Top 3 Ant colonies! (Beginner edition)
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- My top 3 personal beginner ant colonies!
With ant season in progress i tought this would be a nice question to answer.
Offcourse i am very eager to hear about your additions aswell!
Number 3: Camponotus nicobarensis
Size: Medium/large
Growing: Very fast after the 1nd year
Additional info: Very chill, not aggresive, messy, big apetite, beautifull majors
Number 2: Camponotus cruentatus
Size: Medium/large
Growing: Slow at start, steady after 2nd year
Additional info: Can be aggresive, can be stressy at start, beautifull majors, slower growing
Number 3: Messor barbarus
Size: Between small and large
Growing: Slow at start, steady after 50 workers
Additional info: Can get their nutrients from seeds, won't require seperate sugars, easy ant keeping experience, can be stressy witht vibrations, different sized workers.
#ant #antkeeping #beginner #top3
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I have my very first ever Queen, Camponotus Discolor, coming in soon. Excited to hear more of your tips in the future.
Camponotus in general is pretty easy! You should be fine!
Try not to interrupt them as much when they are still in the founding stage.
Good luck with the queen, and feel free to ask questions when something pops up!
Make sure it's a new comment. So I'll get a notification!
Nicos are a great beginner species! And he's right about their eating habits... They want ALL THE FOOD and they want it NOW! Lol!
Only downside about Nicos is the fact that their growth is pretty intense in the 2nd and 3rd year, and the bigger colonies get ditched a lot.
Thanks for commenting! ❤️
@@CamponicoAnts My Nicos are 15 - 18 months old so I haven't experienced what your talking about yet but I'll be there with them for it. Thanks for the heads up!
Love this video. Can you recommend the best ants nests for the bests type of ants? I dont know if I should put my ants into a wooden nest, acrylic, ytong, etc, ty ♥️
You can do some research first
For what i recommend
Ytong is viable for most ant
Acrylic is for ant that need less moisture like messor
Wooden is only for a few type ant that like to live in decaying wood+dont need much moisture
Remember to always do your research first
Namhai duong did a great job answering your questions..
And to give you a decent answer, I would need to have some specific information beginning with the species..
Different needs, different demands.
Will do a short video about this soon!
So stay tuned!
Thanks for commenting ❤️
I appreciate that you are taking the time to give this man some proper advise..
I will answer the question in a shorts video, and will mention you aswell!
If everyone in the world would help a little more, the world would be a much better place..
Thanks for commenting ❤️.. legend!
@@namhaiduong8866 Thank you !!!
@@CamponicoAnts Thank you !!! ♥️🐜
Hello! Im currently keeping one of these queens, and ill keep you notice. Currently, she has layed 7~ eggs with 5 hatched workers, 3 died 😭. Keep you updated!
(Pls give advice., im still new..)
Ants die, I wouldn't worry too much about that, and you are talking about the fact that she has eggs.. which is a good thing!
Just make sure to offer them water, sugars and proteine.
You know where to find me if you have any questions
@@CamponicoAnts Thank you very much sir!
I just got camponotus japonicus, so exciting!!!
This is the first vid I watched from you ❤️ and can you make a vid how to take care of a ant colony for new people? Like me lol like can you tell about the water and food and cleaning them? Thanks!
I have something planned out when our local ants are going to fly out!
So yes, there will be something like this coming up..
And in the meanwhile: check out Esthetic ants and ant holleufer on RUclips for beginner tips!
Thanks for commenting ❤️
Can you feed a colony a chicken foot next?
I have never seen a chicken foot being sold in my region before, but will do some googeling.
Sounds pretty interesting tbh!
What is that last name of the comments ant colony
Camponotus floridanus
I think lacius niger is the easiest
one of the.. for sure!
LASIUS WHATS 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨
Lasius n!
🤨
I have trap jaw ant for my first colony n just got new worker today
I cnt tell how exited I am rght now
I'm really excited for you aswell! Would love to get myself a colony aswell one day!
Welcome to the hobby!
Messor barbsrus are not for beginners, they are easy to keep when you already own a big colony
Wouldn't agree with you on this one.. I'm sorry.. You can leave the colony alone for ages aslong as they have "crushed" seeds and plenty of water.. The ants do best, when you neglect them ;)
Might want to try again with the tips from above? They are wonderfull colonies when they get a little bigger!
@@CamponicoAnts I do know a thing or two about ants, i own 8 colonies and not even myrmica queen was harder than a stable Q+10 w messor barbsrus colony. They are extremely fearful when they have this amount of workers, they are really slow in development and overally they are not good for beginners.
Also, begging ant keeper will constantly uncover the testtube, so the one can see what's going on with them. This leads to stagnation and eating brood.
Messor Barbarus are overrated. Because Americans can’t have them 😎
Then a lot of the ants are overrated for the Americans.. ;)
MAybe in the future things will change? ;)
Would leafcutter ants be good starter ants if I'm squeamish about other bugs?
