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DAVEY_E_185: Heating for Lasius niger (7. Dez 2009 18:44)

Hi,

Im new to keeping ant and i have been doing a lot of research about the tempertures that a L asius niger colony need to be kept at. I live in northern Ireland which can be cold all year round with some summers days going as low as 5 to 10 degrees. The room i would be keeping the colony in would normally be the same as the out door temp as there is no heating.

What i was wonder is will i need some sort of heating? and what would be recommended. i.e. heat mat, heat lamp and what the required wattage.

Thanks for your help.

damondeionno: Re: Heating for Lasius niger (7. Dez 2009 18:56)

Do you have Lasius niger outside where you live? If so, then probably you'll be ok.

A heat mat/lamp might make them more active though, and help the colony grow faster.

It's difficult to specify a wattage. It depends on the size of the farm.

If you think about a light bulb and how much heat that puts out (90% of the energy from an incandescent bulb is given off as heat), it might help you think about it.

SteveUK28: Re: Heating for Lasius niger (8. Dez 2009 18:02)

Hi Davey,
Lasius are pretty much the easiest to keep. If you keep them at the same temp.. they would be fine.. however like damon says.. if you want to speed them up then you can use a heating source, but not very powerfull.. if you got say a daylight bulb from a pet store that would be ideal.. Just make sure it does not get too hot..

DAVEY_E_185: Re: Heating for Lasius niger (9. Dez 2009 18:36)

Thanks for your advise i will keep in in mind. The colony won't be outside but i will be in a room with limited or no heating at all.

Do you think an incandescent light maybe 60w would be enough its for the glassfarm/arena - classic (20x10x10 cm & 30x20x1,8 cm)

Thanks again for you help

Krabbie: Re: Heating for Lasius niger (9. Dez 2009 23:33)

40W is enough. But that depends also on the hight of the spot...