Black Field Ants (Formica subsericea)

General: Formica subsericea is an easy-to-keep species. The queen and workers are both black with a silver shine, and colonies can live very long!

Diet: This species enjoys sugars to a degree, but also loves protein, especially fruit flies. They will take honeywater, sugarwater, fruit flies, crickets, mealworms, dubia roaches, etc.

The queen won’t lay eggs if she isn’t fed protein and kept relatively warm. Larval stage is very fast for this species, so feed them as much protein as you can when they have larvae!

Temperature: Formica subsericea loves to heat their brood. A good temperature for them would be around 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometimes the workers don’t like to be heated, so provide a heating gradient in the nest. Always make sure the nest has moisture.

Diapause: This species requires a diapause period. This period should last 3-4 months ideally. During this time, the ants need to be cooled down to a low temperature. Around 40 degrees fahrenheit is best. You can achieve diapause by placing the ants in a controlled cooling unit, such as a wine cooler, mini fridge, or regular fridge if temperatures are safe. If you cannot use any of these, a non-heated room which stays above freezing could work.

Growth: Brood development takes between 4-7 weeks, usually around 6 weeks. Colonies grow slow for the first year, but can get into the dozens by the second year and hundreds or thousands after that. The larval stage is rather quick, so when you see larvae in your colony, it’s a good idea to pack a lot of protein in. They’ll pupate before you know it!

Queen size: 9-13mm

Worker size: 5-9mm

If ants arrive in bad condition, contact us for help. Live arrival is guaranteed.