ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Andrea1992]

Hello to all I'm new of the forum,
I am not much of an expert about ants... and I wanted to ask you what are the principal object who I must buy.
I would like to raise the Messor barbarus:

What nest and arena should I buy?
According to you if I use this sand/loam ( shop/product_info.php/info/p787_sand-loam-mixture-1000g.html ) I can see the ants or not because the colour is similar?

sorry but I'm Italian and I speak a little English

[SteveUK28]

Hello Andrea and to our forum.

Firstly your English is not that bad Messor barbarus are not that easy an ant to keep for the absolute beginner, however if you brought a colony with a fair few workers 10+ then i see no reason why they should not do well for you. However i would suggest you look at other easier spec of ants first like Lasius.

However if your sure you want Messor then i shall try and point you in the right direction... you would be able to see the ants no problem if you used the sand loam you have shown. I personaly think these ants are much better suited to a ytong setup so you can watch them more easily. So placing a ytong inside a tank would be very good i think.

If you have any more question then please ask away.. and also look around the site there is some very good information and tips

[Andrea1992]

I would like to begin with Messor because I have always loved the "formiche mietitrici"
I would be also like to use sand and loam in order to see to dig them... when I buy them, should i buy queen or queen + worker?

[Brawl]

I like begin with the Messor because I have always loved the "formiche mietitrici"
I would be also liketo use sand and loam in order to see to dig them... when I buy them, i buy queen or qeen + worker?

Much much easier to start with queen + workers. So, yes, you should buy them

[SteveUK28]

Yes i think you should buy Queen + workers.

[Andrea1992]

If I buy only the Queen there are insufficient possibilities that the new colony is created? Why?
From what I have understood it is better to make the nest in the Ytong...It is easy to work? It does't grow mouldy?
And what is more important when I buy them?


I have found a queen of Lasius flavus also this species can build the nest in the Ytong?

What are the just dimensions of the nest and the farm of the two species?

I hope not to have made too much questions

[SteveUK28]

Well Messor queens are highly sensative and are stressed very easily which can lead to them eating any brood. For Absolute beginers like yourself it is better to get a colony with workers so if any eggs/brood are ate then the workers are there to feed her up for her to produce more eggs and brood.
Ytong is very good yes, it is very easy to work with(not 100% what u mean) but i have never had problems with it, and i have never seen it go mouldy.

Lasius flavus can also go in a ytong yes, most ants can.

The dimmensions dont really matter at an early stage as they colony will grow no matter what. To start with you can keep colonies in a test tube for a year, and then move them to a setup.

[Andrea1992]

I would have an other question to make... I do not open a new argument I make it here.
An other kind of ant that appeals to a lot to me is Tetramonium caespitum, but during the period of swarm I haven't found a Queen.
On Antstore they aren't available... someone knows the period within which they will be newly available?

[methuselah]

Hi

I have just introduced Messor barbarus queen and 8 workers with some eggs/brood into a glass farm.
They were initially in a tube as supplied from antstore.
Not long after that, the queen came out and dig a tunnel herself. While digging she will go back to the test tube and have a brief check on the eggs/brood from time to time and then went on digging. Eventually she hide inside and sealed herself in the tunnel. The workers did not help her to dig, but about 5 workers tending the eggs/broods that are still in the test tube. The rest just roam about.

Do you think this is normal? I always thought the workers will always follow the queen, which will bring along the egg/brood.

[damondeionno]

methuselah

Umm, that doesn't sound so good. You need to be very very careful here. Personally I would CAREFULLY unseal the tunnel and try to 'persuade' the workers with the brood to move in with the queen, otherwise you will have a problem at some point.

Really, you should have kept the colony in the tube until it had grown and then let them move into the farm more gradually.

[SteveUK28]

I have to say i have never heard of this.. But i wouldnt go digging her out now, but i do agree you should have kept them in the testtube untill they had outgrown it. Your just gonna have to hope for the best i think.

[BROOKSY775]

I want to start my very own colony of Messors and would like to know a few things first. 1. Can they sting 2.Can they hunt and kill bigger insects? Thats all I basicly want to know.

[JimmyVe]

Don't sting. Eat seeds no honey water (or sweets) and they hunt insects if the colony is big enough.
Seems like you are looking for an ant to keep. Do you have experience and what are you looking for (in the species).