HOW I CAUGHT 4 QUEEN ANTS IN ONE NIGHT!!

[@FigureTheAnimator]

The first time i catched a queen ant is when i was thinking: "hey why don't we go outside to catch some queens" and i agreed, now i turned on my powerful light i think 40watts and a queen ant landed an that was the time i realized: queens are attracted to bright lights.

[@TheAntKeeper]

It's a amazing feeling hey. That's so awesome!

[@FigureTheAnimator]

@@TheAntKeeper btw why havent you been posting videos for quite a while

[@TheAntKeeper]

@@FigureTheAnimator Heyy, mixture of reasons, I work a huge amount of hours, have a family, a business, many other responsibilities. Mostly been just stupid busy, working way too much

[@boogiewoogie565]

5:59 lol creamogaster

[@TheAntKeeper]

Hahaha 😂 🤦

[@lachtitefourmi7965]

When I was a child, I was going with a bug hunter one night to catch buterflies with the same methode. I never imagine it could work with ants queen. Amazing 🥰 thanks for your work and excuse my English, I'm french 😅

[@TheAntKeeper]

votre anglais est parfait, encore meilleur que le mien. je suis content que vous ayez apprécié la vidéo. Merci d'avoir regardé! Using a black light really is so much fun!

[@lachtitefourmi7965]

@@TheAntKeeper 😁 Une réponse en français belle surprise, merci beaucoup 😉👍

[@skyblock_mouse]

​@@TheAntKeeperI have moved into a new house and on the balcony there was a black light and the floor is white how can I use it

[@mcallahk]

I love black lighting to catch queen ants! It doesn't work every night though. Where I live we get a ton of tiny little moths that fly in your face, so its a bit annoying to actually inspect the sheet for queens. One night a huge Pheidole flight was happening and I ended up catching over 30 queens that night! Unfortunately none of them were successful in founding a colony with me, but I hope something similar happens this year and I'm able to actually keep them.

[@TheAntKeeper]

That's really interesting. I agree that all the moths and things that fly around your face is pretty distracting

[@themenagerie5247]

If you notice you get an abundance of ants it usually means they haven't had time to make yet, you can try scooping up as many queens and drones as possible and leaving them in a container to give them time to mate.

[@aussieantkeeping2825]

I definitely need to try black lighting one day

[@TheAntKeeper]

You definitely do! It's a lot of fun seeing what gets attracted

[@antsandpets]

Black lighting is fun, great video

[@TheAntKeeper]

My only regret is I wish I tried it sooner!

[@stangoh6931]

So shocked it worked. Definitely need to test this out!!

[@TheAntKeeper]

I was surprised it worked this well. You should definitely give this a go!

[@antsinfinite3224]

Great video loved the background music!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it

[@faultyant230]

I love blacklisting but ty for showing me a new way!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Awesome Thanks Faulty Ant!

[@jacobyopik6351]

Thanks for another awesome video! What time of night did you set this up? And what time did you have the most success?

[@jacobyopik6351]

Turning an old bug zapper into the same kind of thing currently

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thank you Jacob! I found setting up just at sunset and to work better and the best results happened just before a storm about 1 hour after sunset.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Great recycling mate! I love that idea

[@johnfogle2092]

As me being ants cannadas 684 sub he is denfintly geting subs faster

[@Anonymous.....................]

Wow, thats awesome! Sounds like a good way to find queens. Just wondering though, is the white sheet necessary?

[@TheAntKeeper]

The white is reflective which makes the light easier to see. Also, without some sort of sheet/tarp/blanket, it would make indentifying and collecting specimens a lot harder.

[@mrrr3903]

During fall It is really common to see big nuptial flights for termites but is still really cool even though they may bring my house down lol

[@TheAntKeeper]

Oh man termites are scary! They nuptial flights are so much prettier compared to ant nuptial flights though.

