Looking For Queen Ants

Summary

In this engaging video, the host takes viewers on a journey to his childhood home in Toronto, Canada, to demonstrate how to hunt for queen ants in the wild. He shares tips on the best time and conditions for finding these ants, along with the necessary equipment. The host also educates viewers on ant reproduction and the importance of persistence in ant keeping. Despite not finding any queen ants during the filming, the video is filled with valuable insights and the excitement of the ant hunting experience.

Takeaways

• 🐜 The video is a tutorial on how to start ant keeping and where to find queen ants for an ant farm, emphasizing starting in one's own backyard or neighborhood.
• 🏠 The narrator shares personal anecdotes of starting ant keeping near the Humber River in Toronto, Canada, which is also the location for this video's ant hunting.
• 🔍 Essential equipment for ant hunting includes snap cap vials for capturing and transporting queen ants, and test tubes for incubation.
• ⏰ The best time to hunt for queen ants is between 11 AM and 3 PM, particularly on sunny days following a rainstorm, as this is when many ants have their nuptial flights.
• 📚 A brief explanation of ant reproduction is provided, detailing the nuptial flights where winged queens and males mate, and queens then seek nesting locations.
• 🌳 The Humber River trail in Toronto is highlighted as an ideal hunting ground due to its variety of wildlife and the forced exposure of creatures along the path.
• 🐛 The video also discusses the presence of caterpillars and their behavior, including their web nests and the risks they face crossing the Humber River Trail.
• 🕷️ An encounter with an ant-mimic spider is described, explaining Batesian mimicry where the spider resembles an ant to deter predators.
• 🔬 The narrator discusses various ant species, including Camponotus and Myrmica ants, and provides tips for collecting and keeping them, such as the advantage of collecting mature colonies for polygynous species like Myrmica.
• 📉 Despite the thorough search, the narrator was unable to find queen ants during the filming of the video, illustrating the challenge and unpredictability of ant hunting.
• 🌐 The video concludes with encouragement to continue searching for queen ants and a reminder of the ongoing ant keeping community and resources available through AntsCanada.com.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is about how to get started with ant keeping, specifically how to locate and capture queen ants to start an ant farm.

Where did the speaker grow up and where did they start ant keeping?

The speaker grew up near the Humber River in Toronto, Canada, and that is where they started ant keeping.

What is the significance of the Humber River in the speaker's ant keeping journey?

The Humber River area is significant because it is where the speaker began their ant keeping hobby and where their entire journey as AntsCanada started.

What is the reason behind the channel name 'AntsCanada'?

The channel is named 'AntsCanada' because it originated in Canada, even though the speaker's home base and Antiverse are currently in Manila, Philippines.

What is the best time to look for queen ants according to the video?

The best time to look for queen ants is right before noon, around 11 AM to early afternoons before 3 PM.

Why is a sunny day after a rainstorm ideal for hunting queen ants?

A sunny day after a rainstorm is ideal for hunting queen ants because that is when most ants have their nuptial flights.

What are some of the hunting equipment recommended for finding queen ants?

Some recommended hunting equipment includes snap cap vials for capturing the ants and test tubes for incubation.

What is a nuptial flight in the context of ant reproduction?

A nuptial flight is a period during which winged male and female ants, known as alates, fly en masse to mate in the air.

Why are the caterpillars mentioned in the video?

Caterpillars are mentioned as they are part of the ecosystem in the area where the speaker is hunting for queen ants, and their presence indicates the seasonality of the environment.

What is the advantage of collecting an established Myrmica ant colony instead of a single queen?

Collecting an established Myrmica ant colony is advantageous because these ants are polygynous, meaning their colonies usually contain multiple egg-laying queens, increasing the chances of capturing a queen.

What is Batesian mimicry as mentioned in the video?

Batesian mimicry is a type of mimicry where a harmless creature evolves to imitate the warning signals of a harmful or unpalatable species to avoid predation.

Why might someone not find queen ants on a particular day of hunting?

Not finding queen ants on a particular day can be due to various factors such as the time of year, weather conditions, or simply the luck of encountering them during their nuptial flights.

