ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Lowth01]

Hey guys my colony of 100 to 250 Formica sanguinea have arrived. I have them in ytong and a basin. They were in the post from last Thursday until today so they were very unhappy (biting and attacking their own test tube on the outside).

They seem to be moving very frantically but I know they move fast anyway so hopefully they aren't too stressed.

Think all of their slaves may have died but I don't know.

Anyway I'll keep you posted with how they are doing. And tomorrow I'll put up some pictures I promise.

[Lowth01]

Here's one in the ytong:

Unfortunately, the colony has decided to bury underneath this branch instead of choosing the ytong. This photo doesnt show them very well though:

Here's the basin set up. I added some sand to the soil as they like sandy soil. It's a shame they weren't out foraging much when I took these photos:

An ant having a drink/ meal:

So there's a few pictures. I made the soil too deep in the basin so they seem to want to stay in there . I've noticed a lot of activity at night so I'm guessing they are nocturnal? They are really fascinating ants though.

I'll keep posts of how they are getting on.

[Lowth01]

Ok I have a few questions if someone could answer for me

Whenever I check on the ants at night they seem very active. But as soon as I turn on the light they try and hide or get annoyed. So are they nocturnal? Or just still settling down?

When do these ants hibernate?

What temperature do they hibernate at?

Any help would be much appreciated

Cheers

[Lewis]

A lot of ants are just more active at night because it is cooler, Its a good Idea to get a red bulb to watch them at night.

all European species hibernate for the start of November to the end of March at around 5-8C.

Good luck!

[Lowth01]

Hey thanks for your reply Lewis.

Ok just an update: they've moved into the ytong. Looks like I've got a queen, 100ish workers but no brood

Some interesting things ive learnt:
I read somewhere that they don't spray acid: Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar
I can say I've never seen mine spray acid but they do assume the acid spraying position frequently without spraying.

They can see red!!! Two ways I've noticed this are: they are in the ytong nest now and when I remove the cover keeping them dark they get very agitated and leave the nest momentarily. With red film over the nest they are just as agitated. At night I can just about see them because my room has a bit of street light coming in and the ants are calm and happily foraging. But when I turn the lights on they get agitated. If I use a red light they get just as agitated.

They seem like very aggressive but defensive ants.

The workers are big and fast so they are very interesting but if keeping a colony you have to be careful as they seem to stress very easy. Spose I see now why antstore has classed them as level 2.

I've only had this colony for 2 weeks now so I wouldn't say I'm an expert but I'm learning more about them every day.

Any comments much appreciated!

[AntsNational]

What I've noticed with F. sanguinea is that they're very jumpy ants. The slightest vibration will set them off. I also keep these ants and they require a LOT of food to support the brood production + growth. What are you feeding them?

[Lowth01]

Yeh I agree they are very jumpy.

I knocked the tank the other day but they didn't seem to get more stressed than if I just uncovered the ytong. Yeh they need a lot (they don't seem to have much brood, if any, but they take all the food I give them).

I feed them Wax Worms and crickets. Seem to like the Wax worms more.