7 replies to this topic

[Ernteameise]

I went for my swim today at the public pool, and the pavement ants were flying.

I love the pavement ants at the pool- they live under the pavement there (surprise) and as soon as the kids drop ice cream, they will come out in force and form large black masses. They are the secret rulers of the public pool- and share their habitat with Lasius niger and Myrmica rubra (the things you notice when you lie on your towel in the sun and dry off). 

Since the last pavement ant queen which I collected last year died of unknown causes, this time, I collected 3 nicely plump physiogastric ladies. 

I am not sure which species they are exactly, we have several different species of Tetramorium (T. caspitum, T. impurum) and they look very similar.

The workers of these species are all small and black. 

These ants appear to be very active during the day and since they are such lovers of dropped ice cream, they should also be easy to feed.

Not quite sure how "exciting" these girls are to keep, and I also do not know how difficult it will be to keep a fast growing species which will form large colonies. 

Anyways, before I think ahead of myself, one of the girls I caught has to survive, first.

They are claustral, so I will pop their test tubes in the dark and will annoy them as little as possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

These ants are also host to a range of amazing parasitic ant species. It would be awesome to one day keeping a colony with some parasites, but that will be seriously advanced ant keeping. 

[ANTdrew]

Tetramorium are honestly some of the funnest ants to keep in my opinion. Good luck with these queens!

[Ernteameise]

Tetramorium are honestly some of the funnest ants to keep in my opinion. Good luck with these queens!

Then let us see if at least one of the queens will be able to start a colony.

Anything special they need?

I thought of moving them into the Mini-Hearth that will become available as soon as the Camponotus lateralis have moved into their new Foranto nest (which is still in the making). Might last them for a year after their test-tube phase. I am a bit afraid of them exploding in numbers too fast. 

They appear not to be choosy with food from what I have seen on the forum. 

[bmb1bee]

Nice finds! Unfortunately I'm pretty sure these are a species of Solenopsis rather than Tetramorium. In my experience they are pretty similar in care though, so you won't be missing out too much. They're claustral, eat pretty much anything, and grow relatively fast. 

[ANTdrew]

The best way to raise these is with test tube setups in escape proof outworlds with a thin layer of dry sand. Fluon is very effective at stopping them, thankfully.

[Ernteameise]

Nice finds! Unfortunately I'm pretty sure these are a species of Solenopsis rather than Tetramorium. In my experience they are pretty similar in care though, so you won't be missing out too much. They're claustral, eat pretty much anything, and grow relatively fast. 

Luckily, Solenopsis has not (YET!) made their way to my region in Germany. They have already invaded Southern Europe, and with climate change, it is only a question of time, but so far, we are still free. 

So yeah, from watching the colonies around the public pool, and with my limited ant ID ability, I am pretty sure they are some species of Tetramorium (the different very similar species we have here are in taxonomic flux and they are taxonomically worked on, so species ID is difficult). Also, the time of nuptial flight fits with Tetramorium over here. 

Edited by Ernteameise, Today, 9:07 AM.

[RushmoreAnts]

 

Nice finds! Unfortunately I'm pretty sure these are a species of Solenopsis rather than Tetramorium. In my experience they are pretty similar in care though, so you won't be missing out too much. They're claustral, eat pretty much anything, and grow relatively fast. 

Luckily, Solenopsis has not (YET!) made their way to my region in Germany. They have already invaded Southern Europe, and with climate change, it is only a question of time, but so far, we are still free. 

So yeah, from watching the colonies around the public pool, and with my limited ant ID ability, I am pretty sure they are some species of Tetramorium (the different very similar species we have here are in taxonomic flux and they are taxonomically worked on, so species ID is difficult). Also, the time of nuptial flight fits with Tetramorium over here. 

 

Solenopsis fugax is native to Germany, and your queens seem to match its description.

[bmb1bee]

 

Nice finds! Unfortunately I'm pretty sure these are a species of Solenopsis rather than Tetramorium. In my experience they are pretty similar in care though, so you won't be missing out too much. They're claustral, eat pretty much anything, and grow relatively fast. 

Luckily, Solenopsis has not (YET!) made their way to my region in Germany. They have already invaded Southern Europe, and with climate change, it is only a question of time, but so far, we are still free. 

So yeah, from watching the colonies around the public pool, and with my limited ant ID ability, I am pretty sure they are some species of Tetramorium (the different very similar species we have here are in taxonomic flux and they are taxonomically worked on, so species ID is difficult). Also, the time of nuptial flight fits with Tetramorium over here. 

 

Lucky that Germany doesn't have the larger invasive Solenopsis wreaking havoc on your ecosystems. It seems the queens are one of the "thief ant" species though, something like Solenopsis fugax like what RushmoreAnts said. Tetramorium queens look a bit different in comparison and should be a decent bit larger.