Searching for the Ultimate Ants To Keep

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Austheboss
Posts: 101
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2016 3:17 pm
Location: Boston Area

Re: Searching for the Ultimate Ants To Keep

Post: # 10621Post Austheboss
Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:42 pm

idahoantgirl wrote:tetramorium is very fast growing, fun to watch, easy to care for and harmless to humans but agressive to pray.
I agree, except for the fact that they are really small so it can sometimes be hard to see them. :roll:
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nightxwolf88

Re: Searching for the Ultimate Ants To Keep

Post: # 10639Post nightxwolf88
Wed Aug 31, 2016 6:21 am

Really small are like solenopsis molesta or brachymyrmex haha remember the larger the species usually the longer it takes for development and colony growth

ALLJOD
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:24 pm
Location: Belgium

Re: Searching for the Ultimate Ants To Keep

Post: # 10669Post ALLJOD
Wed Aug 31, 2016 4:22 pm

Tetramorium I would say is a good species, they aren't that small, if you want to see small then go look at Brachymyrmex workers or Carebara diversa minors, they grow really fast, they have always a big amount of brood (if you feed them good) and are easy to keep overal, Lasius is also a good species for beginning ant keepers, Myrmica aswell, but they require higher humidity, for Camponotus it takes a while from egg to worker since these are big ants, stress like taking a look at the test tube and causing vibrations can lead to eating their own eggs, and is for more patient antkeepers.
Another great species is Messor, they are polymorphic and are pretty easy to care for, except that they are really sensitive to vibrations.
So go for Lasius a bit after that Tetramorium and then maybe Messor.
Lasius -niger -flavus -emarginatus, Messor sp., Myrmica sp, Camponotus herculeanus -aethiops, Pheidole spathifera -pallidula, Brachymyrmex sp., Pheidologeton diversus,

AntLove5Ever
Posts: 214
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2016 4:22 pm
Location: VA

Re: Searching for the Ultimate Ants To Keep

Post: # 11909Post AntLove5Ever
Fri Sep 23, 2016 8:37 pm

EdgarFromLatvia wrote:Help me please, if you have the time.
What ants are the best to keep and observe from these kinds of ants:
Camponotus
Formica
Lasius
Leptothorax
Myrmica
Temnothorax
Tetramorium

And some exclusive species in my place:
Formicoxenus nitidulus
Harpagoxenus sublaevis
Myrmecina graminicola
Solenopsis fugax
Strongylognathus testaceus

From my experience myrmica are the most fun. I've dropped in live bugs from outside and my little guys are so aggressive they took them down within about 1 minute and it was in the nest in 5. This is a colony of only 250ish. It helps that the outworld isn't big enough to take them a bit to all crowd around it. My setup has to stay in a certain area or else my family freaks out so everything is real quick making for an exciting show.


Temnothorax curvispinosis are my favorite ants to keep though. They are extremely fascinating and the colonies never go above about 150 so you can be sure it won't be too much to handle.

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