ANTSTORE World of Ants

[MorbidMike]

Hi there,
I am rather nooby when it comes to ant keeping. I am looking for species which are easy to keep for rookies .
I have already had Lasius niger, Lasius flavus and Myrmica rubra, and now I am looking for something more interesting, or exciting, such as species with majors, but still easy to keep alive and well.
I have been told most Camponotus species are good for beginners as well as Messor barbarus.
I need your advice .
Thanks on advance.

[mpir]

My advice: Messor barbarus

Very polimorf, easy to keep, easy to feed and some will also say that they don´t need hibernation. Buy a small colony as buying only queen can turn out problematic.

I keep them and they are my favourite. Back in April I got a small colony queen + 5 workers and no brooth what so ever. Now there is more than 50 of them.

You can also try some Camponotus species but in my opinion (I keep C. vagus) they grow much slower. I got them about the same time as M. barbarus and now I have 16 workers.

Look at some photos and go with what you like.
Good luck

[JimmyVe]

Hi MorbidMike and welcome,

Looks like you are not a newbie, you already has some experience.
Must say, Messor barbarus are in deed 'easy' if you start with a small colony, if you start off with just a queen they are not so easy.
The live in south Europe so they don't need much hibernation, 2-3 moths would be enough, some people give them no hibernation but if they do it nature it is always better to do it in captivity to.

Some Camponotus sp. are fine to keep to and not to difficult. But there are so many different species of Camponotus, if you stick with the European species, you should do fine.

[Varban]

I am keeping Messors barbarus so i will throw my vote for them.
Do go with the colony not just a queen. Some queens are not strong enough to found a colony and as a beginner you might make it a bit worse. I had 2 queens who died on me and my 3rd on is prooving quite difficult. Also if you get just a queen you wont have ants for about 1.5-2 months but it is up to you

Do tell us what you decide and if you need help ask

[MorbidMike]

Looks like Messor barbarus is indeed the way for me then .

But eh... what do I feed them?
Small insects I guess... And eh... Bird seeds? "Zangzaad" xD

[Varban]

They are not big insect fans. They granivores so mainly seeds. Until your first major (soldiers) hatch you will have to use soft seeds. Sugar water is also good. I stopped giving sugar water to mine cause thee other day i found an ant drowning. I have only 2 workers still so am very protective of them lol. But if you have just a queen you will be fine. It all depends how you give it to them.
As for seeds i give them dandelion seeds and they seem to love them. When your colony gets its first majors you can give them harder seeds like bird seeds and so on.

[miszt]

if your gonna give sugar water, its worth putting a little cotton wool in it, they can still drink it, but wont drown

[kashmir79]

if you want interesting ants, go for Aphaenogaster senilis

they are great to watch working !!

[Stilton]

I'm trying to decide which species to get next. I currently have C. ligniperda in a full set-up and a couple of L. niger queens with eggs gathered recently in test tubes.

I'm looking for a species that will be different from these two, is of low to medium difficulty and has interesting behaviour.

So, what do you guys suggest? Please post your suggestion along with a description of what makes them interesting; a perfect opportunity to plug your favourite ants! All suggestions appreciated.

[Varban]

Well i can't say much about the messor's behaviour. As I said i only have 2 workers atm lol. When they grow and start to actively forage seeds they make this thing called ant bread and store it in chambers in your antfarm for the colder days. That got to be cool to watch they also have soldiers.

What's the Aphaenogaster's specialty?

[JimmyVe]

What's the Aphaenogaster's specialty?

I don't keep them myself but a friend of mine does,
he told me they grow really fast, he has the colony for about a year and already he has about 1000 workers.

[mpir]

... what makes them interesting; a perfect opportunity to plug your favourite ants...

I started with a small M. barbarus colony Q+5. I guess what makes them so fascinating is their polimorfism. First you have just small ants - little bigger than L. niger workers. But then you start to notice bigger and bigger larvae and pupae. And it is exciting every time you see a bigger larvae or pupae and you wonder how big ant is it gonna be this time. Right now I'm at Q+ 55 and there is really big pupae in the nest and I can't wait for it to hatch and see how big worker is it going to be. You are never boared with this ants, I guess.

@Morbidmike

I give them a mix of seeds for small birds. Some they manage to eat and some not yet. They love dandalion seeds. My colony is making a lot of ant bread recently - maybe they are preparing for winter.
I never give them sweet water. I was adviced to not feed this species with sweet water. They seem to be doing fine without it. They do have constant supply of drinking water. I tried to feed them with fruits several time but they do not show much interest in it. My colony also loves a big meaty fly every now and then.

[Varban]

Mpir can you put a pic of the antbread if you can? Is it stored in chambers or?