3 replies to this topic

[Ivan2319]

Hello I just found a haroax queen and would like some advice on care

[Artisan_Ants]

According to Antwiki, this ant species is a Ponerinae, similar to Neoponera, a relative to this species that is more commonly kept. Neoponera is semi-claustral from what I know (meaning that it requires food while founding to lay eggs) meaning that this species (Pachycondyla harpax) should be treated in the same way (both species are in the same subfamily and tribe so keeping should be relatively similar). As for the setup, the typical soil/substrate and container (substrate at the bottom of a clear container) and some ventilation holes on the lid will do (the queen will dig out her chamber, then you can place food at the top) or a tubs and tubes setup (one large container with substrate/no substrate at the bottom with an opened test tube with the queen inside, placed the large container) or a test tube setup connected to some sort of outworld will help (the outworld could be anything in the form of a box or container). You could also just feed her inside the test tube that she is housed in, but there is a mold risk at any left food so If you do that, make sure to clean it up as soon as possible. For feeding, try things like sugar water (just mix sugar and water) or honey as carbs, and then protein in the form of mealworms, crickets, silkworms, etc. For more tips, you can check videos on youtube featuring different ways to house semi-claustral queen ants and other ants in general. Just search up “semi-claustral queen ants” Hope this helps and Good luck!

[Ivan2319]

Awesome thank you how long should i expect to get eggs? And should i heat the nest

[Artisan_Ants]

Awesome thank you how long should i expect to get eggs? And should i heat the nest

Depends on when you feed her as she is a semi-claustral species (she will use the protein to create eggs.) Times may vary as the egg-processing rate for every species and individual queen tends to be highly variable. Make sure to feed her protein (in the form of some insect usually. If you get insects from outside you MUST freeze them to remove harmful bacteria (I like to use mealworms and silkworms from the pet store personally) and carbohydrates like honey or sugar water.

 

As for heating, it's really up to you. From what I've read, this species favors areas close to the equator, telling me that this species definitely likes heat. Just keep in mind that heat creates a lot of humidity but I don't think that would be too much of a problem based off of the habitat they occupy.

 

Hope this helps!