12 replies to this topic

[antperson24]

Can anyone give me a care sheet for Temnothorax curvispinosus?

[antsriondel]

Triple post.

[FinWins]

They live in acorns so their colonies don’t get too big, but you’ll need to start them off in a test tube. For humidity them like it neither one way or the other, so their home should be moist not wet. Feed them sugars such as sugar water, and drops of honey, as well as meats like prekilled feeder insects.

[rptraut]

Is there something in particular you would like to know?

[T.C.]

You aren't going to find a care sheet for every species. When I first started the hobby I had to research for all species since "care sheets" for ants weren't really a thing. You'll still have to do this for most species that aren't as popular.

[antperson24]

Is there something in particular you would like to know?

Not really, I just wanted to make sure there was not anything too different about them from other ants. Oh, but I would like to know how long from egg to worker?

[rptraut]

Hello antperson24, sorry to take so long answering your question.  First of all, the small size of these ants and the small size of their colonies makes keeping them very different from keeping other ants.  I'm not sure if you are planning to get a queen as a first colony or you're just curious.  There is very little information on these ants on the internet as you found out, but I did manage to find one paper that gave the lengths of time for each stage to be 10 days for egg to hatch to larvae, 20 days from larvae to pupae, and 10 days from pupae to adults at 26 degrees Celsius.  At cooler temperatures, each stage will take longer but will be shorter at warmer temps.  

 

If you are going to keep these ants as your first colony, you should be aware of a couple of things.  These ants are very small and a colony takes a long time to develop.  I have four medium sized colonies right now, all of them were found in a woodlot that was going to be clearcut.  I have tried three times to raise colonies from single queens with no success.  Even though the colonies I have are fairly old, huddled together for winter each colony makes a ball about the size of a small pea.  These colonies grow very slowly and I have never seen them swarm food items.  They aren't the most exciting ants that I keep, but I enjoy them because they are so small.  I'm not sure if they are the best ants for a first colony, I enjoy them as a novelty and an easy to care for species that is different from all my others.  

[antperson24]

Hello antperson24, sorry to take so long answering your question.  First of all, the small size of these ants and the small size of their colonies makes keeping them very different from keeping other ants.  I'm not sure if you are planning to get a queen as a first colony or you're just curious.  There is very little information on these ants on the internet as you found out, but I did manage to find one paper that gave the lengths of time for each stage to be 10 days for egg to hatch to larvae, 20 days from larvae to pupae, and 10 days from pupae to adults at 26 degrees Celsius.  At cooler temperatures, each stage will take longer but will be shorter at warmer temps.  

 

If you are going to keep these ants as your first colony, you should be aware of a couple of things.  These ants are very small and a colony takes a long time to develop.  I have four medium sized colonies right now, all of them were found in a woodlot that was going to be clearcut.  I have tried three times to raise colonies from single queens with no success.  Even though the colonies I have are fairly old, huddled together for winter each colony makes a ball about the size of a small pea.  These colonies grow very slowly and I have never seen them swarm food items.  They aren't the most exciting ants that I keep, but I enjoy them because they are so small.  I'm not sure if they are the best ants for a first colony, I enjoy them as a novelty and an easy to care for species that is different from all my others.  

Thank you! Could you link the page you found the sheet on? And no this is not my first colony, I have been keeping ants for three years, and currently keep 6 different species. I raised this colony from just a queen and had no problem, what happened to yours? Man reading how small your colonies are even though they are old, they are slow growers!

[rptraut]

Here are two links to articles about Temnothorax curvispinosis.  The first deals with the influence of temperature on the development of eggs, larvae, and pupae.  The information on the length of time for each is found on a graph in the paper.  The second is an article on the influence of temperature and moisture on the behaviour of acorn ants inside the acorn, information that I have never seen anywhere else.   Hope you find them interesting and useful.

 

https://www.research...ptation_in_ants

https://www.research...emnothorax_Ants

 

When I first got my Temnothorax queens, they had no problems raising nanitics, I guess I didn't realize how small they are (acorn ant workers are small, but nanitics are almost microscopic) and many, if not all, of them eventually made their escape from the founding formicaria I had them in (not test tubes).  Before I realized what was going on the queens had been so weakened that they eventually died.  Since then, I got the four colonies I have now, and I have them in escape-proof containers.  I feed them the same sort of food I feed all my ants, chicken and turkey (meat and liver), raw pork, dog food, salmon, and the usual insects.  I find that even though there are a lot of ants in the acorn, usually there are only one or two ants that will forage and take food back to the nest.  Activity outside the acorn is very limited.  To observe my ants, I have two colonies that live in small clear bottles that I have covered with black cloth or moss.  To view them I lift the moss or cloth and I can see what's going on in the nest.  The other two colonies are still in their original acorns, I have them positioned so that I can lift the acorn top and peer in.  I can't see them as well as the ones in the bottles, but I can see if they have brood and eggs which means the queen is doing her thing and that's what really matters if the colony is going to survive.  As far as entertainment value, I would have to rank these ants low, but I like to keep them because I am obsessed with small creatures, like acorn ants and Brachymyrmex depilis.  Are there any ants smaller than these?  

[ANTdrew]

I think Solenopsis molesta are slightly smaller.

[antperson24]

I think Solenopsis molesta are slightly smaller.

I can verify that S. molesta is smaller than T. curvispinosus as I have kept both. 

[antperson24]

Here are two links to articles about Temnothorax curvispinosis.  The first deals with the influence of temperature on the development of eggs, larvae, and pupae.  The information on the length of time for each is found on a graph in the paper.  The second is an article on the influence of temperature and moisture on the behaviour of acorn ants inside the acorn, information that I have never seen anywhere else.   Hope you find them interesting and useful.

 

https://www.research...ptation_in_ants

https://www.research...emnothorax_Ants

 

When I first got my Temnothorax queens, they had no problems raising nanitics, I guess I didn't realize how small they are (acorn ant workers are small, but nanitics are almost microscopic) and many, if not all, of them eventually made their escape from the founding formicaria I had them in (not test tubes).  Before I realized what was going on the queens had been so weakened that they eventually died.  Since then, I got the four colonies I have now, and I have them in escape-proof containers.  I feed them the same sort of food I feed all my ants, chicken and turkey (meat and liver), raw pork, dog food, salmon, and the usual insects.  I find that even though there are a lot of ants in the acorn, usually there are only one or two ants that will forage and take food back to the nest.  Activity outside the acorn is very limited.  To observe my ants, I have two colonies that live in small clear bottles that I have covered with black cloth or moss.  To view them I lift the moss or cloth and I can see what's going on in the nest.  The other two colonies are still in their original acorns, I have them positioned so that I can lift the acorn top and peer in.  I can't see them as well as the ones in the bottles, but I can see if they have brood and eggs which means the queen is doing her thing and that's what really matters if the colony is going to survive.  As far as entertainment value, I would have to rank these ants low, but I like to keep them because I am obsessed with small creatures, like acorn ants and Brachymyrmex depilis.  Are there any ants smaller than these?  

Thank you rptraut! Ok I see why your colonies died now, mine is in a test tube.

[rptraut]

You're welcome! Glad I could help.