein pattern. * First two or three segments of abdomen variously constricted and modified into waist-like form. * Worm-like larvae emerge from eggs, which grow to adult size, then go through non-feeding pupal stage before reaching adult (typical ant) form. * Larvae typicallly eat high protein diet, adults most often have sugary fluids as major dietary component. * Range much further from equator, to about 60 degrees north or south latitude. * Many adapted to dry climates and forage above ground even in driest deserts. * Ovipositor modified into a stinger with associated venom glands used for subduing prey and for defense. * Ant colonies are all females, except for the seasonal production of haploid (one set of chromosomes, instead of two) males with very distinct appearance and little or no role in the work of the colony. Note: In all of the above ways, ants are like the wasps to which they are related. TERMITES: * Workers usually have bodies which appear whitish or light yellowish in coloring. Adult exoskeleton is soft and translucent, with the internal organs of abdomen partially visible from outside. The head is harder, and darker in color. Only a few day-foraging tropical termite species have brown or blackish bodies. * Fore- and hindwings of alates similar. * First segments of abdomen as broad as those posterior to them. * Small termites with body form like adults' emerge from eggs, no pupal stage. * Eat cellulose-rich diet which is digested for them by symbiotic microorganisms in their digestive tract. * Found mainly within 30 degrees latitude from the equator. * Require high humidity, those of drier climates can only come to surface at night or during occasional warm, wet weather. * Ovipositor reduced in size and non-functional compared to related insects which use theirs for inserting eggs into substrate. * Termite colonies are composed of about equal number of diploid males and females, with similar functions. Note: In all but the first of these, termites are like their relatives, the cockroaches. They are also similiar in many features of their anatomy and morphology. --Dr. Ant See the following URL for images of Ants (HYMENOPTERA), and T ermites (ISOPTERA) as well as other insects. http://entomology.unl.edu/images/ --Mr. Ant 4.0 Ant Facts 4.1 [2000.01.07] How long do ants generally live? It depends on the species. According to UMI's handbook, a worker ant can live one to two years from birth. Many ant workers live less than a year as adults. Pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) and ghost ant (Tapinoma melanocephalum) live only a few weeks. Queens of these species live less than a full year. Colonies of these two types are almost constantly producing new broods of queens, males, and workers to keep up with the mortality. By contrast, workers of many mound ants (Formica rufa and relatives) and cornfield ants (Lasius niger and relatives) live 1-3 or more years and their queens may live over ten years. These types produce queens and males only once a season. The record appears to be a queen cornfield ant caught just after mating, which went on to live 22 years in a lab colony, producing fertile eggs until the last few months of her life. --Dr. Ant 4.2 [2002.01.10] Can ants talk/communicate? Yes. Ants often hold meetings. When an ant wants to attract the attention of another ant, it taps that ant on the head with its antennas/feelers. Ants communicate by chemical, touch, sound, smell, and sight. --UMI Ants also can relay sounds by tapping their body against a part of the nest. I believe some carpenters do this. The other methods involve jerking movements, sometimes one will pull another with its mandibles (I've personally observed this with workers wanting to move a queen from one place in nest to another). Chemicals equally are important -- some release chemicals on finding food (laying a trail back to food source) -- others when they encounter a foreign nest. --Mr. Ant Atta and Acromyrmex (leaf-cutters) have a stridulatory organ. A sharp scraper rubs against a file of transverse ridges. All acoustical alarms like stridulating or knocking always comes together with chemical alarms. They do not work by themselves, but as a compound together with the chemical alarm. --Jinei Ants are thought to communicate in a number of ways. This varies from species to species, some using all of them, others relying on one. Chemicals are used to relay messages as well as leave trails for other ants to follow. This can lead to freshly killed prey, a water source, nectar or other food source, insects which can be farmed such as aphids, other ants which can be friendly or hostile, or other insects and threats to the ants such as termites. Touch, sound, smell, and sight can also be used. --Richard Smith 4.3 [2001.12.05] What do ants eat? Ants like a mixture of honey and water, insects, and greases. They will