Colony of Formica cinerea

It is essential to have prior knowledge before having ants. We particularly recommend the book  Criar Hormigas de Raul Martinez. (click here)

Caution: We ship ONLY 1 COLONY or queen and ONLY 1 SPECIES per order or ant's nest, so you must choose correctly the one you want. We do not charge for the ants. They are FREE. You only have to pay for the shipping costs.

Difficulty of breeding: EASY

The colony is formed by the queen, 5-10 workers (its children) and eggs, larvae and cocoons.

Instructions about the breeding of Formica cinerea (medium and gray):

Once you have received the ant colony, the first thing to do is to feed it (water with sugar or honey).

To feed the ants inside the test tube you can use a syringe. Insert the syringe needle through the cotton plug and put a droplet. This droplet must not be large because the ants could drown. Once they have drunk, remove the excess. A cotton bud can be used to clean, but be careful when you remove the plug because the ants can escape.

You can keep the ants in the test tube used for transportation as long as there is water inside. If you keep them inside the tube you must feed them at least once a week.

The moment to move them to the nest can be decided when you open the plug and the ants can escape from the tube. Then you can proceed to put them into the nest with non-agressive methods.

General details:

Food: sugary substances (honey, sugar water) and insects (flies, mealworms, crickets ...)

Care: Feed the ants 2 or 3 times a week, as the colony grows. Always keep a constant humidity in the nest, wetting the ground with 5 ml water once or more times a week. If you use a nest with sand, keep it wet. Leave the nest in a dark, cool place and avoid severe vibration.

Sizes:

• Queen:   10-8mm
• Workers: 5-7mm