Wednesday, July 1st

This year the 4th Annual New Jersey Ant Together will be held at Jakes Branch County Park. Website Map and depending on how things go, Turkey Swamp Park sometime after lunch.8:00am meet and greet, ~8:15 or 8:30 we'll start anting.We'll meet up at the Nature Center (the main building with the green roof) It's the one with the red star on their map While this is free for the public to attend, however this is basically an all day hiking trip, and might not be appropriate for children and the elderly. Ideally people attending should be a legal adult age, old enough to drive, or accompanied by a parent or guardian. This isn't a baby sitting service, and mother nature generally isn't handicap assessable. Several people, myself included, will likely be taking video and pictures on the day and children make that difficult.I chose this location for a few reasons. Along with having a family friendly park and viewing deck it has 400 acres of natural lands and trails to explore. A study done on Trachymyrmex lists the nearby town of Island Heights as a spot T. septentrionalis can be found, however it's since become overly urbanized and probably wouldn't make for good anting. Thankfully this location is down the road from Jakes Branch County Park so we'll hopefully find a population of them there.We'll likely find a dinner somewhere. I'm open to ideas.Turkey Swamp Park is home to the Allegheny Mound Ant, Formica exsectoides, which are always fun to visit. There are a few trails here that we've never explored. It's not too far from Jakes Branch but still a bit of a drive.A BackpackSunscreen and or Bug RepellentA Small Garden Spade or some sort of Picking Tool for probing into logs and flipping rocks. NJ has at least two species of venomous snakes, and there are plenty of other critters that will bite or sting you for putting your hand in their home.Bottled Water (I'll be bringing a cooler of Water and whatever energy drink is on sale.)Something to snack on if you desire, remember to clean up your trash of course.A Cooling Towel. These things actually work, I might buy a few extra for the day if it's going to be a hot one.An Aspirator if you own one, or your ant collecting tool of choice.Collecting tubes for live specimens.Collecting tubes for dead specimens. (I'll be collecting some of everything in a vial of Alcohol for later study.)Anything else you can think of. A moderate sized container perhaps for an easy to catch colony we chance upon. Remember we're not here to dig up colonies but should you happen upon a queen ant or colony that would be an easy catch, we're not going to stop you unless it's destructive to the environment. Digging through a patch of rare plants, taking logs of ants home with you, ripping the bark off of every tree you come across, etc..., are huge red flags. We're not there to destroy the place.Camera and or small note pad for recording observations. I'll likely be recording an episode of Ant Chat as I usually do. If you'd like to not be recorded by me or anyone else, please tell us on the day of.Dress as if you expect to be covered in ticks and chiggers by the end of the day. Tuck in your shirt and socks is recommended but we understand it's not always practical on warm days. No one is making you do this but it's something to think about. We've yet to come across a population of deer ticks, which makes us pretty lucky because they carry Lyme disease. Rest assured they're out there though. After the trip, and periodically during the trip, you should give yourself a thorough search. Avoid walking in tall or knee high grass, and stay away from leaf litter if possible, especially in wet areas where Ticks tend to populate more heavily than dry. It takes roughly 24 hours for ticks to begin feeding on your blood even after they've burrowed into your skin.I'll be PMing everyone who's going my personal cell phone number. This way we have a list of people so if we need to change things up or you're running late or have to cancel everyone can stay informed.[Added the year to the title. --antdude]