What does the speaker suggest for those who have not yet found a queen ant?

The speaker suggests that those who have not yet found a queen ant should not worry, as there is still plenty of time as ants continue to have nuptial flights throughout the summer and into the fall.

What is the AC Question of the Week and how can viewers participate?

The AC Question of the Week is a question posed by the speaker for viewers to answer in the comments section, with a chance to win a free e-book handbook from their shop.

Outlines

00:00

🐜 Introduction to Ant Keeping

The script begins with a greeting to the AC Family and addresses the common question of how to start ant keeping. The narrator shares his personal experience, starting in his hometown near the Humber River in Toronto, Canada. He invites viewers to join him in hunting for queen ants, emphasizing the importance of subscribing to his channel for more content. The narrator reminisces about his childhood home, where his passion for ant keeping and the creation of his YouTube channel began. He explains the reason behind the channel's name, 'AntsCanada,' despite his current base being in Manila, Philippines, and provides a brief tutorial on ant reproduction, including the nuptial flights of alates and the process of queen ants starting new colonies.

05:01

🕷 Ant Hunting Equipment and Techniques

The narrator discusses the necessary equipment for ant hunting, such as snap cap vials and test tubes, and shares his preferred times for hunting queen ants, which are typically between 11 AM and 3 PM on sunny days following a rainstorm. He provides a brief overview of the ant reproduction process, explaining the nuptial flights and the behavior of newly mated queen ants. The narrator then takes the viewers to his hunting grounds along the Humber River trail, describing the environment and the various creatures he encounters, including caterpillars and a large carpenter ant, which he clarifies is not a queen but a supermajor worker. He also talks about the benefits of keeping certain ant species like Camponotus and Myrmica, and shares tips for collecting Myrmica ants due to their polygynous nature.

10:01

🌳 Day 2 of Queen Ant Hunting and Ant Mimicry

The script continues with the narrator's second day of queen ant hunting after a rainstorm, expressing hope for success. However, he encounters a spider that mimics the appearance of a queen ant, an example of Batesian mimicry. The narrator explains the advantages of this mimicry for the spider's survival. Despite not finding any queen ants on this day or subsequent days, the narrator encourages persistence in ant hunting. He shares success stories from viewers who have caught queen ants and invites the audience to share their experiences. The narrator also mentions his upcoming return to Manila and his concerns about the disappearance of the Black Dragons, a topic to be explored in future videos.

15:04

📚 Ant Keeping Resources and Community Engagement

In the final paragraph, the narrator encourages viewers to subscribe and engage with the channel, promoting a playlist that tells the story of the ant colonies featured on the channel. He also mentions his daily vlogging channel and invites viewers to subscribe. The script includes a call to action for viewers to participate in the 'AC Question of the Week' and a reminder of the channel's ant keeping products and customer support. The narrator concludes by expressing gratitude for the viewers' support and reiterating the channel's upload schedule and the importance of community interaction.

Keywords

💡Ant Keeping

Ant keeping is the hobby of cultivating and observing ant colonies, often in specialized ant farms or enclosures. It is central to the video's theme as the narrator shares his journey and tips on starting and maintaining ant colonies. The script discusses how to begin ant keeping, the importance of starting in one's own backyard, and the process of finding queen ants to start a colony.

💡Queen Ants

Queen ants are the reproductive females in an ant colony, responsible for laying eggs and perpetuating the colony. They are a focal point in the video, as the narrator describes the process of hunting for queen ants in the wild to start an ant farm. The script mentions the nuptial flights of queen ants, their mating process, and the subsequent search for nesting locations.

💡Nuptial Flights

Nuptial flights are the periods when winged male and female ants, known as alates, leave the nest to mate. This term is integral to the video's narrative as it explains the best time to find and capture queen ants for ant keeping. The script describes how these flights occur after rainstorms and are a critical time for ant reproduction.

💡Ant Farms

Ant farms are specialized enclosures designed for the observation and maintenance of ant colonies. The concept is central to the video, as the narrator discusses starting an ant farm and the equipment needed for it. The script also mentions the narrator's early days of making ant farms and selling ant-keeping products online.

