Atta Texana Collection
So, my area had a successful Atta Texana nuptial flight last night. This is just one container out of three that I have. I didn't want to crowd them too much while prepping my test tube. Also, I know there are some males in there. My kids collected with me and grabbed some.
The tube setup is this: 40mm clear plastic test tube. Each test tube is filled between halfway and 2/3 with sterilized water (I did a boiling condensation drip to make sure all bacteria and particulates were filtered out, then cooled to room temperature.). Each tube has a cotton ball stopper to allow air flow and the natural urge to pull at the cotton. I am currently in the process of tubing the queens. The males will be released outside in my garden. Once tubing is complete, they'll be placed in an open box and set on the top self of my bedroom closet, where it is dark and quiet.
Once tubing is complete, I'll update here with the exact amount of queens that I captured.
Notice: I know some queens have wings. I did some research and found that the best time to collect them was while they are running on the ground, stopping, and using their antenna to test the ground frequently. I didn't pick any that already started digging, and none that were running frantically.
Update: 108 queens across all containers (males have been released), 14 of the queens have wings attached still.