Formica cunicularia

Formica  cunicularia is a somewhat rare species found across Europe.The queens are 10-12mm and workers 5-8mm.They are mostly black/brown with orange-red colorations.They are polygionous,colonies in nature usually reach a few thousand workers.

 

General
They are very easy to care for and will grow well if not disturbed often.

Food
They will accept most foods as they have a varied diet,eg. Fruit flies,mealworms,crickets,dubia/turkestan roaches,honey,maple syrup,jelly,sugar water and more.

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
Formica cunicularia needs a medium humid 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 in the test tube when in a nest.

Temperature
Formica cunicularia does not need to be heated but doing so is preferred,remember to heat only a part of the nest.

Hibernation
This species hibernates from Late October to early March at 8-12c.This species needs a cold hibernation so ensure brood production. You will need a fridge/attic/windowsill  to hibernate this species.

Sting/bite
workers can bite but this rarely causes pain.They also spray formic acid .
 

They will accept any setup that can give them their preferred humidity ,for example acrylic/3D nests or a terrarium.You will need to make several ventilation holes as their formic acid can kill them if there isn’t ventilation.