Bundle Offer – Messor angularis

Bundle offer including a Messor angularis ant colony (queen + 11-25 workers + brood), a starter set for harvester ants L Popcorn with 3x formicarium pads and a jar of our special blanched crickets (moist protein).

Only while stocks last.

Everything you need for a Messor angularis ant colony
This bundle contains everything you need to successfully get a Messor angularis colony through its first few months. It is flexibly expandable and explicitly suitable for beginners in ant keeping.

Messor angularis ant species:
Messor angularis is a distinctly granivorous (grain-eating) ant species from Africa, more specifically Kenya and Tanzania. Due to its origin, it is active all year round, unlike Messor barbarus, for example, and does not need to hibernate. It belongs to the so-called harvester ants and is one of the entry-level species for ant keepers due to its relatively simple requirements in terms of climate and food. With its deep black body and strongly red-colored head, it is one of the most beautiful Messor species; worker ants often even have a mostly red-colored body. It is also very exciting to observe due to the formation of minor, media and major workers (smaller and larger).

Food for Messor angularis
In the wild, Messor angularis mainly eats grains and uses them to make “ant bread”, but sweet fruits and dead insects are also readily accepted. Messor angularis obtains a large part of its moisture requirements from grains and the rest from insects. In the formicarium, grains and, if required, honey, protein food, very small insects or jelly can be given. Honey water is only accepted if there is a lack of liquid. As Messor species tend to plunge into open water sources, these should always be covered with stones or absorbent cotton.

Formicarium for Messor angularis
Harvester ants need a slightly damp nest area for the brood and a dry nest area to store their collected grains (dry to prevent mold growth). This works best with two separate nests, which are included in our starter set. This will last for at least 1-2 years. After that, both the nest and arena areas should be extended.

The optimum climatic conditions for Messor angularis are as follows:
Humidity:
Arena: 30 – 50% Nest area: 50 – 70%
Temperature:
Arena: 25 – 30°C Nest area: 22 – 28°C

Our Digfix is the most suitable nesting material. It is very resistant to moisture and ensures that the view into the nest and the chambers and passages inside is not disturbed by substrate residues as with sand-loam mixtures. Thanks to their strong jaws, Major workers can also eat their way through Ytong over time without any problems. Glass nests with Digfix inserts are therefore the best and safest way to keep Messor angularis.

Contents:
1x Messor angularis (queen + 11-25 workers + brood)
1x blanched cricket 10g
1x grain food minor 100g
1x formicarium base – 20x20cm
2x formicarium base – 20x6cm

1x ANTCUBE – arena 20x20x10 – flat
1x ant arena frame 20×20
1x ant arena cover 20×20
1x fixing points for arena cover 4pcs.
2x ANTCUBE – Ant farm – L – 20×20 – upright

1x ANTCUBE – Digfix Terra nidum 20×20 – L – beige
1x Popcorn Nest 20×20 – L
1x 1m tube transparent 20/16 mm
2x ANTCUBE – Red foil 20×20 – filter
2x adhesive clips – transparent 2 pcs.
1x substrate – desert – 1 kg

2x grid insert – 50mm – stainless steel
1x grid insert – 27mm – stainless steel
1x grid cap – 16mm – stainless steel

1x tank hose connector 27-14,16,20 mm – transparent
1x feed dispenser 2ml – dosable
1x drinking trough clear 20ml – sponge
1x bowl clear 1×20 – sponge
1x Mini thermo-hygrometer analog – display – hanging
1x Ant escape protection oil 10ml
1x Tweezers spring steel – wide – soft
1x Tweezers plastic transparent
1x plastic pipette 3ml
1x hand magnifier – 2x – 30mm
1x foam wiper 150x18x2,5mm
1x photo back – desert – 20×10

Description Starter Set:
This starter set is especially suitable for grain-collecting ant species of the genus Messor or Pogonomyrmex. The farm with the popcorn plate is intended for storing the seeds and ant bread and should therefore remain completely dry to prevent the seeds/grains stored there by the ants from germinating or becoming moldy.
The second farm with the “Terra nidum” plate is intended as a nesting and breeding area for the ant colony. This should always be kept slightly moist.

Description of the Terra nidum plate: The Terra nidum (Latin for earth nest) plate made of diggable material is a perfect fit for our ANTCUBE ant farms. It can be used both dry and wet. It is also suitable for many ant species, especially for species that nest in sand and (dead) wood. It can be used instead of sand/clay mixtures or cork nest inserts. The advantage of this nest is that the moistening of the plate is easier to control due to a clearly visible discoloration and the coloring of the plate offers a super contrast to the usually darker ant species. In addition, the inner panes of the ant farm cannot be soiled with substrate, as is the case with sand/clay mixtures, for example, which allows a perfect view of the nest. Our nesting material also has a much firmer structure so that tunnels and chambers dug by ants do not collapse.

Description of popcorn nest: This popcorn nest with prefabricated passages and chambers is perfectly suited as a granary for Messor ants, for example, but also for other grain-collecting ant species. It has a hole for access to the nest. The popcorn nest absorbs moisture and can expand as a result, so it should always be kept dry. Messor barbarus accepts our ANTCUBE popcorn nest very well as a granary. Over time, the ants begin to expand the popcorn nest and eat their way through the nesting material. It smells of caramelized honey and is therefore very attractive.

The popcorn nest should only be used for ant species that require very little to no moisture in the nest area.

Important: Please moisten the desert substrate before use so that the mixture can bond and develop a firm hold in the ant farm. In addition, a dry and dusty substrate can lead to the ants’ airways being blocked and, in the worst case, the animals suffocating.

Recommendation: We recommend a substrate layer of 2 mm in height so that the animals cannot burrow into the arena and instead use the farm provided for this purpose. We also recommend that the nesting material in the farm (sand/clay, Digfix, Terra nidum, etc.) is slightly pricked in one place to make it easier for the animals to dig.

Notes on production
The glass is cut to size according to DIN 1249 with a tolerance of +/- 1mm. Additional escape protection is essential for extremely small ant species.

Notes on the farm
Please note the following when attaching or removing hoses:
If the tube is very difficult to fit onto the connection socket, the socket should be lightly rubbed with a drop of our break-out protection oil or powder. The hose should then be pushed onto the socket using twisting or screwing movements without straining the socket with up and down movements. The same applies when removing the hoses from the farm connection socket. Please do not simply pull it off!

Note on the Terra nidum: The natural color can vary between beige / sand-colored and light brown. The color has no influence on the quality.
Due to the production process, the dimensions may vary by +/- 1 mm

Note on the blanched crickets:
Our blanched crickets are an easy way to provide your ants with freshly preserved protein food without having to feed live insects. The contained crickets (Acheta domesticus) have been gently blanched to ensure that nutritional values, taste and aroma are retained. In addition, the chitinous shell of the insects is softened in this way so that it can be digested more easily. The bonds of the collagen proteins are broken down so that the ants can utilize them better. Canned Acheta domesticus has the same nutritional value as live crickets, but is easier to digest.

The blanched crickets are not suitable for hunting ant species that require live food. (e.g. ponerines (great ants) such as Harpegnathos or Odontomachus)

Further advantages:
Guaranteed mite-free
Can be portioned
Sterilized and vacuumed
Without additives
Crickets from sustainable, purely organic breeding, fed with organic waste

Please note:
Can be kept in the fridge for about four days after opening. Longer shelf life if frozen.