ANTSTORE World of Ants

[ollie]

Hi

I'm new to the forums, so please correct me if i break any protocols .

I have a few Lasius niger colonies that are growing at the moment. However, I'm after getting some Monomorium pharaonis (Pharoah's ant) colonies, but can't find anybody who sells them. Does anybody know of a shop I could buy from or place I could trade some of my queens? I'm based in London, and have ample resources to contain them...

It seems most people consider these ants a pest; would be nice to find someone who keeps them!

All help greatly appreciated,

Ollie

[baumarkthammer]

Hi,
I once talked to an asian ant keeper that kept them but it is highly stupid to keep those ants.
There are very many different ants that are a bit like Monomorium pharaonis but aren´t as invasive.
There is nothing that could hold these ants back for long as they can nearly walk at water and would probably eat oil away that had been used to hold them back. Also these ants are very small and completley uninteresting.
They actually the worst ant to keep because there isn´t anything interesting about them and they are probably the most annoying animal that could live in your house because they can eat nearly everything are highly polygyn and highly polydom which makes the colonies very hard to get rid of.

I hope you are not really considering getting them.
Why did you want to get them in the first place?

Greetings
Kaj

[Creature]

Baumarkthammer is right. If you can tell us your interests , maybe we can make you another example for a species that you might want to keep.

You will never be lucky with pharao ants. When they find a little hole in your setup , they will instantly use it to spread over your house.

[ollie]

I know they might not be interesting up-close, but the research conducted with this species so far has taught us a lot about chemical communication systems. They're one of the most published species.

Monomorium pharaonis are interesting ants because they have virtually no sight, and rely mostly on pheromone signals to communicate. Japanese scientists managed to successfully synthesise a number of the pheromone components of this species in the '80s, and I'm working with a number of institutions to see if we can create a ballet using ants, synthesised pheromones and specific machinery. The project blog is Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar are links allowed? If not, just Google 'Ant Ballet').

I think I've located a colony in a lab up north in the UK, and will be ant-proofing the containment zone in preparation. The building I'm working in is being torn down in June, so no real problems with escapees .

[Markus]

OK, and when your home and the homes oft several other people are infected, you can pay for desinfection, reparation etc..
Have fun!

[ollie]

No problems; the building is a huge old lab complex being destroyed once the experiements are over...they're being sent by another university, so should be fairly securely contained! I wouldn't let these guys anywhere near my house! What a great way to fall out with every neighbour/landlord.

[highered]

I'm sure you will be fine, just make sure there are no possible escape holes