hey
I have been thinking of getting Atta ants, are they asy to keep,
what leaves do they need ? any or a specific type ?
is it true that the Queen is the size of a field Mouse, because they sure look big !
also how long does it take to hatch the first workers
cheers
A field mouse ... that would be 10cm? Who told you that ? ... Tell him that a camera can zoom on objects and by measuring the size on the monitor he won't get the real size ^^
I suggest you should read a little more about ants and start with something easier than Atta.
They like rose leafs ;) ,and some leafs of trees in our climate (dont know EN names) . Queen is about 3,2 cm of size ;) ,worker 3mm up to 2,4cm :)
Skippy
I know this is an extremely HOT topic (keeping Atta cephalotes)
But what I want to know is if there is a way to control the colony size, I'm told that I can't control it and that it will take over my home etc etc. But what is the truth here?
I have all needed equipment to control temp and humidity so that's not a problem but I wonder if it really will take over my home when we talking about space required?
/Henke
Hello port513 Yes you can indeed control the colony size , its all to do with feeding , When the colony reaches the size you want , cut down on the leaves you give them , this will cause the fungus gardens to shrink which will cause the queen to slow her egg laying down. But you must still feed them leaves evry day , just reduce the amount. This worked extremly well with my colony which went from a golf ball size fungus garden to 3 football sized fungus gardens in two years. Sadly thou my queen died for no apparent reason and the colony spent several months fading away.
Hope that helps you
Adam :D
Hi!
Thanks for that information ;)
What kind of setup did you use?
I'm thinking of this initial setup
glass basin 120x20x50 cm with 27mm drilling (fungus garden basin)
glass basin 50x50x20 cm with 27mm drilling (for food with a modification, I will put an island 40*40*10cm in the middle to make it easier to maintan)
Glass basins 40x30x20 cm with 27mm drilling (as the trashbin)
Is this a good thought or should I reconsider my setup?
/Henke
Are they dead now? If not how are they?