Thursday 20 February 2025 Last week, when checking up on my one remaining captive ant colony, I noticed that the Myrmica rubra had removed so much sand from their nesting box, that there seemed to be more space than sand. This is very typical of this species; they like to create very large chambers. The […]
Happy New Year everybody. I do hope you all had a great Christmas. Nothing to report on my ant colony today as they are hibernating. So I thought I’d just give a word of encouragement to those who have tried to keep any colonies in the past without success. I often get emails from would-be
Happy New Year – Never Give Up Anting Read More »
Hello everybody I hope you are all getting ready for a good time at Christmas. My Myrmica rubra are currently entering their hibernation phase. Their activities have slowed to scarcity and the queen has stopped laying eggs. Of all the species in the UK Myrmica rubra probably remain the most active during the hibernation phase,
Empire of the Ants Read More »
Hi all. Just a quick note to inform you all that I have had to change my hosting services provider due to my previous one going out of business. The new one I have just transferred to (Hostinger) seems to be extremely good, so all should go well. However, there may be a few teething
Contacting Me / Asking Your Ant Questions Read More »
21 June 2024. Wow, life has been busy for me over the past one year, including having to have a hernia repair operation and a bit of a cancer scare, which fortunately turned out to be negative. Phew! So why the title “Farewell Lasius niger!”? Long term visitors of this website of mine may remember
Farewell Lasius niger! Read More »
24 November 2023 Hello ant fans. The second half of this year has been very busy for me, including having to undergo surgery, which went well, but I was very ill with an unpleasant side effect of the general anaesthetic, and from which I am still suffering. Not too much to say about my ant
Two Wingless Queen Myrmica rubra Read More »
Welcome to Flying Ant Day 2023, when all those lovely winged ants take to the air. I was walking to work the other day during the mass flights, and there were swarms of them on the ground and up in the air. It took me longer to get to work as I was trying not
Flying Ant Day 2023 Read More »
7 April 2023 It’s now Spring and my ants are waking up from their winter hibernation. As is usual, the Myrmica rubra stayed a little active during the cold months, whereas the Lasius niger tended to stay in the nest. Both colonies seemed to have fared well during hibernation, with both queens looking healthy, and
Hello. Apologies for the lack of activity from over the past 9 months (I can’t believe it’s been that long). I have been very busy with life and such stuff, including starting a new job, and time simply ran away from me. Both of my ant colonies (Lasius niger and Myrmica rubra) are doing well,
Stung by a Red Ant! Read More »
Spring Wakening 2022. Welcome to Spring 2022, ant lovers. Lasius niger I am pleased to say that this colony has survived it’s winter hibernation phase, and they are now very active as they forage for food (and escape from their tank! Typical Lasius niger!) The colony has grown in size during the winter, and there
Spring Awakening, 2022 Read More »