13 replies to this topic

[bmb1bee]

After keeping F. obscuripes and F. moki, I developed a particular interest to the Formica genus as a whole. One could call this a phase, though I plan on keeping at least a few of them long-term and hopefully get large colonies out of. Since I plan on catching Polyergus this year and keeping them long-term, having a number of mature host colonies in tandem with the obligate slave raiders would be really useful. In any case, I hope to have fun with these criminally underrated ants, as here in California they're often overshadowed by more popular ants like Myrmecocystus and Pogonomyrmex. I've also decided to part ways with several other colonies in order to keep these Formica, although I did keep some Pheidole, Pseudomyrmex, and a number of cryptic species. Updates will come soon.

 

Current Species:

Formica cf. accreta

Formica cf. argentea

Formica cf. aserva

Formica francoeuri

Formica cf. moki

Formica obscuripes

Formica subpolita

Formica fusca-group sp. 1

Formica neogagates-group sp. 1

 

Past Species:

Formica cf. ravida

 

Wishlist Species:

Formica aerata

Formica dakotensis

Formica difficilis-group

Formica integroides

Formica neoclara

Formica neorufibarbis

Formica oreas

Formica perpilosa

Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 8:01 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica obscuripes - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
I'll start off with what has been one of my favorite colonies so far. I got these from jeffpbalderston a couple months back and they've been a blast to keep, being some of the most active ants I've ever kept. They take pretty much almost any feeder I give them, but have a preference for softer prey like fruit flies and caterpillars. Someday I hope to move them into a more naturalistic setup with resources for them to build a mound with, but for now they seem to be content in the homemade nest I've made them.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:39 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica cf. moki - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
Back in late fall, I got a couple colonies of these from a friend down in SoCal. They weren't doing so hot and each had like 1-5 workers, so I decided to powerfeed them before letting them hibernate. In March I took them out and since then they've grown relatively quickly, both with around 15-25 workers only because I stole some of their brood to boost my Formica cf. aserva. They're still in tubes, but I plan to move them out soon. I also have several queens that I caught recently, during the couple hot days that were May 30 and May 31. These now have larvae and I expect to have workers by the end of the month.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:39 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica francoeuri - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
I got several of these last month from a couple different people down in SoCal. I'm pretty sure they're all the same species, since one person verified his to be F. francoeuri and the other guy's queens were visually identical despite being from a completely different locale. Strangely, only one of these has pupae now and the others have eaten their brood for some reason. I may boost these queens later on if they don't properly found.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:40 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica cf. argentea - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
I have two decent-sized colonies ranging from 10 to 15 workers each, with another two founding queens that didn't do well after being hibernated. One has 2 workers and the other has a couple pupae respectively. Most of these were from my friend JenC last year, though I'm pretty sure one of these I caught myself in September. They're also all from the same spot, but their flight times range anywhere from May through October. They're also the main hosts for the resident Polyergus species in the area, so I hope the larger colonies grow quickly.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:40 PM.

[bmb1bee]

Formica subpolita - Update 12.VI.2025

I have two queens as of today that I received just this week from a couple different people. One has eggs and small larvae, while the other has larger larvae that seem to be pupating soon. These are also on the darker end of the color spectrum that Formica subpolita come in, so I'm hoping to obtain a couple of the more vibrant orange ones soon.

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Edited by bmb1bee, June 12 2025 - 9:39 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica cf. accreta - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
These I also got from jeffpbalderston last month. They have 4 queens and currently around 15-20 workers, though with this amount of queens I expect the growth to be exponential. They're pretty skittish and tend to hesitate before taking food. Hopefully these grow quickly and become one of my largest colonies so far.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:40 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica fusca-group sp. 1 - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
I got these from a friend around last month when he sent me his Formica francoeuri. They look similar, except these are polygynous and the queens are a bit smaller than those of F. francoeuri. This colony has 3 queens and 20-25 workers, though they also have a ton of eggs and larvae that'll greatly increase the colony size. These happen to love fruit flies and feed them directly to the larvae after shredding the bodies.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:41 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica neogagates-group sp. 1 - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
I had a friend that got one from Monterey back in November and sent her to me in exchange for a Camponotus hyatti queen with workers. I'd been meaning to get these myself, but didn't drop down there in time for their nuptials. Currently she has a half dozen workers and should be getting more soon once the rest of her pupae eclose. This is probably my smallest Formica species currently.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:41 PM.

[bmb1bee]

                                                                 

Formica cf. aserva - Update 12.VI.2025
                                                                 
I caught two queens of this slave-raiding while hunting for Formica moki queens down in San Jose in the last two days of May. According to Dr. P. S. Ward, these are something along the lines of a lowlands variant of Formica aserva that use F. moki as their hosts. Prior to catching these queens, I dropped by the park catching them to survey for colonies in the area. I spotted at least two separate colonies, one of which was bringing back stolen brood to their nest. Watching them raid in situ was pretty interesting, and I hope to simulate this with a captive colony someday. Both queens currently each have a nice batch of eggs, which are being taken care of by F. moki and F. argentea host workers. I also tried to combine the two queens, but one nonviolently dragged the other (in tandem carrying position) out of her tube so I separated them again.

                                                                 

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Edited by bmb1bee, Yesterday, 7:41 PM.

[Izzy]

Ooo, nice collection! I'm excited to see what you do with these. I've had a strange fascination for Formica argentea just because their name is cool and I imagine them being all silvery haha! I'm also excited to see what you do with Polyergus. I've only seen them one time in the wild and they were pretty fun to watch. That would be an awesome colony to have.

[bmb1bee]

Ooo, nice collection! I'm excited to see what you do with these. I've had a strange fascination for Formica argentea just because their name is cool and I imagine them being all silvery haha! I'm also excited to see what you do with Polyergus. I've only seen them one time in the wild and they were pretty fun to watch. That would be an awesome colony to have.

Yeah, I’m hoping to grow these out enough to use their brood for sustaining various parasites. These were some of my first Formica colonies this season and I quite like their appearance too haha.

[ANTdrew]

Epic Formica flex.

[bmb1bee]

Epic Formica flex.

Indeed, and thanks. I'll be trying my best to show everyone why these completely underrated ants are awesome in their own right.