5 replies to this topic

[dboeren]

My first colony is Camponotus floridanus.  They're doing great and will soon be moving out of their Tarheel Mini-Hearth into a nice new Labyrinth.  I love these guys because they're relatively big, active, grow at a decent rate, and do not require any diapause.

 

Once they are moved, I'm going to have an empty Mini-Hearth so I'm thinking about what to put in it.  I've got a few options but wanted to get some thoughts from more experienced ant keepers.  Also, a bit about my requirements.  I keep my ants on my world desk, their job is to help give me someone interesting to watch while I'm working.  So, I want something that isn't going to hide all day or be too disturbed by the light vibrations of me typing on a laptop.  I do keep them on a folded hand towel for some padding which should reduce the vibrations, but basically I want something bold enough to keep going about their business.

 

I'm looking at a few options, but pretty open to suggestions.  Keep in mind that I live in Atlanta, GA so I need to stick with species that are available here and can be ordered from vendors like stateside, buckeye, and tarheel.

 

1.  Another Camponotus species, probably one of the biggest ones I can find so we're talking C. pennsylvanicus, C. chromaiodes, C. castaneus, something like that.  Upside is they are big, good colors, and familiar since I have a Camponotus species already.  Downsides are diapause, slow growth, and maybe not being as interesting as a totally different species.  Also, I gather it takes a couple years to start producing full sized majors?  I know my C. floridanus aren't reaching their max size yet.

 

2.  Pogonomyrmex badius.  I could do P. occidentalis, but since I have access to a version with majors why not go with that one?  Should be interesting with very different behavior and a good size.  Downside is stinging but I've heard they are REALLY reluctant to sting, and they do need more heat.  I'm currently doing 1 strand of heat cable under one side of my Mini-Hearth, I could do a double strand perhaps if they want more heat?  If you keep Pogonomyrmex, how much risk of stinging is there?  My wife and son would definitely not appreciate it if they got stung and I'm not sure if she'll let me have something that stings.

 

3.  A small ant, such as Tetramorium immigrans or some type of Pheidole.  To be honest, I am not sure about small ants.  Big ants are big and maybe feel more like individuals, I can see them well enough to tell what they're doing and that I think gives them a feeling of personality.  Can you still do that with small ants?  If you keep small species, do you keep a magnifying glass around for viewing them or something like that?  I'd really like to understand the difference in watching them and what people like about small ants.  Is it group behavior like trailing?  Is it the swarming over prey?  Faster growth?  I do kind of like the massively oversided heads of Pheidole.

[cooIboyJ]

I’m not very experienced myself, but I would probably do Pogonomyrmex badius, but small ants can be fun because they grow faster and they tend to clump together in the nest, it is fun the see them trail around and swarm the food that you give them. Also, Solenopsis can be fun to keep if you are fine with the stinging and aggression, Solenopsis also grow pretty fast and aren’t really tiny like ants like Brachymyrmex patagonicus. I hope this helps!

Edited by cooIboyJ, August 4 2024 - 5:09 PM.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

I you want a small growing species T.immigrans is your best bet. if you Want majors I would go for C. castaneus and P.badius

[RushmoreAnts]

Honestly if you're not sold on small ants, I'd go with P. badius, but if that isn't a huge deal to you many Pheidole species can be very fast growing like Tetras, and they have majors, as it seems that's a large factor in your decision-making process. I've heard some Camponotus species begin to produce majors at around 25 workers, but you're right they do grow very slow, and honestly in terms of Camponotus in my opinion floridanus would be the most interesting of the species you listed.

[rptraut]

Hello dboeren;

 

My recommendation would be to go with Tetramorium immigrans if you are considering a small ant that's easy to look after, they're active, they work effectively together, they eat almost anything and they're entertaining.    They are my best colonies for hardiness.   

 

 

 

This is the fourth season for this Tetramorium colony.   This is an example of what I feel is the perfect type of formicarium for these ants.   On the right is the founding formicarium which I attached additional cubes to as the colony grew.   They use the second for larvae and the third for pupae.   They dig in all of them, so nothing stays the same and they can find ways to escape, given enough time.   The fourth cube is their feeding chamber where I give them all their food.   

 

I think my interest in small ants is because of the greater activity in and outside the nest, simply because of the larger number of ants.    If you consider the biomass of one Camponotus worker and the equivalent biomass in Tetramorium workers, how many would you have?   Ten, twenty, my point is you can watch the activity of 15 small ants instead of just one big one.   I enjoy watching my big ants tuck into a cricket, but I've never seen anything as amazing as when I watch a swarm of Tetramorium workers literally pick up and carry away a similar sized cricket in a few minutes and dismember it in record time.   They're very entertaining to watch.  

 

 

 

I also have Temnothorax and Brachymyrmex colonies that are small enough that I use 3.5x magnifying glasses to watch them.    I enjoy watching them so much that time evaporates.   

 

 

 

This is the smallest formicarium I've ever made that houses an entire multi-queen colony.    The acorn ants living in it seem quite happy living in the small bottle and have all the necessities in their outworld.   

 

There's a quality that small ants have that I just don't get from my big ants and big formicaria.    I'm not sure that words can truly express the feeling of awe that I have when I hold an entire living ant colony in the palm of my hand.   It's like watching a miniaturization of the circle of life and is truly remarkable.  

RPT

[dboeren]

Hello dboeren;

 

My recommendation would be to go with Tetramorium immigrans if you are considering a small ant that's easy to look after, they're active, they work effectively together, they eat almost anything and they're entertaining.    They are my best colonies for hardiness.   

 

There's a quality that small ants have that I just don't get from my big ants and big formicaria.    I'm not sure that words can truly express the feeling of awe that I have when I hold an entire living ant colony in the palm of my hand.  It's like watching a miniaturization of the circle of life and is truly remarkable.  

RPT

 

Thanks so much for your feedback, this is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.  In one sense, I do like seeing my Camponotus being big enough that I can see a lot of details of what they're doing - for instance right this moment two workers are perched at the top of their nest/outworld tunnel engaged in trophallaxis and all I need to do is turn my head to notice it.  With tiny ants, I'm not sure I'd see that sort of thing unless I was really examining the scene.

But on the other hand, the whole reason you get an ant colony instead of an individual pet animal is because there are a lot of them.  We have a dog, two snakes, some birds, but ants are about seeing an entire tiny civilization and it makes sense that smaller ants are like watching a bigger "city" and I'm hoping I'll see some really cool emergent behavior where the swarm is almost like a single larger entity of its own.  Won't know unless I try, right?  And I can always circle back and pick up another large species later, plus my current C. floridanus will probably produce larger workers over time as well as the colony grows and ages.

 

I'm going to look further into T. immigrates and a few other small species like Pheidole, Crematogaster, etc... and see what I can find out and which ones are currently available.

 

Thanks!