Pogonomyrmex Barbatus Queen, Live
Species: Pogonomyrmex Barbatus aka Harvester Ants
Easiness: Moderate
This is a Live Queen to start a brand new colony with.
Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a large, orange harvester ant from the southwest. Colonies get large and harvest seeds as their main food source. This species is larger than the more common Western Harvester Ant.
Species Info
General: Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a huge, orange, seed harvesting ant from the southwestern US. Colonies grow large quickly. They must be heated, and must have access to seeds!
Diet: These ants prioritize seeds for their diet, as they are harvester ants, but still benefit from protein. Some of their favorite seeds are Kentucky Bluegrass and Dandelion seeds. This species can live almost entirely on seeds, as in the wild more than 90% of their diet is seeds.
Temperature: These ants require heating. Their nest should ideally be between 88-95, but provide a heating gradient if possible. Pogonomyrmex barbatus will not grow at room temperature! They will go into diapause.
Diapause: Pogonomyrmex barbatus usually won't need diapause, but if they appear to, simply cool them to room temperature or slightly colder for a 3-5 weeks. Make sure they're stocked up on seeds during this time. Do not bring them close to freezing.
Growth: Brood development takes 4-8 weeks depending on heating and feeding. Colonies can reach into the hundreds of workers within the first year if fed lots and heated correctly.
Queen size: 11-13mm
Worker size: 5-9mm
Ant Keeping
- Always keep the nest hydrated when starting a colony.
- Never place your ant farm in/under/near any direct light.
- Item may contain glass, acrylic, ceramic or other fragile material. Please remember to be careful when opening & unwrapping your package.
- Item may have sharp and/ or pointy edges and be fragile, please be careful when handling it.
- Not for children to play with or use without adult supervision.Ant Shipping
We ship these ants using USPS Ground Advantage or USPS Priority Mail. We only ship on Mondays and Tuesdays, if there is a holiday on those days then we wait till the next week.
You are responsible for watching tracking and making sure the ants do not sit in extreme temperates. We guarantee live arrival unless you leave the ant in your hot mailbox for hours.
If you have a problem with the ants, please reach out to us within 2 hours of delivery for live guarantee refund. For other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.