ANTSTORE World of Ants

[badman]

and can be kept without heating?

I'm thinking Lasius niger or Myrmica rubra?

[Fabian]

Hey!

I started with a Myrmica rubra colony, it had 3 queens (who probably produced as many eggs as a Lasius niger queen or just a few more),
the colony had about 100 workers when i got it, one and a half year later i couldnt open a 20*30cm bassin without a dozen ants escaping,
i guess they increased their number by more than 10 times, aproximatly 1000 - 1200 workers, but as i said, i just can guess, its impossible to
count them.

There is also a nice report about Lasius flavus in the german part of the forum, it is from Erne, you might be interested in taking a look at the photos,
although you may not speak german the photographs are quite interesting and show you what an enormous growth the colony shows.

In my opinion Myrmica rubra would be a nice choice, they are a little bigger than Lasius niger and have a nice red color.

[badman]

yea I had a rugonidis colony which are very similar to rubra, but they're dead, not sure why, possibly overheated, I'm pretty devastated, so want to start a new colony that will be interesting straight away

[Fabian]

Good evening!

Hm, if you didnt watch the Farm or what ever they lived in regulary it could overheat very quickly if it stands in the right place, just an hour in the sun and its about 50 degrees in such a farm .. remembers me to a episode of Alf ... and dont forget that Myrmica needs a more or less humid nest, compared to eg Lasius niger.

[badman]

yeah in my old place they loved the sun, and would be more active in the heat, but i would only get sunlight in the morning or evening. So when I moved to a new place which got sunlight all day, I put them right in the sun. And this time of year, I think they just overheated.

[Fabian]

Yeah, possible, in deed ... its sad but if you found your mistake, try it again and be a little more careful, i suppose things gonna work better now

[badman]

Would you still recommend Rubra, considering I have never kept a lasius niger colony?

[Fabian]

Hm, i think its a question of your personal taste ...

I like rubra because they are, compared to Lasius niger, a little bit bigger, the red color is kinda unique, they have a sting, some people think its cool, because
they are superior to other ants - in my opinion thats a stupid argument .. but, as i said, some people just like the feeling that their ants kick ass (such people should buy Myrmecia pavida^^ *just kiddin*)
They grow fast, they are easy to handle .. except of the sting, it can hurt if you have to work inside your arena .. so .. its a really nice Ant.

On the other hand .. Lasius niger would be sth new to you, that could be nice too. They also grow fast, are easy to handle etc., different color .. monogyn not polygyn .. they dont need
anything until the first workers apear .. it really depends on what you like.

Have you ever thought about Formica fusca? They are pretty big and the colonies stay small. But Antstore reclassified them from difficulty 1 to 2 .. i dont know why, if you are interested i would ask whats more difficult with fusca than with rubra or niger.

At the moment, im keeping a Lasius flavus colony, lets see what happens, i like the color and their shape, they are just too cute

[badman]

a shame anstore don't sell polygyn colonies, I know if I buy from a private dealer, it's going to be taken out of the ground.

[insanebe]

Fusca arn't as easy as you might think, i havn't had mine for very long but they seem very sensitive and do not like the light or the smallest vibration, myrmica rubra prefer alot of moisture and is why they nest in mosses which grow in damp, shady locations, not in direct sunlight