💡Camponotus

Camponotus is a genus of ants commonly known as carpenter ants due to their tendency to excavate wood. The video script mentions Camponotus species as a good choice for pet ants because of their large size and activity level, making them easy to observe. The narrator also reminisces about his experience with Camponotus novaeboracensis, the New York carpenter ant.

💡Myrmica

Myrmica is a genus of ants known for their aggression and polygynous social structure, meaning their colonies can contain multiple queens. The script describes the narrator's experience with Myrmica ants, their behavior of tending plant aphids for honeydew, and the challenges of collecting them due to their painful stings.

💡Batesian Mimicry

Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where an organism imitates another that is harmful or unpalatable to predators, providing it with a survival advantage. The video script introduces this concept through the example of a spider that mimics the appearance of an ant to avoid predation, showcasing the intricate relationships within the natural world.

💡Caterpillars

Caterpillars are the larval stage of butterflies and moths, and they play a significant role in the video's narrative as the narrator encounters them during his ant hunting expedition. The script describes caterpillars spinning webs, their role in the ecosystem, and the risks they face crossing paths, which highlights the interconnectedness of nature.

💡Ant Mimicry

Ant mimicry refers to the phenomenon where certain creatures, like spiders, evolve to resemble ants to avoid predation. The video script provides an example of a spider that looks like a queen ant, illustrating the concept of Batesian mimicry and how it benefits the mimicking species in the wild.

💡Ant Reproduction

Ant reproduction is the process by which new ant colonies are formed, involving the mating of winged alates and the establishment of new nests by queens. The video script provides a brief crash course on ant reproduction, explaining the nuptial flights and the behavior of newly mated queens, which is central to the theme of ant keeping and queen ant hunting.

💡AntsCanada

AntsCanada is the name of the narrator's channel and brand, which revolves around ant keeping and related products. The script explains the origin of the name, despite the narrator's base being in the Philippines, and the channel's focus on sharing the journey of ant colonies, providing a personal touch to the theme of ant keeping.

Highlights

Introduction to the process of starting ant keeping and sourcing queen ants from one's own backyard.

The narrator's personal journey and the significance of the Humber River area in Toronto, Canada, for ant keeping.

The importance of subscribing to the channel for ant keeping enthusiasts.

Explanation of the ideal time and weather conditions for hunting queen ants.

Description of the necessary equipment for queen ant hunting, including snap cap vials and test tubes.

The narrator's experience and method for finding queen ants during their nuptial flights.

A crash course on ant reproduction and the concept of nuptial flights.

The thrill of capturing queen ants compared to catching a real-life Pokémon.

Observation of caterpillars and their behavior during the season, and their interaction with ants.

Identification of a large supermajor worker carpenter ant and its species.

Discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of keeping carpenter ants as pets.

The narrator's first ant species kept and the behavior of Myrmica ants.

A tip for collecting Myrmica ants and the advantage of polygynous colonies.

The frustration of not finding queen ants during the hunting expedition.

Examples of successful queen ant captures by viewers of the channel.

Encouragement for viewers to keep searching for queen ants despite the challenges.

Reminder of the availability of ant keeping gear and support at AntsCanada.com.

Introduction of the AC Question of the Week and a call to action for viewer participation.

Transcripts

Greetings, AC Family!

One of the most common questions I get asked is how does one get into ant keeping?

How do you start?

Where do I get the ants for an ant farm?

Well, the answer to that is simple.

You start in your own backyard or neighbourhood.

In my case, I started right in the area where I grew up, near the Humber River in Toronto,

Canada.

And today, I've come back home, from halfway across the world, to show you how to locate

the seeds of an ant farm.

Today, AC Family, as I've done for years growing up, we hunt for queen ants!

Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel, and hit the bell icon.

Welcome to the AC Family!

Enjoy!

Everyone has that one place that holds memories of their childhood, that one special location

we call home and love coming back to.

Well, mine is right here, at my family's home in the suburbs of Toronto.

