Post by Myrm on Nov 6, 2011 10:26:06 GMT 1
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[bg=fbd9bd] Image copyright by Alex Wild. |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] Taxonomy: Myrmicinae (Myrmica) Colony type: Polygyne Color: red/dark red Size: Queen 5 -8 mm / Workers 4 – 6 mm Distribution: Europe Nutrition: Insects, fruit, protein jelly Temperature: Room temperature Hibernation: Yes Air humidity: Moderate (room humidity ideal) Nest building: Nests in soil, loam Planting: nothing specific Class: easy to keep/sting |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] There are many types of Myrmica ant, such as M. rubra, M. ruginodis, M. scabrinodis, that look vary similar. They tend to be red when young but darkening to a deeper red as they get older. They tend to live in small-medium sized colonies, are quite aggressive and are able to give a slightly uncomfortable sting – much like getting bitten by a stinging nettle. They often have more than 6 queens and take on more each year. They are generally found in woodlands, gardens and under stones. They are vary active and do make a vary interesting species to keep and study. |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] Myrmica mating flights tend to be around July/August time and often appear to prefer to gather together in various locations to mate, and tend to start colonies off in one of two ways; 1) One, or even several queens will come together, and dig for themselves a little chamber in the ground, seal themselves in and lay a few eggs. 2) This is not so much as colony founding as “colony boosting”; queens may mate outside their parent nest (sometimes in it) and then return to the same nest to become additional egg-laying queens. Colonies that allow this are, in theory at least, immortal as the queens are replaced as they die out. |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] These ants are easy to keep and require only a vary small amount of space. They like to nest in loam/soil and under large stones, so if you are keeping them in a fish tank/large bowl, try to provide them with a large, flat stone if you can. These ants will live in those slim ant farms and tend to build vary large tunnels and chambers, in fact one of my old M. rubra colonies removed most of the dirt from their ant farm and lived in an almost bare farm. They seem to prefer slightly drier conditions than, say, Lasius niger, thogh the soil needs to be just damp enough to alow the tunnels and chambers to be able to stand and not collapse. I would suggest an ant farm with a foraging box attached where possible. In the wild these ants relocate their nests quite often but you will be fine with an ant farm set up. |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] Myrmica are vary easy to feed as they, like Lasius niger, seem to eat almost anything. I feed mine on freshly killed (sometimes live) insects (flies, crickets, locusts, meal-worms, wax-worms), fruit, and flavoured protein jelly. The jelly is particularly useful in the winter if there are no insects to feed them (and your ants are not hibernating). |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] These ants are vary safe to keep and an ideal species for beginners and children, however do bear in mind that when scared or feeling threatened these ants do sting. It’s not a bad sting, rather like a stinging nettle, but can be distressing to young children. They pose no great environmental hazard if they escape. |
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| [bg=fbd9bd] Like all temperate climate ants, this species will hibernate in the wild. Though there is no real hard evidence that not hibernating your ants will cause them harm, it has been suggested that it may shorten the life of the ants due to the fact that their metabolism is not slowed during the winter. Saying that though, and from my experience, even if you kept these ants at room temperature during the winter, you may find that though they don’t hibernate, they may decline in activity and the queen may stop egg production until the following spring. In the wild, Myrmica may remain a little active within their nests during winter, especially if it is not too cold. |
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