Tetramorium immigrans queen ants with starter colonies

Bear DE

Description

I am trying to re-home three colonies of Tetramorium immigrans (the little pavement ant). I have several ant colonies but only wish to care for one. These colonies were started earlier this year. Each queen ant has approximately 8 workers (as of the time of this posting) with more on the way. Tetramorium immigrans is a fast growing and robust species of ant. Although not originating from North America, this species is now naturalized to the continent and is one of the most commonly encountered species in the Northeastern United States. Tetramorium immigrans is a great (perhaps the best) "beginner species" of ant for the hobbyist as they are very active and are not picky eaters. Ant husbandry is unusual in that ants can not be bought or sold across state lines. Additionally, collecting queen ants is a labor intensive task that can only take place during specific narrow windows of time each year. The time for collecting Tetramorium immigrans queens has already passed this year. These queens are a great find and are now more desirable, as the chance for finding any more this year is zero. In the wild, Tetramorium immigrans is a very warlike species of ant. Colonies frequently raid and go to war with one another over territory with much of the space out in your backyard (for example) already "claimed" by already established colonies. That makes releasing these starter colonies into the wild a foolish endeavor, as they would most likely be found and destroyed by larger already established colonies of Tetramorium immigrans. Keeping these colonies in captivity allows for the observation of one of nature's great wonders --the social insect colony. Importantly, they must be fed both protein (for the queen and developing young) as well as carbohydrates (for the queen and developed workers)--usually in the form of fruit or sugar water. Each queen and her accompanying workers can be obtained for a $10 adoption fee (that is the going rate for this species). Additional questions regarding the rearing of this species can be found here: https://www.antscihub.com/caresheets/Tetramorium-immigrans/4b35ee1a-a6ed-4f9b-b53c-04b2873a7af5 and here: https://www.formiculture.com/topic/4435-care-sheet-tetramorium-sp-e/