It's where I started ant keeping and the place my entire journey as AntsCanada began.

It was here where I housed my very first ant colonies, where I started this Youtube channel,

where I began making ant farms & ant keeping products to sell online, and where my ant

love truly began.

A lot of people have asked why this channel is called AntsCanada when I continually mention

my home base and Antiverse being in Manila, Philippines, and well, now you know why.

I moved to Manila in 2011 for one of my other career pursuits.

But AC Family, today, now that I'm in Toronto, I wanted to take you through the fun and exciting

process of how I find queen ants, because I know a lot of you are from geographically

similar areas, and want to start ant keeping yourselves, so this video will cover what

I do to find queen ants to start an ant farm every Spring and Summer in temperate North

America.

To begin the hunt, you need the proper hunting equipment.

Some snap cap vials.

You can buy these in most dollar stores or arts and crafts shops.

Any small bottle or container will do, but I love these because I can easily poke breathing

holes at the tops so the queens can breathe, and can easily fit into any pocket.

Later you will also need some test tubes like these to place the queen ants in for incubation,

but please excuse these used dirty test tubes.

They're long overdue for a cleaning and I never got around to cleaning them since I

left 7 yrs ago!

But now AC Family, it's off to the hunting grounds!

I find the best time to look for queen ants is right before noon around 11AM to early

afternoons before 3PM.

Different species have their nuptial flights at different times of the day, but I have

always found most of my queen ants within the 11am-3pm time period.

Also, looking on the right day is key!

A sunny day after a rainstorm is the most ideal time to go hunting for queen ants, because

this is when most ants have their nuptial flights.

It had just rained the day before so I was confident we'd find something!

By the way, if you're new to the world of ants, here's a quick crash course on ant reproduction.

During a period of a few days each year, every species has their designated week or so that

they have what are called Nuptial Flights where young queens and males who are born

with wings, known as alates, fly en masse and mate in the air.

The males die after this nuptial flight and queens fall to the ground, break off their

wings, and embark on a search for a location underground to start their own ant colonies.

It is during this period after mating when newly impregnated queens are searching for

a nesting location, that we ant keepers have to snag them for our ant farms.

It is truly like catching a real life Pokemon, and it requires a mixture of skill, knowledge,

a good eye, and a bit of luck.

And now AC Family, welcome to my ancestral queen ant hunting grounds.

I love coming here!

The Humber River trail is a popular bike path on the west side of Toronto, offering bike

riders, joggers, and walkers an easy, yet long route alongside a steady-flowing river

and deciduous forest.

The river is home to a variety of fish and aquatic creatures and attracts a vast array

of birds, animals, and of course insects, including ants!

I love searching along paths like this because it forces creatures to come out into the open,

in plain sight as they move towards and away from the River.

I find it perfect for spotting wandering, freshly mated queen ants!

Walking along the path now, the first thing I notice are not queen ants, but rather tonnes

and tonnes of caterpillars!

It's officially caterpillar season.

Moths have laid their eggs, and from them have hatched caterpillars which spin massive

cottony webs in the trees.

These caterpillar web nests formed when the caterpillars were babies but are abandoned

now.

The caterpillars' droppings are the only evidence left behind of their previous inhabitation.

AC Family, isn't it just amazing to think that not only spiders spin webs, but so do

caterpillars!

Look at these caterpillars hanging from their web life lines.

Sometimes caterpillars will fall out of their trees or even jump out to evade a predator

like a bird, but will hang from their lifeline webs like these, making them seem like they

are floating vertically in mid air.

I had to watch out not to run into these hanging caterpillars while walking along the path

on my search for queen ants.

The caterpillars are voracious herbivores, eating up leaves like crazy!

When they've completely eaten up the leaves of one tree or bush, they will emmigrate to

another, and with it being caterpillar season, it seems this Humber River Trail path is a

busy caterpillar crossing.

Sadly, crossing this great path happens to be a life-threatening risk for the caterpillars

and other creatures crossing, for it is the path through which giants stampede and ride.

Some who are lucky enough make it across to the other side.

