7 replies to this topic

[miked]

Offering this healthy colony of Novomessor cockerelli for sale in the SF Bay Area, California.

Includes one queen, and roughly ~150-200 workers.  I couldn't get a good photo of the queen, but it's in the back of one of the photos of the groups of ants shown here.

 

Also includes the formicarium and outworld as shown in the photos.  i.e. The ants will stay in the nest, to minimize disturbance.  Both are made by me, and have worked great.

The formicarium is quite large - 12.25" x 8.5", with 4 water reservoirs, 4 nest tubes, and 2 entry/exit points.  The front glass is museum glass; very very clear and anti-reflective.

There is currently quite a bit of room in the nest for the colony size to increase!  I have just always limited the population by controlling the amount of food.

The outworld is a 10-gallon aquarium with a custom clear lid w/ magnetic screen panel.

 

I received the queen and some workers in Jan 2022 from Nurbs Ants.  They have been terrific ants - very stable, and (in any experience) easy to care for.  And bonus, they keep their nest quite clean on their own, unlike some species.

 

I'm happy to provide some info on how I have been caring for them, and also include the care sheet that Nurbs sent me when I purchased them.

 

Price:  $350

I am in the SF Peninsula - preferred to meet here, or if necessary, I could drive a bit farther away to meet you.  No shipping, due to the size!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

That formicarium is awesome!

[miked]

That formicarium is awesome!

 

Many thanks!  

[galaxytachyon]

Are those black tubes for heating? If so it looks a bit small isn't it? Don't they need like 80-90F temperature? SF temp is like 60F...

[miked]

Are those black tubes for heating? If so it looks a bit small isn't it? Don't they need like 80-90F temperature? SF temp is like 60F...

 

Yes, that is a heating cable (not included in the sale).  Good question - I have never measured the interior nest temperature, but the ambient room temperature here is 70 deg F minimum year-round, via a space heater + thermostat here in the room.  What I can say is that:

- I keep the heating cable turned on ~9 months of the year, and the colony grows great.  It seems to just depend how much food I give it.

- I typically turn it off from ~Thanksgiving to V-Day to simulate "winter".  Not really cold enough to be a dormancy, since N. cockerelli doesn't technically need it, but it drops the temperature enough that the larva development slows down to almost a stop.  I believe it was Nurbs who recommended this, the idea being that it at least gives the queen a bit of a break from constant egg production.  I have no idea if this is actually necessary, but they've done great so far.

 

Point is - evidently this heating cable provides at least enough heat that the larvae development goes from a "stop" to a pretty strong "go".  So maybe it does jump up to the 80-90 deg F range.

Edited by miked, January 6 2025 - 9:26 PM.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

 

Are those black tubes for heating? If so it looks a bit small isn't it? Don't they need like 80-90F temperature? SF temp is like 60F...

 

Yes, that is a heating cable (not included in the sale).  Good question - I have never measured the interior nest temperature, but the ambient room temperature here is 70 deg F minimum year-round, via a space heater + thermostat here in the room.  What I can say is that:

- I keep the heating cable turned on ~9 months of the year, and the colony grows great.  It seems to just depend how much food I give it.

- I typically turn it off from ~Thanksgiving to V-Day to simulate "winter".  Not really cold enough to be a dormancy, since N. cockerelli doesn't technically need it, but it drops the temperature enough that the larva development slows down to almost a stop.  I believe it was Nurbs who recommended this, the idea being that it at least gives the queen a bit of a break from constant egg production.  I have no idea if this is actually necessary, but they've done great so far.

 

Point is - evidently this heating cable provides at least enough heat that the larvae development goes from a "stop" to a pretty strong "go".  So maybe it does jump up to the 80-90 deg F range.

 

If you keep harvesters hot enough they explode. Every colony of harvesters I've ever had has only started to explode once I started heating them with a heating cable. They are desert ants so its not unexpected. My ant rooms temperature drops to mid 60s during winter so my desert ants can get a room temp diapause.

Edited by MyrmecologyMaven, January 7 2025 - 8:27 AM.

[miked]

 

 

Are those black tubes for heating? If so it looks a bit small isn't it? Don't they need like 80-90F temperature? SF temp is like 60F...

 

Yes, that is a heating cable (not included in the sale).  Good question - I have never measured the interior nest temperature, but the ambient room temperature here is 70 deg F minimum year-round, via a space heater + thermostat here in the room.  What I can say is that:

- I keep the heating cable turned on ~9 months of the year, and the colony grows great.  It seems to just depend how much food I give it.

- I typically turn it off from ~Thanksgiving to V-Day to simulate "winter".  Not really cold enough to be a dormancy, since N. cockerelli doesn't technically need it, but it drops the temperature enough that the larva development slows down to almost a stop.  I believe it was Nurbs who recommended this, the idea being that it at least gives the queen a bit of a break from constant egg production.  I have no idea if this is actually necessary, but they've done great so far.

 

Point is - evidently this heating cable provides at least enough heat that the larvae development goes from a "stop" to a pretty strong "go".  So maybe it does jump up to the 80-90 deg F range.

 

If you keep harvesters hot enough they explode. Every colony of harvesters I've ever had has only started to explode once I started heating them with a heating cable. They are desert ants so its not unexpected. My ant rooms temperature drops to mid 60s during winter so my desert ants can get a room temp diapause.

 

 

Oh man, I have to admit - the first several times I read this, I thought you meant literally explode     I thought dang, just how hot were you keeping them?!?        Haha

But yes, totally agree, they really need that heat, then their growth is pretty much only limited by how much food you give them!

[MyrmecologyMaven]

 

 

 

Are those black tubes for heating? If so it looks a bit small isn't it? Don't they need like 80-90F temperature? SF temp is like 60F...

 

Yes, that is a heating cable (not included in the sale).  Good question - I have never measured the interior nest temperature, but the ambient room temperature here is 70 deg F minimum year-round, via a space heater + thermostat here in the room.  What I can say is that:

- I keep the heating cable turned on ~9 months of the year, and the colony grows great.  It seems to just depend how much food I give it.

- I typically turn it off from ~Thanksgiving to V-Day to simulate "winter".  Not really cold enough to be a dormancy, since N. cockerelli doesn't technically need it, but it drops the temperature enough that the larva development slows down to almost a stop.  I believe it was Nurbs who recommended this, the idea being that it at least gives the queen a bit of a break from constant egg production.  I have no idea if this is actually necessary, but they've done great so far.

 

Point is - evidently this heating cable provides at least enough heat that the larvae development goes from a "stop" to a pretty strong "go".  So maybe it does jump up to the 80-90 deg F range.

 

If you keep harvesters hot enough they explode. Every colony of harvesters I've ever had has only started to explode once I started heating them with a heating cable. They are desert ants so its not unexpected. My ant rooms temperature drops to mid 60s during winter so my desert ants can get a room temp diapause.

 

 

Oh man, I have to admit - the first several times I read this, I thought you meant literally explode     I thought dang, just how hot were you keeping them?!?        Haha

But yes, totally agree, they really need that heat, then their growth is pretty much only limited by how much food you give them!

 

I literally snorted my morning coffee when I read this! I do imagine at a certain temperature, with the ants full of liquids, they could explode.