eat almost anything except solid food. All food must be liquid. Not only food, ants need water. --Angelo Ant larvae can consume solids unlike adult ants. --Morosophomyrmex That's funny. I've seen ants move powered sugar. I think in general to actually consume food this is correct. Yes, ants do need water -- especially during a drought. That explains why they can be found around faucets, toilets, and sinks in houses during dry weather. They are foraging for water. --Mr. Ant Some species, like the leaf-cutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex), use leaves to produce fungi in their nests as a food source. Harvester ants collect seeds to store food. Some species even use aphids, as if they were their cows, for their juice from plants. Some species forage by going to various fruits and flowers to collect nectar, especially with the honey pot ants. There are some honey pot ants that stay in the colonies to act the container with their HUGE abdomens, and they can barely move! --Ant and UMI 4.4 [1999.09.22] Are all ants female? Yes, if you are talking about the worker ants. Here's a simple chart, by Mr. Ant, to determinate each ant's gender in any colony: Workers = female Wingless queen = female (after mating) Winged queen = princess = female (haven't mated or just recently mated before removing her wings) Winged male/drone/prince = male (generally very small in most species) Soldiers (in some species) = female (very big ants with strong mandibles and head only for protection of the colony and fighting against other colonies) --Jinei 4.5 [1999.09.22] How do ants clean themselves? Ants move their legs through their mandibles and get saliva on them and rub them on their body. --Angelo Scott Ants also lick and clean each other. It is unclear to me whether they put 'saliva' on their legs and then wipe it on the body or whether they simply use their legs to wipe the body and then clean them in their mandibles. I think in either case some 'saliva' makes its way to their bodies. --Mr. Ant 4.6 [2000.07.15] How much weight can a worker carry and why? Up to 50 times their own weight! --Angelo Scott Ants have proportionately more muscle (in terms of that cross- sectional area) that they can use to lift heavy things. Conversely, humans are proportionately more massive, and have less muscle that can be applied to lifting heavy things. --Rob Campbell (The MAD Scientist Network). More details here: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may99/927263695.Gb.r.html 4.7 [1999.09.22] Why can ants/insects carry so much? The reason is because lifting power scales in proportion to the cross-sectional area of the muscle -- while mass scales with the volume. This is the complicated explanation. Imagine a human which could lift his/her own weight were shrunk down to 1/100th of his/her original size. Accordingly, they should be able to lift 1000 times his/her own weight. In terms of muscle power, humans are roughly 20 times stronger than ants. If ants were enlarged to our size, they probably wouldn't be able to lift themselves off the ground. --Mr. Ant 4.8 [1999.09.22] Do ants get lost? ADDENDUM: I notice a wandering scout ant every once in a while. I wonder if ants ever get lost. If an ant gets transported to another area, does it try to travel back to their colony or can she join another colony? Some ants do get lost if their trail is messed up. In this case, they may never find the way home. However, if there is another trail from the same ant colony, then they will find their home. --Angelo There are various studies that some ants do use the sky to navigate. They use visual clues from large objects nearby to find their way to the nest (some desert species). --Mr. Ant There are three kind of orientation: 1. optical -- characteristic objects, light (e.g., rocks, plants, sun, and moon) 2. positive/negative (phototaxis) -- the angle to the light (Menotaxis) 3. gravity (Geomenotaxis) -- on a slanting surface ants can move in every angle to the gravity and can use the gravity attraction as a directional aide 4. chemical as described above --Jinei 4.9 [2000.01.10] How long for an egg to become an adult worker? Based on my observations of Camponotus: Embryonic period: 3-4 weeks Larval period: 3-4 weeks Pupal period: 3-6 weeks Total: 9-14 weeks --Mr. Ant Aphaenogaster fulva (American entomologist A. M. Fielde) Embryonic period: 17-22 days Larval period: 24-27 days Pupal period: 13-22 days Total: 54-71 days Myrmica rubra (French entomologist C. Janet) Embryonic period: 23-24 days Larval period: 30-71 days Pupal period: 18-22 days Total: 71-117 days Many species have no development from November to March and that is observed facts in nature. --Jinei There is not a general number (even not in the same colony). It depends on many factors like: 1. It is different from species to species. 