Ant Colonies We Ship to Mississippi

31 of our 46 ant species can ship to Mississippi. 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 Mississippi shakes out.

What we ship to Mississippi (31)

What we can't ship — and why

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

Mississippi keeping is mostly a fight with water. In the humid summer, a test tube moved between air-conditioned and warm rooms fogs fast: pooled condensation can soak a founding queen and set off mold, and a failing cotton reservoir commonly floods the tube and drowns her. Keep tubes at one stable temperature, out of sun; when the reservoir runs low, leaks, or grows significant mold, migrate her to a fresh setup; never pull the water-reservoir cotton from an occupied tube. Skip unconditioned garages and sheds in summer: the heat alone is lethal. Winters are short and mild in the southern half — though freezes still reach the coast — while northern Mississippi gets longer, harder freezes. Temperate Camponotus castaneus and Camponotus pennsylvanicus want a cool rest, roughly 45–60°F for two to three months, in a wine cooler — or, in north Mississippi's coldest months, a thermometer-checked closet on an exterior wall. Odontomachus brunneus and Camponotus floridanus barely pause: slower brood, not shutdown. Desert species like Myrmecocystus mexicanus and Pogonomyrmex barbatus cannot ship to Mississippi.

When queens fly in Mississippi

Our analysis of 7,620 alate observations across the Southeast (including Mississippi) 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.