Two months ago I found a Harvester ant queen (Maricopa harvester ant, or Pogonomyrmex maricopa)...my last successful Harvester ant colony I had, was 4 years ago...and I've tried raising them for the past 7 years. I'm sure a lot of you know Harvester ants...the "big" red ants, the ones that come in the Uncle Milton ant farms.Well, yesterday I had my first workers hatch! (or eclose the more appropriate term for ants)...so that is really exciting.

The Maricopa harvester ant is most toxic insect in North America...12 stings can kill a 2-4 pound rat and about 200 stings can kill a person. They live in sand dunes and deserts mostly...which means they are a really tough ant. Which is good for raising them in an ant farm.

I know this is a bit random for a gaming site...but since I'm a long time member (and moderator), figured I would share it with you all. This is a blog after all :) But it is very exciting news for me.

Here is a picture of the queen, taken a month ago: picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cJLVuxyHsQXN0mWQE1taDg