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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2012 12:14:49 GMT 1
Hi all,
I'm brand new to the forum and ant keeping but I'd like to give it a go and I'm really enthused that there is a community I can learn from in this endeavour.
There are two starter kits that appeal to me, Alpha Ants Starter Kit A and Alpha Ants Starter Kit C
Their dimensions are as follows:
Alpha Ants Starter Kit A Formicarium: 20cm x 10 cm Arena: 20x10x10 cm
Alpha Ants Starter Kit C Formicarium: 30cm x 20 cm Arena: 30x20x20 cm
I'd like to start keeping a colony of Lasius Niger and will order the beginnings of a colony from someone like Queen Ant Shop.
I know successful colonies can get large in the wild so to speak, how do colonies fare in captivity? Do they limit their growth dependant on the size of their environment? If so I'd be happy with a smallish colony living in Starter Kit A. If however they just expand exponentially I'm inclined to go for Starter Kit C to allow for a larger colony.
Would it be possible to get some input from some experienced ant keepers please?
Thank you for reading and hopefully helping out a complete nooby!
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Post by Myrm on Oct 19, 2012 12:23:18 GMT 1
Hi Blaize
Welcome to the forum.
My advice would be that if you can afford to get the bigger starter kit then get that one. There are some thoughts on the subject of ants limiting their colony size to the space available and I guess that it must happen, else over-crowding could become quite a proplem. However, the good thing about these kits is that you can always get the smaller one and when they start to outgrow it (which will be a couple of years for a brand new colony with just a queen and a few workers) you can then just add another section on to it as I have done with my Lasius umbratus.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2012 12:39:01 GMT 1
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Post by Myrm on Oct 19, 2012 13:08:28 GMT 1
Hi blaize Thank you for bringing the proplem to my attention. I won't be able to rectify the link for another week or so when I get access to the server, however, here is the link to the relevant page on the forum: Myrm's Ant Colony Blogs
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 19:55:26 GMT 1
myrm didnt your l niger colony out grow your formicarium and so get moved to your garden??
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Post by Myrm on Oct 22, 2012 20:00:14 GMT 1
myrm didnt your l niger colony out grow your formicarium and so get moved to your garden?? Yes, that is correct, Chicken Bin Lid; it started off as a single queen from a mating flight and now, 11 years later she has produced a colony that is thousands strong. They are the dominant ant colony in my garden.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 22:43:01 GMT 1
Cool! Did you move the queen to the garden too or keep her contained?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2012 0:09:26 GMT 1
If I remember correctly from his Journal the colony kind of moved themselves when he was away lol
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Post by Myrm on Oct 23, 2012 6:27:25 GMT 1
If I remember correctly from his Journal the colony kind of moved themselves when he was away lol Yes, because Lasius niger as a species have vary naughty bottoms. They are the masters of escape.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2012 12:10:39 GMT 1
HAHA Wow, how naughty! Once my rhytidoponera metallica escaped, they have such strong bites and were biting and swelling up my knees and hands as I was squatted down looking for them!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2012 17:04:32 GMT 1
ahh not nice
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2012 13:32:55 GMT 1
Oh wow, Rhytidoponera Metallica are beautiful. Also they're named Metallica which is just plain awesome.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2012 0:14:21 GMT 1
They are stunning! And very easy to keep too- unless they get stung!
I've heard their sting being likened to fire ant stings, so now I know what they can be like (a big difference is r. metallica workers are more nomadic and never 'swarm' so you'll only ever get bitten once or twice, luckily)
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