2. It depends on area, available food, and temperature. --Jinei & Mr. Ant Charles Janet and Adele Fielde were accomplished entomologists in their time (the late 1800's -- early 1900's, in France and the U.S., respectively). His research was mainly in insect anatomy and hers was in ant behavior." --Dr. Ant 4.10 [2001.08.13] Are leaves the leaf-cutter ants' favorite food? Leaf-cutter ants don't eat any leaves at all. They take pieces of leaves back to the colony to feed the fungus garden that grows there. Then, they eat the fungus. Ants don't have the ability to digest the cellulose in the leaves, but the fungus does. The ants feed the fungus, and then they eat it. This cooperative relationship is called symbiosis -- one cannot survive without the other. This extraordinary process has evolved over thousands of years. --Dr. K 4.11 [2002.04.03] How many different species of ant are there? The most recent complete tabulation of ant species is that by Barry Bolton in his 1995 catalog of the ants of the world. He recognized 9563 names of ants described by science, each a distinct form. Since that publication, dozens of new species have been discovered by myrmecologists. The Social Insects/Antbase Web site (http://antbase.org) gives the most recent count at 11,006 ant species as of Feburary 28, 2002. --Dr. Ant and Ant Since most of the ant species in studies of tropical areas are as yet unnamed, and new ones continue to be discovered even in relatively well-studied Japan, Europe and North America, myrmecologists estimate that there may be over 20,000 different kinds of ants inhabiting the earth." --Dr. Ant 4.12 [2000.04.07] Do ants "go to the bathroom"? They do in a quite literal sense. Ants use out-of-the-way chambers in their nests as bathrooms. They may also deposit trash in the same chambers. Of course, when they are outdoors, the ants simply deposit waste wherever they happen to be. Like all animals, ants both defecate and urinate. Feces are the undigestible particles that pass through the digestive tract, and since ants have very narrow gullets and swallow only liquids and very small particles, they don't produce much feces. Urine is the metabolic waste released by cells into the blood, and then filtered out by organs called Malpighian tubules. In ants, the main component of urine is whitish crystals of uric acid. Usually the urine and feces are excreted together as light brown droplets. To ant farmers, these droppings are visible as small brown smears in one corner of artificial nests. --Dr. Ant 5.0 Habits 5.1 [1999.09.22] Why are there winged/flying ants from this one ant colony? These are the males (they are smaller than the princesses) and princess ants (unmated). The males' goal is to mate with the princesses during the nuptial flights. When the time comes, they both fly away from the mother colony and find others to mate with. Then, the male ants die while the new queen ants start new colonies. --Ant 5.2 [1999.09.22] Why do ants fight even if they look the same? Even same species of different colonies have a "different" chemical odor (signature) ants are sensitive to this and generally will attack to defend their colony and territory. --Mr. Ant However, some species are friendly to each other. The relationship between colonies of Formica polyctena is friendly. They have a so-called alliance of colonies. Between such colonies, there are zones away from the home nest of different behaviors. For example: In the first zone, the ant from it was fed by the workers from the other colony. In the second, the ant got caught, transported, and included in the other colony. In the third zone, the ant got killed. Super colonies, a bunch of different colonies with friendly relationships could be very big. CHERIX (1980) found a supercolony of 1200 nests from Formica lugubris in Switzerland. There were four types of nests: capital nests, secondary nests, seasonal nests, and fresh new build nests (colonies). HIGASHI (1978) told that Formica yessensis worker visited without being killed or even fought a nest of another colony of yessensis. Some workers even visited the inside of the colony and without getting fed. It also was not a relationship between mother and daughter colonies, but between old colonies. --Jinei 5.3 [2002.01.10] Do ants work all the time and do they ever sleep? Ants do seem to work very hard, but they also rest and sleep. The reason why you think they are always working is because there are always ants working at every hour. All of the workers look the same, so you think they are working 24 hours a day. --Ant and UMI Some ants are sleeping like behavior have been observed: some workers of a colony laying around in a so-called sleeping position (Australian Carpenter Ants, Camponotus perthiana). When they are "awakened", they show a sluggishly moving. --E.O. Wilson However, this behavior can also be seen as this: As workers have to respond to the