I believe people are missing the point. Doubt their will be a huge difference between myrmuca rubra and a different red Myrmica so. I don't believe they are really succeptable to mites as I had Myrmica, and I know plenty of people who had Myrmica that didn't get mites. Those are usually isolated incidents, and can happen with any ant.
I think that Myrmica is a great genus to keep, as long as you have an extremely simple formicarium. They can literally get lost, and die in their nest... But they are usually polygynous, so that's always good. For me however, I prefer an ant that has better eyesight. They react based on what they see, and therefore seem smarter. I always viewed Myrmica as a dumb genus, and Camponotus as a smart genus, however I now realize that it is due to their reactions. Based on that, and the reason I love big ants, as they are easier to observe, I would recommend Camponotus for you. They are large ants that are usually a flight rather than a fight ant. Their majors are pretty impressive, and usually get about the same size as the queen! Also they are rather prolific for being such large ants. If you can buy a native sp. then I highly recommend them.
Thanks for the explanation. I've been out for two days now looking for Lasius Niger queens and I have found no healthy queens and since I've missed the napual flight of the Camponotus I better just buy them from Antstore.net.
The followup question is then Camponotus fallax, Camponotus herculeanus, Camponotus vagus or Camponotus ligniperdus? Or does it really matter what subspecies I choose?
Edited by Mannomorth, July 9 2015 - 8:48 AM.
Franz