But as for the unlucky others, the path is littered in their flattened carcasses.

But, these flattened corpses are feasts for certain creatures inhabiting the area, including

ants.

Is this huge ant a queen?

No, she's just a big supermajor worker carpenter ant.

Componotus pensylvanicus.

She's found a squashed ground beetle.

Sadly, this cool and giant species of ant had their nuptial flights last month in Toronto,

and is no longer flying, but I always love watching them!

Various other Camponotus species continue to fly in North America and Europe until around

September.

Camponotus species, also known as carpenter ants, make great pet ants because they are

so large so they and their brood are easy to see with the naked eye, and are quite active.

The only draw back I see with carpenter ants is their colonies usually take two or three

years to reach an impressive size.

Patience is truly required when housing these girls.

If you go back to some of my first videos on this channel, I had an amazing colony of

Camponotus novaeboracensis, the New York carpenter ant, still one of my favourite ant colonies

to date.

I had to release them back into the wild when I moved to Manila 7 yrs ago, but I often wonder

how they've been holding up today.

They must be a massive ant colony by now!

I truly hope to find a Camponotus novaeboracensis.

Let's see.

Walking along the path, I also ran into my very first species of ant I've ever kept on

this channel.

AC Family, behold.

Myrmica ants.

Here I caught them tending some plant aphids, like ant "cows", which they ferociously protect

and milk for their sweet secretions called honeydew.

These extremely aggressive ants, though a different genus from the popular true fire

ants of the genus Solenopsis, have adapted the name fire ants because of their stings.

To be honest, I've been stung by these Myrmica ants many times while keeping them, and honestly

in my opinion their bites are much more painful than those of the Fire Nation, my tropical

fire ants, at home!

Now if you want to keep a colony of Myrmica, here is a hack, AC Family!

I find the best way, is to collect a mature colony, as opposed to catching a single queen

ant, and I'll explain why in a bit.

The good news is, their nests are almost always shallow, usually under some wood, leaves,

or rock, so scooping them up is easy.

Also, another awesome advantage is, if you scoop as much of the colony as possible you

are bound to scoop up one queen or twenty!

You see Myrmica ants are polygynous meaning their colonies usually contain dozens if not

hundreds of egg-laying queens.

After their nuptial flights, the newly impregnated queen ants of this species band together,

founding big colonies cooperatively, so unlike most ants where collecting an established

colony from the wild almost always leaves you without a queen ant because the workers

hide her well, collecting the majority of the ants of a Myrmica nest almost always guarantees

the capture of a queen.

They also hunt during the colony founding stage, which makes it a bit more complicated

for the average beginner ant keeper, so catching an already established Myrmica colony may

be easier than collecting a bunch of queen ants and placing them in a test tube.

But if you're going to go collecting Myrmica ants, remember to wear gloves!

Trust me.

Stings from these girls are no joke!

It hurts a lot!

If you go back to the oldest videos of this channel, you can follow my journey with my

first Myrmica ant colony.

They're such an interesting species that love wet nests and lots of insects and sweets!

If you love watching collective ant aggression, these are the ants for you.

Alright, AC Family, I know what you're thinking, all this talk but still no queen ants!

I know!

It's strange, but hey, sometimes this happens.

Some days are dry and queen ants scarce.

I resolved to come back and try another day.

Day 2 of queen ant hunting, again after a great rainstorm, and I was hopeful to find

something.

It wasn't long before I spotted something along the path that I was sure was a queen

ant, but AC Family, as I took a closer look, this is what I saw.

Do you see it?

Do you guys know what this is?

This looks like a queen ant, with its enlargened thorax, but actually, this is not an ant at

all.

It's not even an insect.

This is a spider.

It's an ant mimic!

This is actually the first time I've seen one here in Toronto, as I usually see them

in more tropical climates.

What looks like the head of the queen ant is actually the spider's chelicerae, its mouth

parts.

There are over 300 species of spiders in different families that mimic ants.

