Messor barbarus
A Mediterranean harvester ant whose large workers have bright red heads. Hardy, fast-growing and a great first colony.
Species at a glance
- Origin: the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy and North Africa.
- Size: queen 14–18 mm; workers from 3–6 mm for minors up to 12–14 mm for the largest big-headed majors.
- Colony: a single queen; a mature colony has thousands or even tens of thousands of workers.
- Difficulty: suitable for beginners.
Care conditions
- Temperature: 22–28 °C; brood develops faster in the warmth. Avoid keeping the colony above 30 °C.
- Humidity: moderate, around 40–60% in the nest; the seed granary should stay dry.
- Food: a mix of small untreated seeds — grass seeds, flax, chia, poppy. Offer a few insects several times a week to help larvae grow.
- Water: a permanent water feeder.
Hibernation
A winter rest of 2–3 months at 12–15 °C is recommended, usually from late November to late February. Skipping the first hibernation does not harm a young colony, but without it later on the queen may lay fewer eggs.
Farm and colony growth
The queen founds the colony alone and needs no food until the first workers appear. A young colony is happy in a test tube until it has a few dozen workers. After that it needs a formicarium with a dry granary area and a moist brood area. The colony grows quickly, so plan to extend the farm.