Just recently I received a 2-queen (..cannot contain my excitement
) colony of Harpegnathos venator, also known as the Asian jumping ant. These ants are absolutely beautiful and possess the ability of keen eyesight and are able to (conventionally) hop around. They are extremely docile and not aggressive whatsoever. Unfortunately, the colony was 2 queens and about 35 workers before they were shipped out but most have died off and the current population is 2 queens & 8 workers. I am a little more relieved to say that these ants may be pulling through as the remaining workers are showing positive signs of good health and agility.
Each day they are feeding on crickets, termite alates and the occasional cockroach. They don't seem to be putting much interest into sugary foods. I've read up that they don't take well to most worm-like prey and that they are sensitive to pet-store grade crickets as the crickets may be sprayed with a chemical to kill mites. I will for now continue with my alternative of cockroaches and natural pinhead crickets as well as jumping spiders.
Love the long " skewers / horns " that they have + Do they use them as weapons when hunting?