Looking like an ant is advantageous because most predators know that ants taste gross

and/or are aggressive, so a predator like a toad for instance, might see this spider,

believe it's an ant, and decide it isn't worth eating.

This type of mimicry where a creature mimics a harmful or undesirable animal is called

Batesian mimicry.

Thanks to Batesian mimicry and ants' notorious reputation in this entire forest kingdom,

this spider is more likely to outlive the average ordinary-looking spider.

I continued to look and search.

No queens were in sight.

In fact, I searched on two more days and though there were lots and lots of caterpillars,

there was no sign of a queen ant anywhere!

This can be a common frustration in ant keeping.

Sometimes, like I did last year, you can catch many, and sometimes you come up empty handed,

but it's a matter of persistence and not giving up.

Sadly, by the time you watch this, I will be on my 16 hr flight back to Manila, Philippines

and regretfully, queenless.

But you know what, AC Family?

Even if I wasn't lucky, many of you AC Family members from around the world have been!

Behold, your epic queen ant catches!

Here is my Camponotus colony, just got my first soldier, plenty of eggs, got some pupae

in there still...

Hello, my name is Guy Cougar and I've caught five Tetramorium sp E and I live in Salt Lake

City...

These are all my ant queens.

These three are called Pheidole.

This one however is called Iridomyrmex...

This is my queen Solenopsis xyloni and I'm really excited for her first group of workers...

Two photos of the second queen.

I believe they are the same species...

This is my fire ant queen, scientifically known as Solenopsis geminata...

Hello, just caught my first queen ant today.

Don't know the name of the species...

The eggs are maturing...

I caught this queen about two weeks ago.

Anyways, bye!

It's ant love forever.

Alright AC Family, did you enjoy this week's video?

I hope it helps some of you out there looking for queen ants of your own this year.

In last year's queen ant hunting video, I was much more lucky.

Feel free to watch it here!

If you were like me and haven't found a queen ant yet, trust me on this, you have nothing

to worry about!

There is still lots of time, as the ants will continue to have nuptial flights all summer

long well into Fall.

Good luck and keep looking!

I guarantee you will surely find the queen ant of your dreams, and when you do treasure

and care for her with all your heart!

AC Family, on my flight back home I will not be able to stop thinking about the Black Dragons

and their disappearance two weeks ago while I have been away.

I will finally be able to get to the bottom of it!

So be sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button and bell icon now so you don't miss out on the

update, and hit the LIKE button every single time, including now.

Also, if you're new to the channel and want to catch up on all your AntsCanada Lore, I've

put together a complete story line playlist so you can watch how all of the ant colonies

you love on this channel, came to be, all their challenges and hardships, all their

successes and life events, their entire story lines can now be watched from the very start

so you can better appreciate the journey these ants, as well as us watching them, have been

embarking on.

It's incredible how epic the lives of ants are!

Also, just a quick reminder to all those wanting to get into ant keeping, we offer a tonne

of cutting edge, easy-to-use ant keeping gear and pro ant farms at our shop at AntsCanada.com

for when you do catch your queen ants this year.

We ship worldwide, and offer full email customer support if you need it.

AC Inner Colony, I have left a hidden cookie for you here, if you would just like to watch

extended play footage of the creatures seen along this nature trail.

Before we continue with the AC Question of the Week, I would like to plug my daily vlogging

channel, daily vlogs of my travels around the world which often includes a lot of nature

stuff.

Feel free to watch and subscribe while you're there!

And now it's time for the AC Question of the Week.

Last week we asked:

What was your favourite creature spotted in this rainforest and why?

Congratulations to El Reino De Las Hormigas who answered:

My favourite creature of this video was "Odontomachus", because

they remind me of the Jawbreakers.

Congratulations El Reino De Las Hormigas you just won a free e-book handbook from our shop.

In this week's AC Question of the Week, we ask:

Why is a path like that in this video a great location to find queen ants?

Leave your answer in the comments section and you could also win a free e-book handbook

from our shop.

Hope you can subscribe to the channel as we upload every Saturday at 8AM EST.

Please remember to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, & SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed this video to help us keep

making more.

It's ant love forever!