Large ants – which ones to choose for your farm?

Ants tend to be associated with small insects, don’t they? However, there are a huge number of their species in the world, and some of them can reach quite a size. Can large ants also be kept at home? Which large ants are suitable for your formicarium? In this material we suggest which large ants to choose for your breeding.

Large ants in a home formicarium

Large ant species are unique – they are highly visible, which can make observing their life and behaviour an even more engaging activity.

At the same time, large breeding ants do not require any special treatment that differs from that given to ‘small’ ants. Yes, they may be more voracious and need to be fed more often, sometimes also with meat, which is the optimum source of protein for large ants. For this, due to their size exceeding the standard ones, it may be necessary to provide such species with a larger formicarium or to expand it regularly.

If you are dreaming of a large, both literally and figuratively, home breeding, check out the species of large ants you can breed yourself.

Camponotus CA-02 ants, or large ants easy to rear

Camponotus CA-01 is one of the larger ant species that can be reared at home, and a truly fascinating one at that. This is because it forms monogamous colonies (with a single queen), very much developing a stock of workers (up to several thousand insects of this category, directly within a single colony).

The ants of this species are stunning in their appearance, with black heads and abdomen usually taking on a slightly deep amber hue. And at an early stage, Camponotus CA-02 ants are distinguished by their lighter, golden colour – thanks to such differences, the entire developmental cycle of the ants can easily be observed, which makes both the child and the adult observer particularly interesting.

What is most spectacular, however, is the size of the representatives of this ant species. Indeed, in the case of Camponotus CA-02, the queen reaches dimensions of up to 20-22 millimetres, while workers can measure up to around 17 millimetres.

The large Camponotus CA-02 ants also need large portions of food, with a varied nutritional composition. Feed them food insects, water with honey, or you can give them fresh fruit and vegetables. These ants will do well in cork formicaria.

Camponotus herculeanus – some of the largest ants in Poland!

Do you want to keep large ants at home that occur naturally in Poland? Then Camponotus herculeanus will be the insect perfectly suited to your expectations.

These are slender ants with dark body colour and maroon markings, in colonies of which, in addition to the queen and workers, you will also see ant soldiers. On top of this, the individual individuals inhabiting the nest are distinguished by their considerable size:

• queen – up to 17 millimetres,
• workers – from 5 to 14 millimetres,
• soldiers – from 10 to 15 millimetres (sometimes only slightly smaller than the queen).

Camponotus herculeanus ants like a warm environment (20-28 degrees Celsius), and during the wintering period they need a place with correspondingly lower temperatures. You can feed them with food insects, and they will also appreciate carbohydrates from water mixed with natural honey.

Insect giants – giant ants Myrmecia brevinoda

In front of you is the absolutely amazing, stunningly beautiful, giant ant Myrmecia brevinoda, an Australian species (yes, yes, in Australia probably all insects are just… huge), where the size of both queen and workers will impress any observer.

Myrmecia brevinoda ants are insects with a reddish-black body colouration, with a slightly metallic sheen that adds a kind of ‘magic’ to them.

However, it is not the colour, but the size of the ants of this giant species that makes it hard to take your eyes off them. The queen Myrmecia brevinoda reaches impressive dimensions of up to 30 millimetres! On top of this, the worker ants also stand out for their size, growing up to around 25 millimetres.

As you can see (and you can see these ants even from a greater distance!), Myrmecia brevinoda are real giants in the ant world. On top of this, they are quite aggressive insects when it comes to acquiring food and defending their territory. In their natural habitat, they also build their nests in an interesting way by digging deep burrows and tunnels – it is worth building a home formicarium to give them a similar opportunity under artificial conditions.

What it looks like in the wild – the world’s largest ants

There are so many species of ants in the world that picking the one that can be considered the greatest is simply difficult. However, it is possible to point out a few, living in the wild, which a ‘live’ encounter could induce a faster heartbeat.

Here we present Dinoponera gigantea, also known as the giant ant of the Amazon. Insects of this species reach up to 40 millimetres in length – on top of that, they are quite bulky and very strong, able to carry items weighing up to 400 milligrams. It is therefore not much of a problem for them to bring larger insects – spiders or crickets – into the nest.

Dinomyrmex gigas, or giant ant, is a slightly smaller representative of the ants (Formicidae), which can exceed 3 centimetres in size. Despite this size, they are not considered aggressive, although they can defend their nest and its territory very strongly.

Finally, we would like to mention Paraponera clavata, the bullet ant, whose individuals can reach a length of about 3.5 centimetres. However, what is more frightening than its size is the pain caused by its bite, which has been compared to that of a gunshot wound! The unpleasant experience lasts for up to 24 hours, even making it impossible to function normally during this time.

Summary

Ants are fascinating creatures. Introducing giant species into the formicarium allows you to add a touch of exoticism to your home breeding.

Although large ant species do not require special treatment or unusual care, it is worth choosing them if you already have some experience and knowledge of home breeding of these insects. And, if in doubt, you can always take our advice too!