[@RepvertYT]

Yeah nice video I also want to buy a black light for next year

[@TheAntKeeper]

You so should! It's so much fun. Let me know how you go ;)

[@judictus5178]

Damn this is cool, didnt know you could do this but it makes sense

[@TheAntKeeper]

I know right! It feels like a cheat code for ant keepers! It really is so much fun seeing what gets attracted to the black light

[@tylerkratzer3981]

Awesome work. Out of curiosity. Finding Queen's this way would mean they are yet to be fertilised no? They can't start a colony till that happens?

[@TheAntKeeper]

Great question! This is exactly what I was wondering. Around 75% of all the queens I have found using a black light have been fertile, most of white are established colonies now!

[@finnion5210]

I have a pale legged super ant queen right now

[@TheAntKeeper]

Nice! They're a great Camponotus sp to keep!

[@mantisswarm6763]

Last night i used one and caught 17 queens in one night. There were hundreds, but i only kept so many. There were at least 7 different species in that mix as well, spanning from trap jaw ants, all the way to fire ants. (I live in arizona)

[@kaurkalevik1295]

Nice video

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thanks Kaur!

[@antsandpets]

congratulations to the winner of the giveaway

[@TheAntKeeper]

Good luck for the next competition Ants and Pets!

[@MarkCLehman]

What percentage of the winged queens are fertile ,,, your best guess ?

[@TheAntKeeper]

Great question Mark! Probably 35% of the queen alates I catch are fertile - That’s a rough estimate. Hope that helps 😀

[@aigar317]

For winter ants

[@airsoftnerd-xm9xd]

im going to give this black lighting a try thanks

[@Schwazzler]

Good sheet!

[@vinnie1367]

2 of my 10 ant queens have shredded their wings!, still waiting for the rest to follow.

[@TheAntKeeper]

Oooh! Super exciting times! What sp are they?

[@vinnie1367]

@@TheAntKeeper I think they might be Prolasius advenus but I'm still waiting for the first batch of nanitics to come out to fully identify them, Can't wait!!

[@vinnie1367]

@@TheAntKeeper I appreciate you're stuff keep it up man!

[@CGT2521]

It’s gonna be my first time doing a black light for insect so I really wanna see what I get and I have test tube if I get any queen ants

[@CreepyPets_]

👍

[@N71041]

Can I use a normal light? I don't have enough money to buy a black light

[@myantcolony2011]

Hello!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Hey My Ant Colony!

[@stijncroon9287]

very cool video

[@TheAntKeeper]

Glad you enjoyed it Stijn!

[@vinnie1367]

I reckon you should make a discord server!

[@TheAntKeeper]

Thanks for the feedback Vinnie, I reckon your right!

[@vinnie1367]

@@TheAntKeeperI'd Love to join and talk with fellow ant keepers :)

[@ThylineTheGay]

What's the best time of year to try this out? (Also live in Australia)

[@snowbean5971]

i killed a fly insect and realized it was a alate queen ant ;-;

[@TheAntKeeper]

That's the worst!

[@snowbean5971]

@@TheAntKeeper Ikr But My Friend Found A Queen Ant And Ill Try Finding One

[@TheAntKeeper]

@@snowbean5971 That’s great. Finding Queen Bull ants is such a rush!

[@phantrom]

Do you think this would work in nz? I don't know if we have any night species.

[@TheAntKeeper]

I think it would be worth a go!

[@vinnie1367]

It would, About 2 weeks ago I caught 10 ant queens still waiting for species identification, I turned on my blacklight at 9pm and it wasn't windy. That's when I got my best results.

[@vinnie1367]

I think that they might be Linepithema humile.

[@snowbean5971]

can it also work on flashlights or phone flashlights

[@TheAntKeeper]

That's great to know! Thanks SnowBean

[@yaseentv1078]

A ant colony

[@AllanGyllingOlsen]

Are they mated?

[@TheAntKeeper]

They all still alive and have dropped their wings. Some have layed eggs, others not yet.