Would advice so.. might be a bit specific not sure what your region is? But I have a video about beginner ants.. You might want to check that out!
It would’ve been great to know they common names for the noobs in the room. Thanks - 89% of us 😂
Mostly Google will fix the problem! And sometimes I have the names in the descriptions aswell
Is Trap jaw ants a good starter species?
(It's currently my only colony)
I made a video today about starting ant colonies! Hope it helps..
Trap jaw is an amazing species, but not something I would pick as a first colony.
Make sure to read plenty on the internet to accommodate their needs!
Question can I keep messioir barbarous in the UK?
To be honest I wouldn't know what the rules in the UK are precisely, so I'm not going to speculate.. I'm sorry.
I think Google will or one of the group chats is your best answer!
If you haven't looked it up already, you can and they work well but if you want optimal growth I would advise getting a heat cable for one side of the nest. it isn't needed but will speed up growth.
Ok
Messor barbarus Def the best beginner sp next 2 lasius niger and camponotus nicobarensis
I can't disagree with you there.. all 3 perfect beginning ant species!!
Thanks for commenting
My first and only queen ant is crematogaster lineolata. Are they easy? I still am waiting on my first worker. I have multiple pupae.
If they are like the crematogaster I own.. they can grow in an intense speed once they get a little bigger, and are good escape artist....
But wonderfull ants!
Lots of fun with the colony!
@@CamponicoAnts Thank you!
For the camponotus nicobarensis how big can they get
10k +
i wanted to get one of these colonies but all of them dont live in my country
And it's not legal for you to get them?
That's a shame :(
thx barbarus and C.nicobarensis looks cool 👍
Both are totally different, but amazing to keep!
Thanks for commenting! ❤️
My first ants are pavement ants there good two
How are they doing?
my first Queen is messor angularis is it Good?
I think it is a beautifull species to keep! Good luck with your queen! Wishing you the best!
Bro I really want ant colonies bruuuhhh 😫😫 there so coool
Are you not allowed to get one?
@@CamponicoAnts sadly yeah 😒
Antscanada has a video made for parents, explaining in a decent way way antkeeping is a decent hobby@
Could try that out?
@@CamponicoAnts I mean, there Asian lol but thanks anyways! I’ll try to show them
@@CamponicoAnts but thanks for the video!
What do you feed your nicobarensis ?
Maybe i could do a video about this soon.. (shorts)
Usually dubia roach, and beetle jelly..
A little mouse every once in a while
I’d suggest messor structor instead, cuz barbarus queens can be stressed out easily
And cephalotes?
I have’t raised cephalotes
Great video. Love the image quality. I have Messor Barbaraus, Campontus Japanicus, Lasius Niger and some Nicos on order. What would you advise for their setups and how do you heat your various colonies? The Messor have about 10 workers the Japanicus 4 workers, the Lasius 5 workers and the Nico will be just with brood.
Hi Leigh!
That's quite the order you are receiving!
Wishing you the best of luck with it!
Since the colonies are still very small, and not require anything very specific I would advise you to put them in a tubs and tubes setup, untill the colony is big enough for a proper nest.
Tubs in tubs is basicly placing your test tube, in a container with an escape barrier..
Will not look as fancy, but will do the job perfectly untill the colony has the proper size.
And for heating:
I'm heating my entire antroom, and give some of the colonies additional heating by using a 5Meter long heating cable which goes across the setups..
Good luck with the colonies, and be sure to post a NEW comment if you have any questions left!
@@CamponicoAnts Cheers mate, not got a spare room for heating seperately so they are in my bedroom with a heat cable. I have a slight ant addiction so got loads of setups to try. 2 tubs and tubes, 2 venus big, A6 setup, hightech v3 foundation, 2 ant chambers from AFS, and a sand ant farm L from anthouse .
why do all ants have the most random name ever
Ikr xD
Most names are Latin, and usually have some kind of meaning.
I was unable to find any black crazy ant or weaver ant queens. So im stuck with a fire ant queen...
"the hardest colony to keep"
-ants canada
Lovin the sarcasm.. ;)
I hope i know what you are getting yourself intoQ
Good luck with the colony!
Wrong here's my lost of easiest and safest ant colonies to keep
1:bullet ants stick your hand in and they will kiss you
2:fire ants again pet them for little tiggles and tiggles on your arm
3:dorylos ants they are so kind but sometimes don't hunt as they are sooo kind
I prefer pheidole sp.
Would love to get myself a pheidole colony aswell in the future!
Messors are my first and biggest colony. They are a year old and have over 500 workers. They are a very good starting point for newer keepers. I also recommend any ants you find outside your home. Worst case, you can always release them back into the wild. Do your research and ask other keepers lots of questions.
Absolutely agree.. Messor almost always performs well if you leave them alone.
In my opinion aswell the nr1 ant to begin with!
Nice list except most of these are European species.
I assume you are not from europe?
And not able to import ants?
