Ant breeding as a hobby is already quite surely gaining momentum and popularity in the country. Therefore, the range of ants that go on sale is quite diverse. Here are local European and tropical species. How can a novice not get lost in such a choice when he wants everything at once?
In this article, we will try to help you determine the species you need and at the same time help you decide which ant is the most unpretentious ant today. To start acquaintance with "myrme-keeper", it is worth comparing our ants and "foreign".
Species Messor (reaper)
The most famous are the ants of the genus Messor, which have become really domestic.
Most often on sale you can find two types -
M. structor (painted black) and
M. denticulatus (their front part is brown or orange). In nature,
Messor live in arid areas that are not rich in wildlife - I do not understand Their other name - reapers - indicates the natural diet of these ants, it consists of the seeds of various steppe plants (and not only) they constitute a large part of the food everyday reapers. Insects, on the other hand, play a very small role. Every morning (and also in summer - every evening), hundreds of gatherers leave the
Messor's anthill. Workers are looking for seeds that have fallen to the ground. The path of the
Messor can stretch for tens of meters and the ants are constantly walking along their path, carrying grain or simply leaving the anthill looking for it. The reapers' nest has large round chambers filled with seeds almost to the ceiling - this is where the grain is stored and workers are constantly tinkering with it, preventing it from cracking and sprouting. - Some seeds are transferred to wetter conditions where they sprout. Soldiers - large ants working with a large head - clean the kernels from shells and scales by grinding them into flour with their huge chaps. This ready-made flour then feeds the rest of the ants.
The main feature of reapers is polymorphism, but in fact, soldiers of this species usually do not fight anyone, their task is to grind the seeds. To set up a new colony, you need to lure a single mother, departing in May, in order to use a piece of pumpkin seed or a nut as an auxiliary measure, it is better not to give the syrup mass. When the first ants appear, you need to feed them with small seeds (it can be poppy seeds and mustard), and with the arrival of the soldiers, you can also give large seeds - they will handle it. Protein foods have a positive effect on the development of the colony - do not forget to feed Messoram with dead insects.
Feeding - a mixture of cereals, seeds from wild plants, pieces of nuts, juicy fruits and vegetables, dead insects.