ANTSTORE World of Ants

[wizardaire]

Hi all I'm new here, alto i have been reading these forums for a few days now since 1 of my boys asked if he could have ants.

I myself find them fascinating so decided that we could make a nest together, i see that there are many forms of homemade nests so i would like to ask a few questions if thats ok.
i have done research on ants and their basic needs but want to try and get it right from the start if i can.
so what i really need to know is for Myrmica rubra ants (not sure of spelling).

we don't have y-tong bricks here but we do have thermal bricks will they be just as good? are they as easy to carve out? do they hold the water moisture as good?
do i still have to add any sort of soil to the nest?
should i keep the nest covered dark at all times? (would be hard to watch them) or best use low light in room they kept in?
can they chew thru thermal brick ? do i need the brick in a container? (going for carved brick with glass on top)
have made foraging area already with soil and bits of wood/stones if that is wet will they nest in it instead of the nest i made them?
really silly question now but can they climb well if we make the nest and foraging area stacked? as in have no trouble climbing up a tube as well as down?
is calcium sand and play sand safe for ants?
how big is best to build if i want to keep the colony (all going well ) for years to come. was going to use 2 6inch thermal blocks together. is that too small/big?

sorry for all the newb questions (especially as i said i had researched) but i have already ordered Myrmica rubra 2 Queen +20-30 workers but then realized after researching better that the first nest we built was not the most appropriate for them so now only have a few days to get it right.

thank you to all in advance who can answer any of my questions.

[Niallr2012]

I have no experience with thermal bricks, but if it is anything like Y-tong it should be fine!

You're building a nest, so would be nice to have a foraging area for them to collect food(an outworld) I use a clear hose to connect the nest to my outworld, clear plastic food storage box's are good to use just cut a hole in it and connect your nest to it!

You can keep them in the dark when not observing them(the nest that is), but they should be fine in a shaded area.

you said you already have a foraging area, just make sure the soil isn't too deep as they mite tunnel into it.

And be sure to clear out any unwanted food as it mite mold.

Another thing on food, boil or freeze your insects to kill any parasites.

Not sure about the sand I just use some from a pet store.

two six inch blocks is loads of space you should be fine there.

[Andie]

Welcome, y-tong is a brand name for aerated concrete which are thermal bricks, so could be called anything really. The bradfords version i use are called "Durox" and are the same thing. Can't advise on the species as ive not kept them.

[jbc]

Hello and welcome to the forum, wizardaire.

The thermal brick, as I know, is hollow in the inside, but its hard to carve it, so you can fill it up with soil and it will be good until it dries up. Myrmica ants like to live in wood, or soil too.

The ants love the dark, but only in the nest, but the outworld shouldn't be covered. So you can cover the nest with newspaper or stmh like that.

Myrmica rubra cant chew through thermal brick, yes if you want to keep them in that brick then better use a plastic container.

If in the outworld the soil is too deep(more than 7mm) then they will dig in it.

I would recomend play sand, because calcium sand has small dust that will kill all your ants.

Yes they can climb vertical tubes, but better would be a horizontal tube system, because when the ants will take food back to their nest, then they will fall down and the queen will have problems to move up or down the vertical tube.

I recommend starting small. How big is the outworld? If you have a 30 ants then a nest which is 20X10X10 cm big would be enough for 2 years.

Pictures would be good and tomorrow I will add some pics of my setup for Myrmica ants.
Feel free to ask more questions and keep us updated.

[wizardaire]

Myrmica rubra cant chew through thermal brick, yes if you want to keep them in that brick then better use a plastic container

if they cant chew thru it why do i need to put in a container please?

[jbc]

if they cant chew thru it why do i need to put in a container please?

Because the brick is open.(The both ends, I suppose) The ants could escape.

Here are pics how I keep my Myrmica ants. I caught a whole colony in the forest, they were living in a decaying log, it was a birch log.


They are in a y-tong which I made.


Here is the outworld (arena) connected with tubes.

[wizardaire]

do your ants not climb out the side of your out world?

does all the nest need to be very damp for these ants or just some of the nest ?

as soon as we have finished the nest will post some pictures.

[jbc]

No they cant get out of the outworld because I put cooking oil around the edges.

My colony is big enough to get the water they need from outside, but it would be very good that one part of the nest would be damp.

OK, will wait for the pictures.

[wizardaire]

ok where would be the best place to buy Myrmica rubra ants from, i live in uk and other than eBay don't know of anywhere to get.
if i bought from antstore would they survive the post to here and anyone know how long it takes to post to uk please?

[Niallr2012]

They should survive, 3-5 days I think.

I am from Ireland and I ordered ants last week, still waiting for them to arrive.