Update - species may or may not be California native, but not sure how to edit the title; apologies. Details below.
Offering this healthy Pheidole colony for sale in the SF Bay Area, California.
2 queens + many workers and majors. Difficult to count; roughly ~300-500? See photos.
The two queens are in the last 2 photos. Often some alates too.
Also includes the formicarium (nest + outworld). i.e. The ants will stay in the nest, to minimize disturbance.
I made both, and have worked great!
The formicarium is a bit over 8" x 10", with 3 water reservoirs, 4 nest tubes, and 2 entry/exit points. The front glass is museum glass; very very clear and anti-reflective.
There is still a lot of room! I have just always limited the population by controlling the amount of food.
The outworld is (3) individual containers connected by tubes, with a total area of 83.6 sq in. Just as an example for scale - only THA's largest available foraging area has slightly more sq in. They're modular, so you can use 1, 2, or all 3.
I received the founding colony in Apr 2022 from ZemVee Inc, who is still an active GAN Farmer in CA. They have been terrific ants - very stable, and in any experience, easy to care for. Like typical Pheidole, their nest area is pretty messy, but there is an active colony of psocids (tiny, harmless "cleanup crew" insects) co-habiting the nest. I've never seen mold once. The glass is removable, so it certainly could be cleaned, though.
(You may notice some ants wedged themselves between the glass and the nest, and then couldn't escape. 
This was years ago - fortunately this now blocks more ants from getting themselves stuck. But just to confirm: It's completely sealed around the edges; there haven't been any escapees!)
This was years ago - fortunately this now blocks more ants from getting themselves stuck. But just to confirm: It's completely sealed around the edges; there haven't been any escapees!)They do not require a full hibernation AFAIK. I just keep the heating cable (not included) on ~March-Nov, with a winter slowdown period at room temp of 70 deg F. It has worked great.
I do not know the exact species - full disclosure, a forum member noted that they may in fact not be California-native (see post below). Zemvee said that they are a CA species (but not P. bicarinata), but could not confirm the specific species; I don't think they knew. Antmaps.org lists (22) Pheidole sp. in California, so difficult to say. So please just be aware that the ID is not fully confirmed.
Price: $300
Firm on price, as the formicarium itself would cost me quite a bit more than that to replace.
I am in the SF Peninsula - preferred to meet here, or if necessary, I could drive a bit farther away to meet you.
I'm afraid no shipping, due to the size!
Edited by miked, Today, 5:51 PM.
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