ANTSTORE World of Ants

[Formicking]

hello,
Later in the summer I am thinking of getting a new ant colony I dont know what to get though. I like big ants with large colonys and also small hibernation times. My two best Ideas at the moment are Camponotus ligniperda and messor barbarus I am stuck between the two though. I really like camponotus but I dont like the hibernation time. While messor are really great but could I keep a colony in room temperature or could you suggest a better colony?
Thank you for your replys.

[Zagone]

Both Camponotus ligniperda and Messor barbarus keep hibernation, however Messor barbarus goes into hibernation allready at 10-15 C, but if I understand correctly they have about the same hibernation-time, even though Camponotus ligniperda keeps more irregular hibernation and they kinda decide themselves when it's time.

And they may also exit hibernation earlier than expected, despite cold temperatures.

[Phasmid]

Messor can cope with much shorter hibernation than Camponotus ligniperda. C. ligniperda are big ants (bigger than Messor barbarus) but have a long hibernation and brood takes forever to develop, but they are such nice ants and are well worth it if you have the patience .
I think Messor barbarus are just the ant you need as they are large, fast-growing and have relatively short hibernation.

[Zagone]

I think that Messor barbarus is abit more sensitive than Camponous ligniperda though. From what I've heard and read Ligniperda are way more forified and are quite forgiving, where as Messor barbarus, especially when young(young colony that is), are alot more sesitive to stress, light, movement, even vibrations according to some.

I can only speak from what I've heard though, havn't kept any Messor barbarus yet. However I'm picking my first Messor barbarus colony up tomorrow.

[SteveUK28]

Your Zagone.. Messor barbarus are def not an ant for the begineer you need some experience to keep them.. unless u go spend loads of money on a fairly large colony... but where is the fun in that??? If i was you id be thinking of something a little differnt.. Myrmica rubra are largeish ants and very nice to watch.. you can also get them with multiple queens and the colony will grow very quick.. and very large. For an bigger ant you could even go for Manica rubida, they are very simular to Myrimica rubra, just a tad bigger, and i believe slightly more aggressive. But i have to stress.. i have some experience with ants myself.. and even i still find it hard to raise a messor colony.. they are a very sensitive ant.

[damondeionno]

I don't think Messor barbarus are that hard. With all ants it's about planning and then being able to adapt if it turns out the ants don't like the arrangement. Once you have it right, they will usually do well. You would need heating though, and it is very important with Messor that you have a humidity gradient through the nest. I would try something else first. Maybe M rubra/ruginodis before you try and keep any more difficult ants.

[SteveUK28]

They are hard for someone with little or no experience to raise from a single queen or just a few workers.

[damondeionno]

Yes, I suppose. IMO all ants are hard to raise from just a queen. That is the time when things can go wrong very quickly, and there is always a bit of luck involved. It can be done half the time but even for a skilled keeper it's a bit of a lottery.

[SteveUK28]

Yes i totally agree with all that... I also think its a lot more rewarding raising a colony from a single queen. I've got a lovely Camponotus substitutus colony that ive raised from a single queen and they are pretty darn awesome.

[Zagone]

^Well, you'll never learn without trying. Messor barbarus isn't the first species I'm keeping, but I picke dit up today, to my dismay the queen with workers is dead, probably due to improper handling in shipping, since the box was damaged aswell. The back-up queen is however un-harmed.

[Phasmid]

If you have little experiance I would think that Camponotus ligniperda would work best as they are quite tolerant. Manica rubida are also very nice ants that will just grab prey rather than test it for ages then run away, but the brood is also very slow to develop.

Apparently I can't advise on Messor barbarus or Myrmica sp. because I've never managed to raise a Myrmica colony when Messor barbarus was the second ant ever I kept, which I got as a lone queen, and she now has thousands of workers, and this was when I was an impatient noob who moved them into a new setup evey time I got bored of the last one (about once a month), I must be getting all the crazy ants

I also agree that there is great satisfaction in watching a queen raise her first workers.

[Formicking]

Thank you for your suggestions guys. Its really weird because as soon as I posted this I went back to do some more reaserch and ended up finding manica rubida and thought of them as perfect for me. Could anyone who has the knowledge please tell me everything they know about them thanks again.

[JimmyVe]

I kept them for a while, they are great. In my experience less aggressive than Myrmica rubra. They like a moist nest area and all the rest others ants like. They also need a hibernation period off course.