Aphaenogaster subterranea

General
Caring for Aphaenogater subterranea is very easy. If this colony is left at piece you should have no problem in raising this colony. These ants are very shy and won't be very active outside their setup.

Food
Aphaenogater subterranea are not that picky in regards to food. They mainly eat  sugars that come from fruit, sugarwater or ant jellys. For protein the best food for them is fruitflies, mealworms, crickets and other smaller insects. Protein usually gets accepted once the colony grows larger in size. Please note that this is a small species and they don't consume a ton of food. Also be carefull with the ants drowing in sugarwater.

If you feed insects from the wild freeze or boil these insects to sterilize them. Skipping this step can introduce mites to your colony.

Humidity
Aphaenogater subterranea needs a damp nest. If you hydrate the nest regularly (once or twice a week) you should have no problem in keeping the humidity right for these ants. Always make sure the ants have an external watersource like a test tube when in a nest.

Temperature
Aphaenogater subterranea does not need to be heated. Keeping them at room temperature is more then fine. Heating these ants will speed up the brood progress but is not needed.

Hibernation
Aphaenogater subterranea does not hibernate but has a diapause. Keeping these ants around 10-15 degrees during November until March greatly befinits these ants and will stimulate brood production after hibernation.

Sting/bite
These ants don't sting or bite. They are not agressive and will only become more active when disturbed.