ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Alby]

I keep my Messor barbarus colony in a ytong nest, now the temperature is around 18-20 and they aren't active.So I used a heat mat and now the temperature of the nest is 30, so in when is cold I put it on and when is warm i put off.This changing of temperature can be a problem for them???And 30° are too much for them???

[gabranth]

they were probably hibernating when they were at 18-20 and 30oC is ok for them but keep the mat at one end of the ytong so the queen can go to the other end if she's too hot

[JimmyVe]

30°c is not to high but don't make it hotter. And like gabranth said, put the heat mat only on once piece of the farm so the ants can go to a cooler place to.

[Alby]

when I can put them in hibernation, at the end of october?

[gabranth]

no that too early for them as there Mediterranean so require less hibernation then the ants species further north i think its December to February maybe less

[JimmyVe]

Yes south European species require a shorter hibernation period. From 2-4 months and they also can be kept in a higher temperature during it. +- from 10-15°c. I normally put them in from end of November till end of February.

[BROOKSY775]

i wnat my ants to dig there own nest can they still do this and if so where does the mat go ?

[JimmyVe]

Yep they still can dig there own nest. If you have a sand nest for your ants the best way to place the heat mat is on the side.

[Milos]

Hi guys, I am relatively new in ant keeping business so some of the questions that I have may be kind of boring for you. I have messor ebeninus colony with one queen, 15 workers and 5 eggs. I keep them in gypsum with some sand, now I read some posts that moisture is really important but how do I control that. Every time I mist the sand water goes right through, I am afraid not to put to much of water, but at the same time I do not want to be dry. These 5 eggs I have for 2 weeks and they did not change what should I do? I do not want to check them to often because they can get stressed.

Thanks..

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This is just short movie I made for this purpose so you can see the small colony.

[JimmyVe]

Hello Milos and welcome.

You know you need to keep the nest covered ?
Normally these ants need to be in hibernation now (as i told you in the other post). I think it would be best if you use a heating mat are some other heating divice.
Yes you need to keep the farm moist but Messor species like it rather dry so don't keep it to wet.

[Milos]

Thanks Jimmy, you guys are really helpful.

Milos.