ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Cecilia]

I saw your exhibits at Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin a couple of weeks ago and was quite impressed, and since my husband have forbidden me to get more aquariums (but didn´t mention formicariums!), well...
I have a couple of questions, though:
- Do I need a permit of some kind to order ants to Sweden?
- Can Lasius niger thrive in a plaster formicarium (it seems fun to build one) or do they need a "digging substrate"?

[gonzobey]

Inside the EU you don´t need a permission, but please talke before with your husband :O)

Lasius niger will thrive in a plaster formicarium or Ytong nest , if you want to watch them building a nest you can also choose the antfarm f.e. like this

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Please take some time to choose which kind of home keeping you want and inform you about the holding conditions. If you have any questions, be sure to get answered here the best as possible.

Greetings
Bianca

[myrma]

Hi!
I got Lasius Niger in a system with 2 big jars and a hose between them, I captured several queens and soldiers outside, but today I see atleast 3 of the queens is dead

why did this happen, Yesterday everything was fine.

Or cant there be more than 1 queen?

I'll be glad for any help or suggestions

Best wishes from

Erik "Myrma" Persson

[Martin S.]

Hello myrma,

welcome here in our forum.
I don't know exactly, what you mean. You have got Lasius niger in a system with 2 big jars and a hose between them. But Lasius niger have only one queen and no soldiers, it's monogyn. I think, you have another kind of ants. I don't know which kind. If I understood you correctly, did you add, other kind of ant to the ants in the container - correctly? When you have put two kind of ants together, than you have a problem - you saw it, three queens were killed.

Best regards
Martin Sebesta

[myrma]

No this is the same specie, i captured from a nest (same nest) and I'm sure its the infamous "Lasius Niger".

But there can only be one queen?

Will the others die?

Best wishes

Erik "Myrma" Persson


I didnt realize i wrote soldiers in my first message, I ofcourse meant woookers, workers. Sorry for that.

[Martin S.]

Hello myrma,


I think, you had captured different colony of Lasius niger. How I wrote in my first message, there is definitely only one queen by Lasius niger. If you now brought several colonies together (queens and workers), the workers kills the queens.

Best regards
Martin Sebesta

[myrma]

Do they kill ALL or leaves 1 maybe?
So the conclusion is if im unluck that there is no queens left?

[Martin S.]

Hello myrma,

is difficult to say. There is no statistics over it. But all are very often killed.

Best regards
Martin Sebesta

[Marcawat]

Hi i'm new to ants and i thinking of getting some soon but i have few questions i like to ask first!

I want to get the Lasius niger type of ants because they are good for beginners. i was thinking of getting the Ant farm standart with the ant box 10x10x20 with a mixure of sand and loam and potters clay for the base. but what i want to know is about the lighting, heating, humidity and the ventilation needed?

Do i need Daylight bulb ,infrared heating element , UV sunlight compact or is nautral light ok?

Do i need to keep the temperature at a certain level?

What way do you need to moisture the tanks? what way do i go about this?

Do i need to have an air pump in my tank?


- Marcy

i know the question are prob simple but better to know now that later!

[Martin S.]

Hello Marcwat,

for Lasius niger you do not need the UV-, daylight or heater.
This you need only if you have tropical ants.
Now the ants are in the habination by 5 to 10°C.
The airpump is only good if you have a small container for your ants.
But you can use the potters clay to.

Greetings Martin

[Awesome]

Is the startekit you are offering in the store adequate enough to hold and support a colony of Lasius niger? what more do i need/ is usefull?

Untill when are they hybernating (when is the best time for me to order everything?)

Thanks

[Martin S.]

Hello Awesome,

you have all what you need in the starterkit (farm and container, tube, ground, food). The infobook is at this moment only in german, but we want translatet in english or french too.

Greetings Martin

[Marcawat]

In what way do you keep the keeps the tanks humidity level up so the tunnels dont break down? or do i just need to wet the them 1st time when adding the sand and loam and they do the rest with the water in the cotton wool. Do i need to spray a fine mist of water over it every once in a while with a water sprayer! or will a bird bath for ant do the job for me!


- Marcy

[Martin S.]

If you use loam then you have a hard material the tunnels can not broken.
make the ground only a little bit wet not to much.
For lasius niger, you can use the bird bath, with cotton wool in the inside.

Martin

[skelta]

Hi there

I got a lasius Niger colony in January and my ants didnt move much. I then found out that they hibernate but now all of the workers have died. They are shrivelled and in odd positions so they must be dead. The queen is still allive but doesn't move much.

Can anyone tell me

1. Will the queen lay eggs and rebuild the colony or is she likely to be dying?

2. If not how can i get more workers, do I need to loose the queen as I gather new ants might attack the current one?

Thanks in advance , any advice will be appreciated.