Anybody want a colony of Messor Barbarous?

[antlover19]

I have kept a colony of Messor Barbarous for over a year or two, and I am a terrible ant keeper. As of writing this there is a queen, 1 worker and a few brood. Yes just that, nothing else, and I have kept them for over a year. I am not a beginner in ant keeping, there was SOMETHING(s) I wasn't doing right and now the colony is where it is. I have stressed myself with this colony, the colony itself has gone through a lot more. I don't know how much more stress the colony can take, although maybe they don't get as stressed because they got used to it or something. Somebody please have them, I'm not interested in money, just take them and enjoy them and there polymorphous ability. No emotions please, just say if you'd like them and then we could work something out.

EDIT: I cannot promise anybody that the colony will survive the stress of being in a moving vehicle.

 

[VarmintLP]

Ok, help me a bit with the story of your colony. Maybe we can save the colony. I am keeping a messor barbarus colony myself and they seem to be thriving. Even having a lot of female alates at the moment. I lost some workers and eggs along the way because I made the wrong choice or had issues during moves and while replacing their setups but it always turned out fine in the end and I didn't see a sign of a dead queen.

So let's get started with the food. What are you feeding them? Only seeds or also honey or insects?
Next, how are they living? In a testtube? Undistrubed from light and vibrations? How often do you check on them?

If you want explain a bit your story on how it came to be that way and maybe we can figure something out.

 

[antlover19]

I gave them a dark and largely undisturbed place to live in with crushed up seeds and special ant jelly given to them on tin foil wrapping so I can take way what they didn't eat using tweezers. They were on a heat mat turned to the right temperature and the out world's walls weren't at 90 degree angles so they couldn't escape, they also enough oxygen to breath. I only checked up on them once a week, sometimes even once every 2 weeks, although once I left them for a little too long, but that WAS NOT the cause of their downfall. The cause of their downfall was when I gave them too much room before they were ready, I also should have got the right equipment. I lost the real drive to keep ants when their numbers began to drop drastically and I realized that getting this colony was a mistake. Please don't bother trying to convince me to make them great again, I don't even know HOW I can arrange a way to give the colony to somebody else.

 

[VarmintLP]

I gave them a dark and largely undisturbed place to live in with crushed up seeds and special ant jelly given to them on tin foil wrapping so I can take way what they didn't eat using tweezers. They were on a heat mat turned to the right temperature and the out world's walls weren't at 90 degree angles so they couldn't escape, they also enough oxygen to breath. I only checked up on them once a week, sometimes even once every 2 weeks, although once I left them for a little too long, but that WAS NOT the cause of their downfall. The cause of their downfall was when I gave them too much room before they were ready, I also should have got the right equipment. I lost the real drive to keep ants when their numbers began to drop drastically and I realized that getting this colony was a mistake. Please don't bother trying to convince me to make them great again, I don't even know HOW I can arrange a way to give the colony to somebody else.

Well you could try to stop giving them jelly. Not sure that's inside but my messor barbarus just loved seeds. So I sticked to that. You could try to give them some sunflower seeds and grass seeds. Or bird seeds that are lose and not coated with honey. You got the undisturbed part right. For the seeds I would not crush them imuo too much. They don't always take all the seeds and I would guess that maybe you should just keep them inside the testtube. No outworld until they are bigger in numbers. If you can get them some dandlion seeds. Easy to harvest. Grab the white and futzy end and then yoink it off the flower. Then grab the seeds underneath. Put those on the radiator to dry. Thwn offer them. My messors love them. You can also try raspberry seeds. Harder to get but they love them.
Give it a try and wait until they are laying some eggs. If they have more workers then I might be interested to help you get the colony elsewhere.
Btw a worker / nanitic can survive up to 2,5 years. It tested it and can therefore give that rough estimate. But they also didn't have too much to do so yeah. 2,5 under lazy conditions.
Give it a try. Also just to know, about where are you from? The country would be enough.

 

[antlover19]

Also just to know, about where are you from? The country would be enough.

Thank you, and I am from the UK.

 

[VarmintLP]

Thank you, and I am from the UK.

Hm since brexit happened, I am sure that the colony might not make it through the mail. First because the transport duration and atress might kill the queen. Next the temperatur during transport might drop below 15-16°C which is basically a death sentence for the queen. :/
If you manage to get some eggs you could ask on tze anscanada website with the GANProject if someone in the UK would take the colony.

 

[antlover19]

If you manage to get some eggs you could ask on tze anscanada website with the GANProject if someone in the UK would take the colony.

Don't know why I would need some eggs but OK. Thank you.

 

[VarmintLP]

Don't know why I would need some eggs but OK. Thank you.

Well a queen without workers has to use more stamina to do everything herself. But if she got more workers then first you have an easier time to find someone who might take the colony and second the chance that the queen survives the trip is also much higher. I can tell you, I would take the queen but due to brexit etc. it might just not work at all. :/
Maybe join the antscanada forum and ask in the general section is someone from the UK wants a colony.

 

[antlover19]

Thank you VarmintLP, I will wait for my queen's newest brood to turn into workers and then ask around, although I am seriously unsure about the whole arrangements with other people because that has never really worked out.

 

[VarmintLP]

Thank you VarmintLP, I will wait for my queen's newest brood to turn into workers and then ask around, although I am seriously unsure about the whole arrangements with other people because that has never really worked out.

In which way has it not worked out? Did they arrange to come and didn't show up?

 

[antlover19]

Did they arrange to come and didn't show up?

Maybe I'm getting some memories mixed.

 

[VarmintLP]

Hey,
I thought I should check on your progress with the Messor Barbarus colony.
Got any luck?

 

[antlover19]

My queen now has at least 1 worker, I had this idea of getting a cocktail stick and getting some tin foil and wrapping it partly around the cocktail stick and putting a tiny amount of honey on the not wrapped around the cocktail stick part and put it in a little ways into the test tube. this would save me having to use tweezers as this would cause a lot more disturbance.

Big brains.

 

[VarmintLP]

My queen now has at least 1 worker, I had this idea of getting a cocktail stick and getting some tin foil and wrapping it partly around the cocktail stick and putting a tiny amount of honey on the not wrapped around the cocktail stick part and put it in a little ways into the test tube. this would save me having to use tweezers as this would cause a lot more disturbance.

Big brains.

Well they usually don't like honey that much. You can try tho.
Btw. Instead of using a cocktail stick, just use a toothpick. Scoop up some honey and then touch the testtube wall with the honey.

 

[antlover19]

Btw. Instead of using a cocktail stick, just use a toothpick. Scoop up some honey and then touch the testtube wall with the honey.

Actually I think it was a toothpick, but I don't want to put honey on the test tube itself as that would cause mold and cleaning it off would disturb my ants too much.

 

[VarmintLP]

Don't worry. Honey itself doesn't mold. It actually got natural desinfecting properties and so far none of my testtubes have grown any mold on or around the honey. Anyway, I would only feed them seeds. Maybe a bit of a mealworm for protein.