Ant Colonies We Ship to Georgia

31 of our 46 ant species can ship to Georgia. USDA-APHIS makes live-ant shipping a state-by-state matter — each species needs a PPQ 526 permit for each destination state — so here is exactly how Georgia shakes out.

What we ship to Georgia (31)

What we can't ship — and why

15 of our species can't cross the Georgia line. USDA-APHIS requires a PPQ 526 permit per species, per destination state; these aren't currently approved for Georgia: Myrmecocystus mimicus, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, Veromessor pergandei, Camponotus modoc, Myrmecocystus mexicanus, Pogonomyrmex maricopa, Dorymyrmex insanus, Lasius pallitarsis, Solenopsis geminata, Novomessor cockerelli, Acromyrmex versicolor, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, Pogonomyrmex californicus, Myrmecocystus navajo, Lasius brevicornis. You can still read their care guides — and rules change as permits are granted.

Native to Georgia

Pheidole adrianoi — “Native to central and northern Florida, west to the panhandle, with records extending into Georgia and Alabama.”

Pheidole tysoni — “Widely but patchily distributed, from New York south to northern Georgia and west through Tennessee and Kentucky, with separate montane populations in the mountains of southern Arizona and the Davis Mountains of west…”

Georgia runs from the Blue Ridge of the northeast and the ridge-and-valley country of the northwest, across the Piedmont, and down onto the coastal plain, and where you live on that gradient should steer both your species choice and your winter plan. North Georgia gets a real winter, and there Camponotus pennsylvanicus does best with a genuine diapause — months of cool, quiet dormancy. On the coastal plain, winters stay mild, and warm-climate species like Camponotus floridanus and the trap-jaw Odontomachus brunneus need only a shallow seasonal slowdown rather than a full shutdown; Camponotus castaneus is as much at home in south Georgia's sandy soils as anywhere in the state. Pogonomyrmex badius, the Southeast's sand-loving harvester, wants the deep sandy ground common across south Georgia. Two are off the table for Georgia: the widely kept red harvester Pogonomyrmex barbatus and the tropical fire ant Solenopsis geminata, neither of which is cleared for shipment here. Match the colony to your elevation and your winter, not just to what catches your eye.

When queens fly in Georgia

Our analysis of 7,620 alate observations across the Southeast (including Georgia) found that June, May and July hold 64% of recorded nuptial flights, and about half of every record belongs to a dusk or after-dark flier. Full breakdown in our southeastern nuptial flight study.

Prefer to catch your own queen? Our free Ant Flight Predictor is coming soon — it will forecast nuptial flights near you. Meanwhile, browse every state and the full TrapJaw Labs shop.