Keeping Myrmicine ants is a lot more rewarding than Formicines.
Really depends on the species.
My first successful ants were Formica polyctena, and they were amazing- active, large, great hunters. While my first attempts at Myrmica rubra failed.
Here in Germany, everyone seems to be pretty taken by Lasius niger and people keep large long-lived colonies (I have now collected a queen just to see if it really is that great).
But I agree with the fact that my Messor barbarus are a fantastic species to keep.
I cannot pass any judgement on my Camponotus piceus yet- they indeed do not seem to do anything apart from sitting in their test tube looking fat, maybe they will be more active when the colony grows?
