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Post by bluebird on Dec 26, 2011 19:56:07 GMT
Hello everyone. I have joined this forum because my 10 year old son got a formicarium for Christmas and we now need some ants to live in it! The set up he has is this: antsuk.com/ant-starter-setI asked him to research ants online, and he has decided he wants a colony of Myrmica rubra. I think the reasoning behind this is that they have more than one queen so he thinks the colony is less likely to die off soon. Can anyone with experience tell me if this is a suitable choice for a 10 year old? Is he likely to get stung? What if some ants escape? I would love to hear any other suggestions. |
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Post by Jenny on Dec 26, 2011 20:33:56 GMT
Hi Bluebird and welcome to the world of ants  Myrmica are slower and less likely to escape, they won`t sting if just putting food in, and are not interfered with too much. Their sting is no worse than a nettle when provoked. Nigers can nip quite sharply when angered as I have found in the garden when I have disturbed them  It goes with the whole experience, of keeping species. The set up you have is an excellent one and many ant keepers use that one here for many different types of species. This set up is also very escape proof, as long as lids are placed back on slowly as ants do not like sudden noise and movement.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Dec 26, 2011 21:04:06 GMT
Hi and welcome to the Ant Hill I kept Myrmica as an 11 year old, and they only sting if they get angry. So if your son wants a nice red ant with a bit of attitude, then rubra is a good choice. |
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Post by bluebird on Dec 26, 2011 22:18:40 GMT
Thanks for your replies I will let you all know how we get on with the ants. |
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Post by Wood~Ant on Dec 27, 2011 7:56:36 GMT
Thanks for your replies I will let you all know how we get on with the ants. We are all only too happy to help Bluebird, and please feel free to ask whatever questions you may have on your son's behalf.  I know it must be frustrating for him, as he is a bit too young to become a member of this forum; but if he is like I was at his age, he is eager to learn more about the fascinating life of ants. He will certainly find how interesting they are once he starts to keep and study them. |
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Post by Welsh Ant on Dec 27, 2011 9:07:14 GMT
That's a lovely looking ant set up your son had for Christmas, he is a lucky lad and has a good mum, as you have joined this forum to get to know more about ants. I must say that this a great place with lots of friendly ant people who really help, so you couldn't have joined a better ant forum for your son and yourself to get lots of information from. ;D
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Post by bluebird on Dec 28, 2011 20:07:49 GMT
Does anyone know this seller CGants? www.cgants.co.uk/species.phpThere aren't many sellers with M. Rubra at the moment, presumably because of the time of year. I realise it might be better to wait until spring to buy ants but it feels a long way away! |
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Post by batspiderfish on Dec 28, 2011 20:34:56 GMT
Those prices don't seem very fair, and it looks like they just copy-pasted all their information from the poorly-translated AntStore. I wouldn't buy from this person even if I thought this was legitimate. ;D
I highly doubt this person has the permission of Alex Wild to use those photos, either.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Dec 29, 2011 8:14:41 GMT
To be honest I have never heard the name of George James who seems to run the site, although the name of CGants sounds familiar. I see they run a forum, but their knowledge of ants is rather poor from what I have seen from the few posts I read. The policy of refunding ants is good, if they stick to their word.  So you really take a chance on buying from this site and hope that they are reliable?  My main concern is the price, as £19.99 for a colony of Myrmica rubra with only 1 queen is extortionate, as we have sellers here who sell them a lot cheaper; and with at least 3+ queens, when they have this species in stock. |
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peanuts
Honey Pot Ant 
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Post by peanuts on Dec 29, 2011 9:41:30 GMT
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Post by bluebird on Dec 29, 2011 12:10:37 GMT
Seems it might be best to wait for a while then. Out of curiosity, where do the ants usually come from that are sold online? Are they bred in captivity or collected from the wild? If I wait long enough I'll be able to collect my own queen from the garden (we always get a few Lasius niger mating flights each year)!
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Post by Wood~Ant on Dec 29, 2011 13:14:48 GMT
Out of curiosity, where do the ants usually come from that are sold online? Are they bred in captivity or collected from the wild? Most of them are from young queens which are captured during mating flights, and then raised into a colony. A few may be collected from wild nests, but I would advocate that anyone doing so to leave a fair number of queens, workers and brood behind to ensure the colony doesn't die out. So say for example that a collector found a nest of Myrmica rubra with 12 queens, I would suggest they only take a maximum of 5 from that nest and leave the other 7 remaining. |
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Post by Welsh Ant on Mar 5, 2012 10:51:56 GMT
Did you manage to get any ants for your son Bluebird, or are you still waiting? |
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Post by bluebird on Apr 2, 2012 10:40:02 GMT
Thanks for asking! I waited for the weather to warm up and just ordered a colony from Ants-Kalytta. My little boy has been very patient so I hope they do well for him |
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Post by Zarbi on Apr 23, 2012 16:32:35 GMT
Thanks for asking! I waited for the weather to warm up and just ordered a colony from Ants-Kalytta. My little boy has been very patient so I hope they do well for him Did he get his ants that you ordered for him? If he did I hope he is thrilled with them. |
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