ANTSTORE World of Ants

[bugsy]

Hi i have Pheidole pallidula and their appetite amazed me when I first saw them. When soldiers eventually arrive the scout workers run back to the nest and calls them out. The soldiers then hack the insect up and the workers carry off the food at an surprising rate for such small ants, they also grow very quick. This species is also able to produce more soldiers if they colony feels threatened, a very interesting species. My only issue with them is no matter how tight i make the lid 1 or 2 get out. They are tiny too so I use a magnifying glass to observe them. Photos when you can.

[Seph0n]

I will upload some pictures as soon as possible. I'm currently moving out of my girlfriends apartment, so it's a bit stressful over here. On a note with the overfeeding. I did a test to see if they would just take everything I give them, so I fed them 3 adult crickets at once. As you said about your mantids, they ate one and a half which was as much as they probably could, and then left the rest to rot. I guess I just need to increase the the frequency of when I feed them.

There's about 10 centimeters from the top of the sand up to the lid. I use the standard lid that came with the basin.
For glide material I use paraffin oil from the store, which I have applied on half a centimeter at the very top of the basin. As of right now, I haven't seen a single ant make it to the top. They try and climb the glass, but they slip down all the time. Perhaps larger workers or soldiers will be able, but right now I haven't been able to actually tell if I have used sufficient oil, because they never reach it. One little nanitic though, stepped in a tiny drop of oil on the sand, and is now having trouble walking around because a grain of sand sticks to one of it's legs. The ant itself is healthy, and it's still out foraging every day. I'm thinking about dropping a drop of water right ontop of it, to try and remove it, since it haven't been able itself. I'm thinking about giving her a nickname, since she's the only one I can tell from the others.

[cunninjj01]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone could suggest the perfect ant species for me to keep and the link of where I can purchase them.
I would need

No hibernation

Major workers

be a good hunter and regularly hunt

not feed on seeds

be larger than 10mm

be easy to care for

I would want

the ants to make ant trails

be attractive and unique

short brood cycle

the ants to hunt in groups

Does such a species exist and thanks for reading

[baumarkthammer]

Well generally ants that are big tend to have a longer brood cycle.
I would recommend you to look into Camponotus species. There are several exotic ones that aren´t hard to care for at all and fullfill most of your wishes. Most Asian Camponotus should do as they often don´t hibernate (but look carefully, ants like Camponotus japonicus often do have hibernation!) and only on some occasions small species are sold in Europe.
However I would recommend to read some information and maybe keep some European ants (they are mostly no financial loss when dead while exotic animals are way more expansive!) before you buy exotic ants.

[cunninjj01]

The only problem is hibernating and I really don't want ants that hibernate. I have nowhere safe to put them and its too much hassle. Thanks for the advice though and I have some camponotus nicobarensis that are not doing well.

[Markus]

So, hibernation is not your Problem,
but you don't want them to!

It seems not to be clever, to want a new exotic ant species,
if you already have problems with your exotic species,
and hibernation of native ants is not realy a problem,
they can hibernate outside,
just saved from rain and sun,
thats not difficult to give!

[Niallr2012]

A Pheidole colony would be good for you although they are small. I have a Pheidole sinica colony they have really big headed soldiers. viewtopic.php?f=130&t=18311

[Gast - ehem. User]

Crematogaster scutellaris are also very interesting. Colony size increases at a high rate and they also eat a lot. I started with just 25 workers and at the end of year I had a few hundred.

[cunninjj01]

Where could I purchase them?

@markus

The last time I kept a species that hibernated I put them outside and they all died.

[Markus]

Too dry?
Or did they drown?

[cunninjj01]

I think they drown