Myrmecocystus testaceus

This honeypot keeps you up a little later, being crepuscular: it does most of its foraging for a couple of hours after sunset, so the arena gets busy just as the evening sets in. Like all the honeypots it raises repletes, workers that fill with nectar and hang in the nest as a food reserve for the colony to tap during dry spells. As an arid North American ant it wants a warm dry keep and a sugar-led diet. The dusk activity gives it real character, and a keeper already at ease with desert feeding and a heat gradient will get on with it well.

A nectar feeder built around sugar storage. Twilight foragers carry liquid home to the repletes, who hold it for the colony, while crickets and flies supply the protein that pushes brood along.

★★★ readily · ★★ moderately · ★ occasionally · ✗ not eaten

Start the colony in a test tube and shift to a compact dry nest once founding workers cover the base. These desert honeypots store food in living repletes that dangle from the roof, so give the nest ceiling space and keep its chambers dry and well aired, never moisture-logged. Run the arena hot and sandy, and seal the rim with fluon (PTFE), oil, or talc and water as the colony grows bolder. An ANTonTOP formicarium or starter kit supplies the arid nest, arena and escape barrier as a matched set.

Desert conditions drive the setup: run the nest at 24-28 °C with the arena warmer at 26-32 °C. Keep things dry, 35-50% in the nest and a parched 20-40% in the arena, as suits a desert ant. Heat just one end to build a gradient the colony can read. There is no hibernation to manage, so feed and keep it going all year round.

Early growth is slow as the lone queen rears the first workers, with brood taking roughly 6-8 weeks to mature. Once foragers and repletes are established the colony picks up speed and can climb toward 10,000 workers. It comes to you as a queen with workers and brood.

• This is one of the dusk-and-night foraging honeypots, sending workers out a couple of hours after sunset when the desert surface has cooled.
• Splitting the foraging day by temperature lets different Myrmecocystus species share the same ground without fighting over it, day shift and night shift.
• The replete caste is reversible in principle: a worker fills with liquid to become living storage and the colony draws that store back down when food runs short.
• Myrmecocystus is found only in the deserts and dry country of western North America.

Is Myrmecocystus testaceus good for beginners?

It is Intermediate, best for a keeper who has raised one easy colony and understands heat gradients and arid setups.

Does this dusk-active honeypot need a winter rest?

No. Hibernation is not required, so keep it active and feeding all year.

Does Myrmecocystus testaceus sting or bite?

No. It gives only a mild bite and has no sting.

How large does a testaceus colony grow?

Up to 10,000 workers when mature.

How big is the queen and how big are the workers?

The queen is 9-11 mm, with workers at 4-7 mm.

How fast does it grow?

Steady; brood becomes workers in about 6-8 weeks, then the colony builds from there.

What does it eat?

Mostly sugar water and nectar or jelly, plus crickets and flies for protein. Repletes store extra sugar.

Will it arrive alive?

Yes. We send a queen with workers and brood, add a seasonal heat or cool pack, and dispatch within 24 h with tracking.

Escape prevention. Coat the inner rim of every open arena with fluon (PTFE), or use talc-and-water or an oil barrier as a backup, and keep a tight, fine-mesh lid on top. Check the barrier regularly, since dust, condensation and feeding debris break a fluon line over time. Keep tubing connectors tight and seal any gaps in the nest.

Keeping reminders. Always offer fresh water and never let the nest dry out completely. Give carbohydrates continuously and protein a few times a week, and remove uneaten insect prey within 24 hours before it moulds. Keep the formicarium out of direct sunlight and away from constant vibration, which stresses a young colony. A water-filled test tube plugged with cotton makes an ideal spare incubator whenever you need one.

Before you buy – do not rehouse too early. Have a test-tube setup or a small formicarium with an outworld and a working barrier ready before your colony arrives. A founding colony grows slowly at first, which is normal. Moving a small colony into a large nest too soon invites mould, mites and stress, and the workers die off one by one. Keep the colony in its open test tube on the arena, plug the nest entrance with cotton, and open up the next chambers only once the colony fills roughly 10-15% of the space.

What we ship. Every colony ships with a live-arrival guarantee, backed by our 24h unboxing-video guarantee: if the queen does not arrive alive, we reship free. Parcels travel with DHL, InPost (PL) or EMS, with a heat or cold pack to suit the season, packed discreetly and securely. We ship across the EU and worldwide, with free shipping over the Europe threshold.