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Kale^^: Messor barbarus (24. Mai 2008 20:24)

Hi. I just ordered stuff from antstore, including 2 messor barbarus queens.(2 because i wanted to have spare in case the other dies or something)
I have questions:
What's the best setup for them? (I know, testtubes for small colonies, but what after the colonies come bigger? Do they chew trough y-tong?
What temperatures are the best for them?
Anything special about humidity?

These are the first foreign ant species i have ordered, so i need advise. Any kind of advice is very gratefully accepted, you can even tell something i didn't ask you to tell =)

Thanks, Kale.

miszt: (24. Mai 2008 20:52)

Kale, u've been on this forum long enough to know to do ur research before you get ur ants :P

Yes they do chew thru ytong, they like it dry and hot, so 25-30 would be good, with a cooler area of the nest for them aswell

You can use ytong, as long as you remeber to keep it in a sealed tank, otherwise they will also be fine in a farm

These colonies get very large very fast, tbh a queen isnt going to die unless you do something wrong, in which case both will die anyway ;) (unless there is a problem with the Queen, in which case AntStore will replace her)

Good luck :) have a browse thru the experience threads, u'll find lots of info, but u know that already dont ya :P

Kale^^: (25. Mai 2008 10:18)

Yeah, i've been here for quite long now, but i'm just exited :) I'll turn this topic to a diary later, that's my plan. I'll go search for some barbarus-info! :)

KiamCameron: (25. Mai 2008 12:04)

Messor Barbarus are great I had a big worker had orange head then after 2 days it went black lol so im guessing it was a new born :P Must get mine into a tank now they keep crowded the enterance with like 7 workers :P Im up to about 30 workers ;)

Kale^^: (26. Mai 2008 13:24)

How long u've had them?

KiamCameron: (26. Mai 2008 14:05)

About 4 months I think I cant remember they started with 5 workers then one died but now there thriving :)

JimmyVe: (26. Mai 2008 15:32)

These ants are in deed great, but don't forget (like miszt said) they grow fast. And they need much seeds and insects. I have a few pictures of my colony in the dutch section. (of this forum) My colony is pretty big now. ;)

Good luck with yours.

Kale^^: (30. Mai 2008 15:27)

Ants have arrived. Didn't take too long, i'm happy that atleast the ants arrived healthy and there are a couple more workers than i expected there to be. Only some cover sheets missing and wrong needles, which disappointed me quite a lot. Anyway, ants are here, some brood with both colonies, queens are bigger than i expected (<3) and i'm hoping these will fill my tanks soon. Seeds and insects won't be a problem. I'm letting these ants to be covered with the pvc foils i ordered, they seem to be calming down and they have already gathered all brood back to one pile.

JimmyVe: (30. Mai 2008 17:02)

Nice for you Kale, i wish you good luck with your colonies. :)

Kale^^: (30. Mai 2008 19:59)

Thanks Jimmy. Also forgot to mention, but feel free to move this to "experience with european ants" if you wish.


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