I can't decide what to keep

[anttastic]

Hi

I can't decide what to keep, I'm interested in keeping these:

Messor barbarus
Camponotus herculeanus

I'm looking for the easiest to keep, the only colonies I've ever kept are Lasius niger and Myrmica.S.

anttastic

[Wood~Ant]

I have always found Camponotus to be fussy eaters, and this has made me lose all the colonies of them I've ever kept

Messor species may need keeping warmer in winter, but as they eat mainly small seeds, I find them an easier ant to keep for the most part

[anttastic]

Thanks wood

Thats really helped, I think I'll get a Messor.barbarus queen from Antstore. How long do you think Messor would take from egg to worker?

From anttastic

[Wood~Ant]

This may help

I bought my Messor barbarus queen from Antstore in mid January. She laid eggs about the 27th of that month, and at present she has 7 eggs, 3 larvae and 3 pupae.
So I expect workers to appear by April.

She is kept in a small plastic tank filled with 1 inch of just slightly damp peat + sand mixture. The temperature remains between 73-77 Fahrenheit.

[anttastic]

Thanks wood ,

So it would take about 3 months, I'll get one soon, hope your pupae hatch by april.

anttastic

[tom]

Hey, I have both queens of them, and so far both are very easy my C. herculeanus queen has 2 workers and about 20 eggs almost larvae. My 2 M. barbarus queens both have about 6-7 eggs almost reaching larvae period
and also more good news my C. barbaricus queen has laid more eggs, hehe there's 1 worker that always insists in holding them

[anttastic]

Hi tom , thats great when and where did you get them from?

[tom]

heres a link pics of some M.barbarus queen

queenant.proboards82.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=1137946535