@@CamponicoAnts Not legally. I'm from the U.S. Thanks for the video tho, it was pretty neat. I found your test tube colony to be quite intriguing.
best beginner species is solenopsis geminata (: im joking myrmica rubra , l. flavus and maybe just maybe pheidole palidulla
can myrmica for second colony ?????
@@salecibab1663 sure they are easy to handle
sorry I'm forgot to ask if you have some ant store in Europe ? thx
@@salecibab1663 no i dont have a store myself but i can reccoment you myants and antstore both great shops
please if you can 🐜
Would tetramorium also be a good pick? I see alot of them in my neighborhood
I think some decent searching on Google would do the trick.
Never kept them, so I'm not able to Give you proper advice.. I'm sorry
I have to say personally. I would say yes they are. But they are small. Monomorphic (all the same size) and escape setups fairly easy. I would try to find a campo queen. Campos are one of the largest species of ant. And they are polymorphic and have majors.
yea i had a colony that was invaded 3 times and were still in the thousands
Must have been a huge colony :o
What level would you say Lasius brevicornis level is?
I wouldn't know to be honest.. So far I have only kept Lasius N.
My guess is that it should be just around the same.
Hope you can find a careguide or at least find the region they are coming from so you can adapt thei environment
@Camponico Ants when the company cancels the order the day its suppose to arrive #rip
bro i haven't ever had a colony before, and the day it rained i went out and i had found 6 whole fire ant queens and a pavement ant queen
And?? Did you keep the queens that you have found?
@@CamponicoAnts yep, why wouldn't i? its storming right now so i think ima go back out there to look again
im gonna get a pharoah ant thing is it okay?
Aren't they invasive and inbreed? I wouldn't advise keeping them, probably not even if they are local
@@CamponicoAnts I change them to black garden ant
camponotus have a major caste yes, but they also have a median "caste" a median is just a very large worker, the cruentatus "major" you showed was a median. majors often have a larger head to body ratio.
Thanks for the clarification! ❤️
The major is inside the tube, and I'm not able to get a proper shot
what about messor structor?
I believe Messor structor is also a great beginner ant species!
What is the smallest you can make a good ant farm ?
IF you would like to make one yourself.
You could google the term: Ant founding chamber as a reference..
I believe that would be the smallest you should MAKE.
Depends on the ant species aswell offcourse!
Thanks for the reply, I’ll keep what you said in mind
I have 2 Messor barbarus and I can confirm it’s easy to keep
They are the best starter ant for sure.. (if you have a lot of patience)
Lasius Niger are by far the easiest ants to keep…
I would love to use your comment for a video if that is allright!
@@CamponicoAnts yeah sure, not a problem
oo id like to buy the messor they look cool
You should!
Not expensive, a little slow ar the start, but once they get going, they make a beautifull colony!
@@CamponicoAnts yeah i have a messor alate has has some eggs and are going to hatch soon but im not sure if shes fertlize
Where did u get the decor or miniature castle? 🤩
Most of the decor comes from the local pet stores around! (Aquarium section) they have some pretty amazing stuff if you look for it!
I have two weaver green queens, difficult 😢
How are they doing?
Atta texana they were my one of my first and they a dream
And how big is the colony now?
They have a couple thousand i think
They have a couple thousand i think
They have a couple thousand i think
They have a couple thousand i think
Wow very nice I will have to look into a Messor Barbarus colony
You should! A little slow at the start, but beautifull colonies when they get going!
@@CamponicoAnts I have a small colony of some sort of messor and excited to see them get a population explosion
I have a 1 week Messor colony and they are amazingggg
@@phmh8561 awesome I have some type of mess or colony the North American version
@@Remcoairosft1138 cool man what's their color?
Love the video, but i don't think harvester ants are a good beginner species. Because of there painful sting, should not be allowed around kids. 2 of my all time favorite beginner species are. Floridanus C. An pavement ants. Pavement ants are aggressive eaters an can be found anywhere. An Floridanus C. Are a fast growing Carpenter colony. Ab very beautiful
Messor barbarus doesn't sting.
@@just_an_antkeeper455 I am wrong with that species. I know the red harvester ants sting in the US
Thanks for the elaborate comment William! And appreciate the warning and your thoughts about keeping ants while having kids in the house.
Even tho you are probably talking about pogonomyrmex (since messor doesn't sting), my thoughts of the entire process doesn't change.
I think every antkeeper should be responsible enough to make descision accordingly to their own personal circumstances..
We moved a year ago to this beautifull house, with a separate outhouse for the ants.. which is at the back of our garden, separated by 2 doors which are not accessible to the kids. The room has camera protection, and I will receive an alert as soon as something is happening.
And yes.. I do have 3 beautifull kids, and I believe I have made it almost impossible for the ants to get even close to my kids..
Appreciate the concerns, and I hope I can take them away a tiny bit with my explanation as a (probably) fellow dad.
Thanks for commenting!
The first ones are beautiful.
Absolutely agree ❤️
Эх классика🐜
Thanks for commenting!