Tetramorium Immigrans Queen Ant with Workers, Live
Species: Tetramorium Immigrans (with workers) aka Immigrant Pavement Ants, Tiny Black Ants
Easiness: Easy
This is a Live Queen to start a brand-new colony with.
General: Tetramorium immigrans is an introduced species in the United States, with medium sized queens and small workers. The colonies grow quickly, reaching 1,000-10,000 workers in 1-2 years! These are very generalist, voracious ants, yet also extremely manageable. They are the best beginner species by far.
Diet: These ants are generalists. They will eat some seeds, many liquid sugars, and most proteins. They love crickets, mealworms, roaches, fruit flies, etc.
The most recommended diet for T. immigrans is Dandelions and Sand Lovegrass for the workers, and Mealworms/Fruit Flies for the brood.
Alternatively, almonds are a great food for this species, as they can be eaten over time in the outworld. A diet of only almonds will grow the colony, but it's recommended to supplement other insect protein for a healthy, growing colony. Protein is necessary to make new workers!
The workers do not need liquid sugars, but it is recommended at least occasionally and can replace seeds.
Temperature: These ants can grow at room temperature, but not so well. It is recommended to keep them at 79-83 degrees fahrenheit for growth. Provide a gradient in the nest. If you have a Founding Queen in a test tube, keep the front of the test tube warmer, while the back (near the water reservoir) is kept cooler and stable. This prevents floods and allows the queen to choose her preferred temperature.
Diapause: This species doesn't need diapause, but it can if the keeper prefers. If you prefer to diapause your Tetramorium immigrans, you can simply place them into a mini fridge or fridge around 40 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-3 months.
Growth: Brood development takes 4-6 weeks depending on heating and feeding. Colonies can reach over 1000 workers within the first year if fed lots and heated correctly.
Queen size: 6-7mm
Worker size: 2.5-4mm
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.Live Insect Shipping
We ship all live insects using 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 temperatures. 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 guaranteed refund. For other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Return Policy
We have the right to deny and/or refuse services and refunds to anyone and everyone. We are very reasonable and work out every problem the best we can for the better of us both as buyer and seller.
Return Window is up to 14 days after delivery date shown on the tracking status. You must contact us with reason of return.
Shipment Damage: Please kindly understand that once it is shipped out and is in the shipping carrier's system. Purchasing this item means that you agree that I am not responsible for your package being lost, delayed or damaged during transit. We will still work with you to find a solution for the issues, but ultimately, we are not responsible.
Return Shipping: Buyers are responsible for return shipping cost. Please notify us of all reasons for the return.