colony needs it could also be a reducing of resources. It means that they have nothing to do and have to reduce the need of food, so they fall in a sleep-like idleness with reduced biological functions. When the colony needs them again, they start acting normal with a side effect -- they need time to get to normal functioning (resulting in a sluggish movement). --Jinei Other comments from my observations from Camponotus. Actually, a friend noticed this watching them on my TV. It seems that at least my carpenters will go into a kind of meditation or relaxed state. One can see their legs waving slightly. Many times a whole chamber will do this for a few minutes at a time until another worker comes in and wakes them up -- or one of them just spontaneously wakes up. Why this is done? I think in many cases that most ants in a colony are just biding their time -- waiting between feedings or cleaning, etc. They act as a reserve for the colony. I think their "sleep" or "meditation" as I call it, may be important for other reasons than we suspect. I am doing research with someone on this topic and hope to have more soon. It could be to conserve some kind of resource (say food). I personally think this is an unanswered question. Most ants don't sleep for eight hours, then wake up and work all day. It seems their cycle is much shorter -- though when they forage outside they obviously don't do this. --Mr. Ant Ants hibernate during cold seasons like winter. They survive on the food stores they have gathered in the summer months. This is only in the very coldest months; they will still forage for food most of the winter. The colony will continue to operate, but at a slightly slower speed in colonies quite far under the earth as it is not so cold there, the queen will also produce many less eggs. --Richard Smith 6.0 Extermination 6.1 [2001.01.28] Why are ants coming into my home? Some of what is below was taken with permission from Stewart Clark from the following Web page: http://www.terro.com/antcontrolfaq2.php First one has to learn about ants to understand why they are coming into your house. Being able to identify whether the ant is a queen or a worker is extremely important, as well as identifying the precise reason(s) they are entering your house. See section 3.3 for how to distinguish between termites and ants. Ants come into houses for various reasons. Here's a list: * Food Foraging (ants and humans like similiar foods). Ants particularly like sweets and humans usually have large supplies like meat, fat, etc. * Water Foraging (often in times of drought ants will be found near faucets foraging for it to take back to the nest). * New queens, from their nuptual flights, are often found in or around homes looking for new nesting sites. * The colony is using your house for a living quarters. Most often this is indicative of wet and decaying structures. Many species need some moisture in their nesting sites they usually will not inhabit dry housing structures. * Flooding. Sometimes in extreme cases when ants homes are flooded, they will temporairly occupy human dwellings. This is usually temporary, but it can be extremely annoying. --Mr. Ant 6.2 [2001.01.28] How do I get rid of them? The first weapon in your arsenal should be information. Hence, you will need the following information before deciding on a course of action: * Identify whether ants are workers or queens. If queens, simply collect and kill/relocate her -- as they are probably looking for homes off nuptual flight. Make sure to close off all entry points to eliminate future problems. * If ants are workers, then try to track them to where they nest. This is to determine if they are foraging inside the house or actually are nesting there. This makes a huge difference as to which methods will be more successful than others. Once you have this information. The following are various methods which may eliminate them. * If ants are nesting outside and only foraging for food or water inside, simply eliminate the food or water source. Either fix dripping faucets or secure food sources in sealed containers, cleaning cupboards, etc. Generally in these cases, it is easier to control the food source than to control the ants by killing them via various methods. If ants are found to be nesting in the house structure. * Baiting. I have heard conflicting reports about how successful baiting is. Some have had complete success and others claimed none at all. * Poisons or professional extermination. In the cases when ants are foraging. I have heard this can work well in conjunction with cutting off food supply. Frankly, I believe simply cutting off food supply is the main reason ants do not come back -- not the poison. If the ants are residing in the house, then poisons can work. I personally do not like the idea of filling my walls with a poison which I'll have to live with the rest