How to keep Harvester or Messor ant species

Harvester ants have a special demand when it comes to keeping them in a Formicarium. As they collect grains and store them for the winter time they need two ant farms or nesting areas. The first one has to be slightly moist for their brood to develop optimally. The second one has to stay dry at all times, this is needed so that the collected grains and the ant bread they produce do not form mold or start sprouting.

The Ant Farms in our recommended starter set are filled with Digfix plates. This natural material is optimal for keeping Harvester ants, because you can keep them both moist and dry.

As soon as the starter set gets too small for your ant colony you can expand it. All our ant farms and arenas can be connected to this set.