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Well my name is george, but most of my friends call me Tramp (first of all was used by as an insult but then kind of stuck)and im 17.
I'm thinking of getting some ants :) I was trying to convince my girlfriend that not all bees were bumblebees when I thought mmmh im going to look at some ants, as I have always liked social insects and thought of them as interesting.
I am thinking of starting off in the shallow end, and building my way up from there.
I have two 40ish litre fish tanks that I wouldn't mind converting into some form of crude area for them :grin: which I shall probably fail miserably at, so will probably use them if a colony gets to big for it's current home and needs a nice extension.
Im unsure of what kind of equipment I need for my little friends (or minions as my girlfriend would like to call them :roll: ) I wouldn't mind at all, and would even prefer it, if they had one or more little areas to live in/hunt for their dinner.
I would probably decorate my ant's home with fake and living things for them.
But of course this isn't going to be a reality without you!
Any and all suggestions would be very helpful and I will listen :D after all you guys are the experts.
Thanks in advance, Tramp.
I know that Lasius Niger are the ones that everyone suggests starting out with, but I particulary like the look of Camponotus ligniperda.
I think I would enjoy them more as I would like to learn how the minors and majors do different jobs (if they do!) are they not also bigger? which would be a plus for me :).
If anyone has kept these before could they perhaps tell me
how big are they the description dosn't appear to say (or im blind)?
what size connecting tubes/pipes they need?
The description says that the ants prefer their soil to be sand and humus, does anyone possibly know what the ratio would be?
How long do they hibernate and how would I go about hibernating them?
Is it possible to get branches/roots from my garden or will that possibly put my ants at risk of mites? if this could put them at risk of mites could I possibly roast them or maybe even set fire to them for a few seconds :wink: just to make sure my pretty ants don't die.
Ok firstly Tramp.. Hello.. and Welcome to the forum.
Righty you have the right idea starting off with basic ants. I would as you guessed suggest Lasius niger and not the Camponotus ligniperda, they are still fairly easy to after but are that little bit more difficult. Also people suggest Lasius simply because they grow very fast and you'll have a large colony in next to no time. As with ligniperda they are a lot slower growing.
The natural setup is always good, there is a care sheet about if you do a search for it which will pretty much tell you everything you need to know.. and also a FAQ. As for the sand loam, not all ants dig nests... ligniperda mostly live in dead wood, ive myself just made a nest for my ligniperda out of a hollowed log. Anyways.. Good luck with whateva you decide and keep us posted.
i have c.ligniperda and messor barbarus.i would reccomend to get messor because they have a HUGE minor and major size diference (minors 4mm - biggest majors 14 mm), they collect seeds and ame it into a fluff, which is called antbread.they make it for hibernation.
also they have a higher hibernation temparature (ligniperda 0 - 10, messor 10 - 15(which i think is easier to make)) and they need less hibernation (ligniperda about 3 - 5 months, messor 2 - 4 months).
you can keep messors without any humidity, but brood development will be slower.
ligniperda queen is about 16mm, workers i think 9 - 15mm(correct me if im wrong).
i would say 13mm tubes/pipes is enoguh for them, but if you have a huge colony you need to use bigger tubes.
i dont know the ratios, but i do know sand nest arent as interesting as ytong nests, because in a ytong you can see queen,majors,minors,brood and stuff, but in a sand nest you cant see near as much as in a ytong(ytong - brand of aereted concrete).
if you want use soil,brnaches,roots or anything from garden, i would roast/cook them in an oven.
sorry for bad english :)
For messor barbarus the higher temperture for hibernation would be useful, I could probably put them in the porch when it's time for hibernation.
I started looking around my garden fo some interesting things that I could use for my ants, how long would you reccomend putting things in the oven for? and at what temperture? I can just see myself setting fire to something :shock:
I had a little look at ytong and I just can't seem to understand what to do with it :(. (moisture etc, well just everything :P)
Also would messor barbarus be making groud nests? as steve said c.ligniperda would prefer wood and I would like my ants to be as happy as possible :)
EDIT: also what would I do for seeds? any specific sizes or types?
EDIT2: also do they only eat seeds or do they also eat insects and honey?
Hello Tramp and welcome.
Well it would be easier to start off with a central European species (like Lasius niger ) but i understand you like bigger ants. ;) Most of us do. Messor barbarus are not very hard but more difficult that central European ants.
First off all, make up you mind about the species you would like to keep and than look what they like, make a nest and try that out (humidity and temperature) than order ants and put them in. ;) (you also can keep them in tubes first until they have more workers before putting them into the nest)
1) bird seeds would do just fine.
2) they don't like honey but they also need insects (like all ants)
I quite like the look of messor barbarus however what humidity and temperture would I be needing?
If you like something bigger than Lasius, but still easy, I also recommend Serviformica: Formica fusca, cinerea or rufibarbis. They aren't so big as Camponotus, but still large enough so you won't need magnifying glass to see them (5-8 mm), they develop almost as fast as Lasius and don't need higher temperature.
mmmh cinerea is't in stock and I can't find rufibaris.
I would also not feel safe getting fusca as there is no english description, and i would rather know certain things about them :)
needed temparature for messor is about 22 - 28oC.you can keep messor without any humidity, even in the nest.