Fantastic wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:50 pm
Hi. My son and I are ant keeping beginners. Just research to date. Nothing purchased. We believe that keeping Messor Barbarus is a good starting point, but have some queries on formicarium believing we should have nest and connected Outworld:
– can Messor Barbarus eat through y-tong based nests? And so do we need to have an acrylic type?
– how do we obtain and maintain the high level of humidity that this species needs?
– how do we prevent the majors and workers from biting through the plastic tubing, especially at tube ends?
– how long would the premade AntsCanada smaller size formicarium last for this species?
– if we are on holiday, how do we keep the nest humid?
Open to any other comments on keeping this ant species.
Regards,
Neill
Hello there, I have kept my messor barbarus colony for over 6 months now and I had started with a queen and 20+ workers. I have estimated the colony to be at around 50+ workers now. I have kept them in a few test tubes and a small formicarium from Y-tong in an outworld and they are doing okay at room temperature.
As for your questions:
1. What I read is that Messor Barbarus can indeed chew through Y-tong, but if you provide them enough space or soil to dig in, then they won't have the need to do so. Also if you make the chambers +/- 3 cm away from the outside walls, then I can guarantee you that it will take
quite a long time for them to chew through it and they will only do so if more nesting space is needed. So don't worry
2. As for the most ant species, ant colonies need water to surive. Y-tong is, for example, a good water absorbent material to use for making the nest. Make sure to carve out small hidration chambers where you can pour some water in once two weeks or so. It is also very important that you make a humidity gradient in the nest, meaning to leave a part of the nest dry and a part humid. On top of that Messor sp. live in pretty warm areas so I advise you to don't water the nest too often.
3. In my experience the ants are not biting at the tube ends. If you are worried that your ants might escape from the setup, then just put some aquarium silicone (or any other non-toxic silicone) around the ends of the tubes to make sure it's tight.
4. I have no experience with the AC products, but I suggest to begin small with test tubes and a simple outworld from a plastic/glass container like I did. Once your Messor sp. colony has around 30 workers, then it's ideal to get them more space. That is up to you
5. When you go on long periods holiday, then just make sure that your tank is escape proof and apply some sort of barrier like Fluon PTFE or a tight lid, if necessary. Also keep the formicarium covered so that water evaportes less quickly. What you could also do instead is to just place a few additional test tubes filled with water in the forage area, so that your ants have enough water to drink.
What I find cool about Messor species is that they don't require as much water and insect-based food like other ant species and therefore can survive longer periods of draught. In my experience they also like to travel long distances through vinyl tubing to reach their seed-based food supplies.
Long story short: Messor Barbarus is a very cool and easy ant species to keep!
