Ant Colonies We Ship to South Carolina

29 of our 46 ant species can ship to South Carolina. 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 South Carolina shakes out.

What we ship to South Carolina (29)

What we can't ship — and why

17 of our species can't cross the South Carolina line. USDA-APHIS requires a PPQ 526 permit per species, per destination state; these aren't currently approved for South Carolina: Myrmecocystus mimicus, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, Veromessor pergandei, Camponotus modoc, Myrmecocystus mexicanus, Pheidole lamia, Pogonomyrmex maricopa, Dorymyrmex insanus, Odontomachus brunneus, 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.

South Carolina's fall-line sandhills, the belt of deep, droughty sand running through the midlands, shape one of the most distinctive slices of the state's ant fauna. That sand is home turf for Pogonomyrmex badius, the Florida harvester ant and the only Pogonomyrmex harvester ant east of the Mississippi, a specialist that stocks deep nests with seeds and often dresses the surface disc with bits of charcoal. We ship P. badius to South Carolina, and the same open-sand habitat suits others on our list: Nylanderia arenivaga, whose species name is Latin for sand-wanderer, and Trachymyrmex septentrionalis, a fungus-gardening ant that digs crescent-shaped mounds in those same soils. If you would rather keep a woodland species than a sand specialist, Camponotus castaneus is a strong pick for the state's oak forests. One we cannot send you is Odontomachus brunneus, a southeastern trap-jaw ant of the kind this shop is named after; it stays off the South Carolina list.

When queens fly in South Carolina

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