3 replies to this topic

[PacificNorthWestern]

Recently I caught a fairly small colony of Leptothorax Cf. Canadensis. I don't know a lot of people who keep these and was wondering how to care for them. I currently have them in a TarHeelAnts Mini Hearth and feed them sunburst nectar with earwigs.

[CatsnAnts]

They are related to temnothorax in a very close manner (leptothorax evolved from temnothorax), and I have a colony of temnothorax. Don’t let the size fool you, these ants will eat A LOT (although several lab tests have been conducted on temnothorax in proving that these ants can go for a long time without food, 4 months to be specific. After that, ants will start dying off, so just remember to at least feed them every month, and you should be fine (can someone please verify this?)). They like honey and crushed up bugs, and remember not to give them too big of a space, because they like small places. They drown pretty easily, so feed liquid through a cotton ball or q-tip. I’d say these are pretty basic in terms of care, but really awesome ants in general. I’m jealous, I’ve always wanted leptothorax!

[PacificNorthWestern]

Thank you! I got really lucky when i caught these ants and even thought to myself these look similar to temnothorax. I'm surprised any ants can go that long without food, although I have noticed that they forage very rarely and usually only take the nectar.

[LC3]

They're escape artists too. Can get through a 1mm crack if they desired.