Tetraponera rufonigra

Species at a glance

• Origin: South and Southeast Asia, from India and Sri Lanka to southern China and Indonesia
• Size: queen 14–17 mm; workers 8–13 mm
• Colony: up to 2,000 ants
• Difficulty: high, for experienced keepers only

Care conditions

• Temperature: 24–30 °C
• Humidity: 50–70%
• Food: small insects, cut up for the small workers; honey, syrup or fruit; they ignore seeds

Hibernation

Not needed: cooling stresses the colony and can kill it.

Farm and colony growth

The queen is semi-claustral: until the first workers appear she hunts herself, so she needs a small arena and small prey every 2–3 days. Workers are skilled escapers: use a tight lid, fine mesh on the vents and an anti-escape barrier on the arena walls.

Safety

Workers sting, and the sting is painful. Do not handle the ants, use long forceps, and if you are allergic to bee or wasp stings, choose another species.