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Hi,
I'm very confused atm, have bought the C starter ant farm and arena which I think is the bigger one of the starter kits.
My plan is to start with this and build a Ytong farm that I'll link to the arena when the time is right.
I wanted to keep Messer Barbarus but as the colony will grow >10k I don't think it would be fair as I wouldn't be able to care for that many!!
My ideal ant would be:
Active day and night.
Prefer fairly dry conditions.
Large in body size.
Easy to care for.
Could live happily in a standard Ytong and apx 30*20 arena
Bought a heat pad also to keep it a constent temp. Only thing I need is the ants !!!
As a side question, is it possible to control colony numbers?
Thank you
So I have read the Camponotus grows slow so I would think this is a good ant for me to start with, as these are carpenter ants do I need to supply them with wood to live in or is the sand and loam mix still OK until I get a ytong set up as. I see that they prefer dry farms?
Looking at that type of ant which one would be the best:
Camponotus ligniperda
Camponotus herculeanus
Camponotus cruentatus
Camponotus vagus
Messer b arbarus are not that easy to keep in the long run.
you would be very lucky to get a colony that big :p
and if you did get one that big it would take a thousand years
My Messer barbarus only come out at night are sensitive to light,
are most active at surface temp 25C - 30C, with 20C soil temp
the link below is a study some insect nerds did on the behaviour of Messer Barbarus colonies you and others may find useful.
The Report says they are most active at surface temp 25C - 30C, with 20C soil temp, and says more research is needed but that their data indicates they are more nocturnal than diurnal.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/43j67u0247405123/fulltext.pdf
Camponotus cruentatus is a species that meets your demands. You dont have to keep the ytong wet and they are fairly easy to keep. Besides all of that, i find them the most beautiful species of Camponotus.
30x20 is abit small for most big ants though, in my opinion, even for a smaller colony. Atleast that's what I've experienced with Camponotus species that I've kept. They tend to wanna roam alot! Also I think most Camponotus are mainly nocturnal, but in captivity you'll prolly see them rather active when lit. I know my Campnotus Sp. from Laos are very lazy whenever I turn the lights on though. :)
I was told that 30 x 20 is Ok to start off with when the colony is small <30, I would then increase the arena to around 60x20. I'm not going to use the thin farm that came with it now, instead I will get a ytong.
I think I have narrowed down my choice to:
Camponotus ligniperda
Camponotus cruentatus
Taking the above into consideration, would this be sufficient now?
Which one of the above would be better, I was thinking overall the Camponotus cruentatus as it prefers dry conditions and would be easier to maintain?
Is there an upper temp for these ants... whats too hot for them??
I have no experience with Camponotus ligniperda.
Camponotus cruentatus is easy to maintain. You can use a dry ytong nest. As a water reservoir you can place a test tube with cotton in the outside world. The only problem you might encounter is that they are very picky regarding solid food. So you will have to experiment a lot. They prefer food with a soft skin. They need a temperature between 25 and 30.
Camponotus Ligniperda that i keep are easy to keep, but i found growing the colony was not that easy, the queen lays when she wants to and you are at her mercy lol
I'm more than happy for her to take her time which is why I wanted this species.
Do you, or have you supplied them with wood to live in or is a ytong OK, do you think they would eat through this like Messer Barb????
This species can dig tru ytong. Most easiest way to keep this species is in a ytong nest.