ANTSTORE World of Ants

[joostdejong]

Hi,

At our school we're setting up a new course on green-stuff and agriculture. A big part of that course is animal-keeping, so all classrooms will get some pets. Outside we'll get a pet-zoo with rabbits, chickens, goats and such. Inside we have budget to get fish, gerbils, guinea-pigs etc. Alas, I don't want those, I want an antfarm. (Yes, I am the teacher.)

Bit of background; I teach in a prison. Until now boys (12-23yr) only but, starting January, girls only. In the gender-transition we hope to get a green-course going. Kinda obvious for the setting, I teach to those with behaviour-problems. Instead of having cuddly classroom pets I think it's a nice opportunity to get our pupils to see the other wonders of the animal kingdom.

For that purpose I ask for some information. What species of ant should I get? It should be low maintenance, because of the vacations, though there are people who can tend to the colony while I'm out. Of course other info is welcomed too, but as species determines housing and set-up I guess I should start with pinpointing the species I should keep.

Regards,

Joost

(BTW both the school and me are Netherlands based. Yeah I know, there's a Dutch section... But the English one is more active, and (for me) time is somewhat of an issue.)

[SteveUK28]

Well for teaching i would say you should have a large colony with a few hundred workers. I think Spec like Messor barbarus, or Myrimica rubra would be good choice both require little attention and can handle themselves well. Especialy the Messors as all they really need is seeds and water and the occasional bugs. as for housing, i think a large tank with maybe a ytong nest or 2, perhaps you could even get your student to make the ytong nest themselves??

Either way i wish you the best of luck... and if you have any more specfic questions feel free to ask.

Ohh and to the forum

[MorbidMike]

Hi,

At our school we're setting up a new course on green-stuff and agriculture. A big part of that course is animal-keeping, so all classrooms will get some pets. Outside we'll get a pet-zoo with rabbits, chickens, goats and such. Inside we have budget to get fish, gerbils, guinea-pigs etc. Alas, I don't want those, I want an antfarm. (Yes, I am the teacher.)

Bit of background; I teach in a prison. Until now boys (12-23yr) only but, starting January, girls only. In the gender-transition we hope to get a green-course going. Kinda obvious for the setting, I teach to those with behaviour-problems. Instead of having cuddly classroom pets I think it's a nice opportunity to get our pupils to see the other wonders of the animal kingdom.

For that purpose I ask for some information. What species of ant should I get? It should be low maintenance, because of the vacations, though there are people who can tend to the colony while I'm out. Of course other info is welcomed too, but as species determines housing and set-up I guess I should start with pinpointing the species I should keep.

Regards,

Joost

(BTW both the school and me are Netherlands based. Yeah I know, there's a Dutch section... But the English one is more active, and (for me) time is somewhat of an issue.)

Hello,
this is a highly original idea. By the way the Dutch forum is very active as well, a large part of the posters in the English forum are either Dutch or Belgian.

I think you would do best with Myrmica rubra or Lasius niger, they are both considered the 'ultimate' beginner ants. They both grow fast (Lasius niger grows faster) and are extremely hardy and easy to keep. Though, both do require a hibernation, which means that from october to march/april they will need to be stationed in some cold place... such as a fridge! They will not be active during this time, and seeing as it is a large part of the year (since you have vacation during the summer) you will not be watching them a lot.

You could consider easy to keep exotic species which do not require hibernation, McK sells such species for €20-30. I am keeping a colony of Iridomyrmex anceps, which I bought from him, they do not require hibernation and are quite as easy to keep as Lasius niger. At least I have not encountered any problems with them yet. (And they grow FAST!)

So for choosing a species... Lasius niger and Myrmica rubra are probably the easiest choice, especially for a beginner. An easy exotic species such as Iridomyrmex anceps is also a good choice, but they will require a decent temperature, also during the winter (~25 Celsius). If your school does not have sufficient heating for this it might be a problem (or you could just get a heat mat). Upside of Iridomyrmex anceps would be that is has no hibernation, so is active all year long, a really fast growth and, being small, not requiring too much space, downside is that it is harder to keep during the winter because of the temperature.

I personally would recommend a Myrmica rubra colony due to it's ease, but it is not active during the winter months.

[Zagone]

Since Messor barbarus has been mentioned, I'd also like to mention it has non-hibernating kinds aswell, such as Messor minor hespirius, which I keep myself and they're just as easy as M. Barbarus. Only real difference is that Messor minor hespirius doesn't hibernate and are smaller the Messor barbarus.