Any thing to know about messor founding?

[AntsSA]

Hi all

My friend caught a messor queen and gave it to me.
I know they are simple to keep but some where on the forum I read they sometimes foraged during founding so I have her a small out world. I offered some honey and sesame seeds. Is there any thing else I should know?

[Serafine]

Young Messor colonies are very sensitive to vibrations. The setup should be in a quiet place and buffered against ground vibrations (a towel or some styrofoam will work fine). Their queens often move around in the outworld, especially when the colony is still small.
The can live purely from seeds but do better when they get insect food as well (quicker development, more majors and alates).
They have a tendency to drown in larger water areas so no open water for them (only feeders or water tubes).

Their colonies can become really huge over the years (10000+ workers). Once they reached a certain size they can become incredibly destructive and creative, turning their entire setup upside down. They LOVE to dig and will reshape their environment so it fits their needs. A larger colony can easily grind out the grout from an entire outworld and transport it to another one where they build a satellite nest. They also have a tendency to make feeders leak by dumping dirt on them or chewing through plastic parts.

They're generally easy to maintain but can be quite a challenge due to their creativity.
Stay vigilant, be prepared to improvise when they find a way to ruin your plans and you should be fine.