Description
This is a spectacular, claustral and popular ant species. They weave their nests at ground level from a fabric-like material secreted by their larvae. They carry the larvae in their mandibles and use them as tools to build their habitat. They utilize all kinds of building materials they can find, such as leaves, soil particles, or any other available objects to build their nest. Incomparable cooperation can be observed among the aggressive, territorial workers during nest building and hunting. They neutralize their prey with their strong mandibles and formic acid. This resourceful species has 6-8 mm long, dusky black workers that are excellent climbers and cover a large area while foraging. They consume any food they find, at ground level, on plants, or in trees.
They are polygynous (multiple queens), but each queen does not lay large numbers of eggs at once, so the colony’s population grows relatively slowly. You can speed up their reproduction by heating them with a heat pad, heating cable, or lamp. Typically, they prefer to nest in warmer spots, so even though they usually nest at ground level in the wild, with heating, they can be encouraged to move to the canopy level in a formicarium (for example, on a dead bonsai tree). The only drawback is the queen’s short lifespan, which is typically around 2.5-5 years in captivity. However, after about 1-1.5 years, they can reach several hundred workers under ideal conditions. They are ingenious and solve most problems on their own, so we recommend this ant species even for beginners, especially in smaller groups of 15-25 workers. At this stage, they can be immediately introduced into a setup with an open test tube in an equipped terrarium. Attention must be paid to escape prevention.
Feeding: Honey and insects.
Reproduction: The colony initially grows slowly and requires a lot of patience and care. However, a mature colony reproduces dynamically, and its population can reach a few thousand workers.
Hibernation: A tropical ant species that does not require hibernation.
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