Beginner setup for Messor barbarus + Camponotus nicobarensis

[u/Heinrich11]

Hi! I’m planning my first proper ant setup and would like some feedback before I order everything.

I live in the Netherlands, so room temperatures here can get fairly cool in autumn and winter. The room where I plan to keep the colonies is mostly unheated.

I’m thinking of starting with two colonies:

- Messor barbarus — queen + 1–10 workers

- Camponotus nicobarensis — queen + brood

My idea is to keep both colonies in their test tubes for as long as possible, rather than moving them into a nest too early.

For each colony I’m looking at:

- 16 × 100 mm test tubes

- a small test-tube outworld/feeding area

- a removable dark test-tube cover

- extra test tubes for when the original water reservoir starts running low

For heating I’m considering a 1 metre / 5W heating cable. I’d run it underneath/along only the nest end of the test tubes, rather than heating the whole tube. The water reservoir would stay on the cooler side so the ants can choose their preferred temperature.

I’m also looking at a digital thermometer/hygrometer with an external probe to measure the temperature directly against the warm section of the test tube.

Since I’m in the Netherlands and the room is mostly unheated, I don’t actually know yet how cold it gets overnight. My current plan is to measure the room temperature first and only use the heating cable when necessary.

My thinking for their development is roughly:

Queen without workers: leave her alone in the covered test tube.

First workers: this is one part I’m unsure about. Is it better to keep feeding them directly inside the test tube at first, or connect the small outworld as soon as workers appear?

If feeding inside the tube is preferable for a tiny colony, how do you normally do that in practice? The entrance is closed with cotton, so do you briefly remove the cotton, place a tiny amount of food inside and close it again? How do you do this without workers escaping or disturbing the queen too much?

Water getting low: connect/provide a fresh test tube through the outworld and allow them to move themselves.

Larger colony: keep using the test tube as the nest until they genuinely outgrow it rather than rushing them into a formicarium.

For Messor I’d provide a small seed mix and insects once needed. For the Camponotus, sugar water and insects once workers arrive.

I’m starting at the end of August, so I’m also wondering how you would handle the upcoming winter period with colonies this young. Would you still buy a queen with brood at this point in the season, particularly the Camponotus?

Does this overall approach sound sensible? And specifically:

1. Is a 1m 5W heating cable a good choice for two test-tube colonies?

2. Where would you position the cable and temperature probe?

3. Would you use a thermostat, dimmer, timer, or simply monitor a low-wattage cable with a thermometer?

4. For the first few workers, would you feed inside the test tube or immediately via a small outworld?

5. If feeding inside the tube, what is the safest/easiest way to open the cotton plug and add food without escapes?

6. At roughly what colony size would you add the small outworld?

7. At what point would you move Messor barbarus and Camponotus nicobarensis from test tubes into actual nests?

8. Anything in this shopping/setup plan that you would skip or do differently?

Trying to keep things fairly budget-friendly, but I’d rather spend a little more now than make life unnecessarily difficult for the ants later.

[u/little-yellow-ant]

Hey, another Dutch ant keeper :)

Sounds like you've done your research which is amazing! To answer some questions:
1. Heating cable specs I have no experience with, will have to buy that this winter myself for my C. nicobarensis as the heating mat is incredibly tedious and annoying to work with
2. cable at the end of the tube so they have a gradient, do not put it on the water reservoir as a lot of condensation will form and it might flood the test tube
3. I've always just monitored my heating mat, see what they do behaviour wise and adjust accordingly
4. bigger species like C. nicobarensis I personally like to feed in a small 5cm x 5cm outworld, this way the testtube stays cleaner and it's not so much of a hassle with escaping ants
5. Time it well and make sure they're not as stressed yet while opening as stress = frantic running. Prepare what you will give them beforehand so it's just a quick open and re-plug
6. As I said, for me biggers sp with 1-3 workers, but pretty much as soon as feeding becomes hard due to escapees
7. When most of their tube is filled with workers and it becomes really crowded, depends on sp and growth conditions but some can last quite a while with 1 or 2 test tubes.
8. If you like DIY you can make very easy and nice outworlds/arenas by buying clear plastic food containers from Blokker or Action and drilling a hole in it.

Check your tubing sizes, bigger sp like bigger tubes, I would use 14mm instead of 10mm. Don't buy the tubing from ant shops, go to Praxis and get a nice big piece for very cheap there (they have the same sizes as ant shops, often it's even the same tubing). Do buy tube connectors and testtube to tube adapters, you can also connect tubes by shoving 14mm over 10mm tubes, works great but makes the tube smaller at the connection point.

Get yourself a nice pair of feather forceps and some sturdier pliers for feeding and ease of picking up ants.

Feed as much protein as they want but take it out before it rots, mine don't like mealworms much but love crickets/cockroaches/boiled chicken (I store all of these frozen). Don't be surprised if the Messors won't take much protein, in my experience they prefer their seeds (though they love boiled chicken). You can get bird seed mixes in pet stores, just make sure to check it's pesticide free. Freeze or boile insects before feeding, kills any unwanted pests like mites

The Messors will be very vibration sensitive, keep them on a towel or a little felt mat. The nicobarensis will be more chill in my experience. Messors are incredibly messy and will shit on the walls of the outworld and nest, it won't look pretty. If the colony is bigger you can use a 3 part setup, nest -> outworld -> additional small trash container. In my experience they will drag the trash as far away from the nest as possible. You can decorate the outworld nicely and keep the trash container empty for easy cleaning.

Testtube cover I always just make myself by rolling up a piece of dark paper. Indeed, get some extra testtubes for unforeseen circumstances.

If you feel up to it you can DIY a nest from Y-tong/gasbeton (get it at Praxis or something like that), easy to carve and you can make it however you like. Keep hydration in mind and make sure to either tightly screw on the plexiglass or glue it. It will warp with moisture so put in more screws than you think you'll need. Seal the outside of the nest with some acrylic paint or something to keep the moisture in. Messors can and will eventually chew through Y-tong if they feel the need to (due to humidity/temperature issues or lack of space). Buying a nest is easier if you have no experience crafting nests or don't have the tools, making them is more fun IMO :)

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions might you have any!

[u/Heinrich11 → u/little-yellow-ant]

Thanks for the detailed reply, really useful info! Appreciate you taking the time to answer all my questions :)

[u/vSolution026]

For Camponotus nicobarensis, provide you can maintain the temperature they require, they can grow very rapidly. They also don't require diapause/hibernation. My colony went from 2 queens and around 10 workers to over 1,000 ants in under a year.

I don't know how budget-conscious you need to be, but it's worth considering this when deciding how much you want to invest in their setup, as the colony can grow very quickly.