4 replies to this topic

[KitsAntVa]

I am on a quest to find some semi claustral queens of about any species. These ants have been my favorite since starting ant keeping but sadly the more famous ones such as trap jaws are not in my state. I want to find some this year and I need some help to do it. 

Starting off, two species I can find easily are ponera pennsylvanica and myrmica americana which both are cool species but are so small and hard to see which makes it not that fun to keep because of how small the prey the hunt will be and the overall lack of visibility when having to put them in a dirt setup because they don't do well in anything else. I need help figuring out which species is good with a test tube and is someone what a medium sized ant. In any case I will probably end up keeping ponera but its nice to know what other species in state are avialable.

[Kaelwizard]

Dolichoderus plagiatus if you can find them. Parasitic species are basically semi claustral. So species like Lasius aphidicola and Aphaenogaster tennesseensis.

[TennesseeAnts]

Dolichoderus plagiatus if you can find them. Parasitic species are basically semi claustral. So species like Lasius aphidicola and Aphaenogaster tennesseensis.

Parasites are parasites. If anything they're closer to claustral than semi-claustral. 

[Kaelwizard]

Dolichoderus plagiatus if you can find them. Parasitic species are basically semi claustral. So species like Lasius aphidicola and Aphaenogaster tennesseensis.

Parasites are parasites. If anything they're closer to claustral than semi-claustral.

In my experience Lasius aphidicola needs to be fed if it can’t get hosts right away.

Edited by Kaelwizard, February 19 2021 - 2:10 PM.

[Manitobant]

There are some larger myrmica which are nice and don’t need dirt. In fact, almost all myrmica don't need dirt at all, which makes me think you meant to say myrmecina americana. Stigmatomma pallipes is also nice, and although they need dirt they can do well in a test tube with dirt on the bottom. They also eat large prey like centipedes or crickets.

Edited by Manitobant, February 19 2021 - 3:35 PM.