of my life. * Attrition. This is the method I have used reasonably well. One simply puts out bait (poisoned or non-poison) to catch workers. Carpenter ant colonies usually only have workers which numbers in the thousands. Often I check my trap (a jar with bait in it) and simply kill, In my case, I capture and imprision until the colony dies by attrition. This method takes a lot of time, but it is the most environmentally friendly way to remove ants without resorting to removing walls. This has worked in my house two times now with carpenter ants. Eventually the queen is forced to leave the nest due starvation. All I know is that the colonies were evetually gone after I captured/killed a few hundred or thousand workers. * I have heard of people using cinnamon around entry points. Also one can simply cultivate a lot of spiders here and there -- though this will not for certain work. If they are foraging, closing entry points physically (with caulk etc.) can help. Elimination of foraging rewards is best. * If a colony lives in a house and doesn't yield to other methods, then the best and environmentally friendly way of removing them is simply to remove their nest from the house physically. Often this section is rotting or damp and will need to be replaced or repaired anyway because of weakening due weather or ants tunnelling. In these cases, removal is the most certain way to eliminate the colony since colony disruption is massive. If done properly, then a queen capture can be assured. * In the case where colonies are looking for temporary nest due to flooding/fire etc., almost every normal method of removal fails simply because the number of colonies being dealt with is much greater than one. The best method for extermination is to actually provide better home(s) than your home for the refugee ants. By doing this, one simply encourages ants to move into the homes you've provided which are readily transportable. Once residence is established, one can remove them easily. Or you can destroy them. In effect, you are creating a friendly home trap where by you can simply remove the ants by removing their temporary homes. I have suggested to people to try cardboard boxes, with alternating layers of soil (for soil species) and corrogated cardboard (nice open homey spaces premade). When your ant refugee homes are created, bait them with something the ants like. Eventually if the refugees like your new homes, you will see columns of ants moving in with the whole brood and the queen. Once they are done moving in you can safely remove them knowing the whole colony is gone. --Mr. Ant 7.0 Miscellaneous 7.1 [1999.09.22] What is this fuzzy/hairy ant with a huge stinger I found? This fake ant is called a velvet ant (aka cow killer). It is not a true ant, but a wasp. Please be careful with its nasty stinger. Try this URL for more information: http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/MES/notes/entnotes11.html --Ant and Jinei 7.2 [1999.08.15] What are myrmecology and myrmecologist? Myrmecology is the scientific study of ants, and a myrmecologist studies ants. --Jinei 7.3 [1999.08.20] Where can I find more information on fire ants? Try this excellent Web site: "Imported Fire Ants Research and Management" -- http://fireant.tamu.edu --Ant 7.4 [2001.01.21] What about carpenter ants? Here is a really nice webpage about Carpenter Ants: http://www.antcolony.org/carpenter_antsmain.htm which was developed by Will Demuth with the help of University of Nebraska-Lincoln --Mr. Ant Try http://www.myrmecology.org, The Reading Room on http://antfarm.ma.cx, and http://www.antcam.com. There are plenty of sources about them. Use your favorite search engines (e.g., http://google.com). --Ant 7.5 [2001.01.21] What books are good to read on ants? Visit Myrmecology's Web site (http://www.myrmecology.org), and AntColony.org (http://www.antcolony.org for a list of books. --Ant & Mr. Ant 7.6 [2001.12.25] What other excellent Web sites to find more information on ants? Myrmecology (http://www.myrmecology.org), The Ant Farm (http://antfarm.ma.cx), AntCam (http://www.antcam.com), AntColony (http://www.antcolony.org), and Antbase (http://research.amnh.org/entomology/social_insects/) are the best sources to find information on ants. There are plenty of other Web sites mentioned on this these Web sites. If you have seen other Web sites that both of these Web sites do not have listed, then please e-mail me. --Ant, Mr. Ant, & Dr. Ant 7.7 [2001.01.21] I have a few questions that are not listed in this FAQ. Please visit The Ant Farm (http://antfarm.ma.cx), Myrmecology (http://www.myrmecology.org), AntColony (http://www.antcolony.org), and AntCam (http://www.antcam.com) Web sites to post your questions on their mailing lists and message forums. Please do not bother the Webmasters and authors with your questions since they are very busy. --Ant & Mr. Ant