Seed mix for harvester ants
A mix of small seeds the harvesters turn into «ant bread». One container lasts a Messor colony 4-5 years.
80 лей
Colony care
A colony needs no daily fuss: once a week top up the water, put out food and clear the leftovers. Below is what each species needs and what you do it with. Buy a colony together with a formicarium and the food and tool kit come free.
What to feed
Diet depends on the species: harvesters need seeds, the rest need live protein. All of them need sugar syrup, two or three times a week.
Messor StructorSeeds and grains
Formica CuniculariaSugar syrup, insects
Formica RufibarbisInsects, sugar syrup
Lasius NeglectusSugar syrup, insects
Lasius NigerSugar syrup, insects
Camponotus FellahProtein and sugar syrup
Feeder beetle culture
A live-food culture that breeds itself. You buy it once.
150 лей
What to tend it with
Tweezers pull out leftovers, the syringe and pipette deliver water, the brush sweeps ants off the lid without crushing them. Wash in warm water without detergent - ants are sensitive to smells.
Formicarium tool kit
Ten small things that turn colony care from a struggle into a routine.
150 лей
Worth remembering
- Humidity
- A colony survives a week without food, but not dried-out brood. Top up the water when the chambers lighten. Keep the arena dry - especially for harvesters, or the grain moulds.
- Rehousing
- No rush: a young colony stays in its tube until the workers get cramped - usually 20-30 of them. Do not move them by hand: darken the new nest, leave the old one lit, and the colony walks over on its own.
- Leftovers
- Remove live food and syrup the next day. If you do not, mould and flies take hold in the arena, and clearing them out is far harder than preventing them.