7 replies to this topic

[miked]

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!)

 

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.

 

The species is not known.  The seller sold them as a California native Pheidole, without a specific species.  However, as noted in the posts below, unfortunately it appears that this was not true - this is not a California species.  Please be aware.  They should never be released in the wild.

 

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, January 17 2025 - 10:39 PM.

[Somethinghmm]

I'm gonna be real, this doesn't look like any native Pheidole species we have in California. I don't care if people have nonnative ants, but I'm just making sure you and anyone buying knows what they're getting into.

[miked]

I'm gonna be real, this doesn't look like any native Pheidole species we have in California. I don't care if people have nonnative ants, but I'm just making sure you and anyone buying knows what they're getting into.

 

First, thank you for flagging that this might be the case - the last thing I want to do is misrepresent anything.  I have modified the post.  I'm not sure if it's possible for me to edit the title; is that something a mod can do?  Apologies for the inconvenience.

 

If anyone else here is able to confirm for sure if it's definitely NOT a California species, absolutely please do post here.  If so, I'll edit the post further, to make it clear that they're definitely not.

(If that's the case, though - dang!!  It would have been easy to order a non-native Pheidole colony, but I waited a long time for a California species to be posted.  I guess misidentification is always a risk.  Would be a bummer though  )

Thanks all!

[ReignofRage]

It is, without a doubt, not a California native or a known/reported invasive. You can edit the title of a thread by clicking "Use Full Editor" while viewing the edit screen for the post.

[miked]

It is, without a doubt, not a California native or a known/reported invasive. You can edit the title of a thread by clicking "Use Full Editor" while viewing the edit screen for the post.

 

Thank you very much - I edited both the title and the post.  Very unfortunate about the species, but I absolutely appreciate the ID.  I'm very glad to get this corrected.  Many thanks again.

[gcsnelling]

Next up is to post sharper images of individual specimens, and ideally get someone to look at a physical sample. If this is a non native species it is fairly important to know what it is.

Edited by gcsnelling, January 18 2025 - 4:53 AM.

[jeffpbalderston]

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!)

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.

The species is not known. The seller sold them as a California native Pheidole, without a specific species. However, as noted in the posts below, unfortunately it appears that this was not true - this is not a California species. Please be aware. They should never be released in the wild.

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!

[jeffpbalderston]

They look like Pheidole nodus to me.