American Yellow Meadow Ants (Lasius brevicornis)
Lasius brevicornis for sale!
Lasius brevicornis is a small, orange beginner-level species which grows at a medium pace. These ants love liquid sugars and are polygynous! Most consider them to be a very cute species!
STATES AVAILABLE TO BUY LASIUS BREVICORNIS: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Species Info
General: Lasius brevicornis is a small orange species from the prairies and fields of parts of the US. In the wild, they farm root aphids underground for the honeydew they excrete.
Diet: This love of sweet liquids also carries over into captivity, as these ants absolutely LOVE sugars (honey, sugarwater). Although they love sugars, they do need protein (fruit flies, crickets, mealworms) in their diet too. Feed SMALL drops of sugars as these ants are prone to drowning in liquid. As these ants are used to having sugars constantly in the wild, it is important that you offer sugars multiple times a week. The queen should always have a somewhat plump gaster.
Feed until they won't take anymore food for the best results. A liquid feeder helps with this species a lot!
Polygny: Lasius brevicornis is polygynous, which means multiple queens can cooperate in a single colony. Colonies with multiple queens tend to grow faster since there's more eggs being laid!
Temperature: This species may heat their brood, (79-82) but heating isn't always required and if given, a heating gradient would be ideal.
Diapause: Lasius brevicornis must diapause for at least 2 months each year. Place the colony in a mini fridge, wine cooler, or fridge with safe temperatures. If you cannot use any of these, use a non-heated room which stays above freezing. Ideal diapause temperature is ~40 degrees fahrenheit. Keep in mind that if they're too warm in hibernation, they'll need food periodically!
Growth: Brood development can take anywhere from 5-8 weeks, usually around 6-7 weeks. Depending on the number of queens in a colony, worker numbers could hit 100+ in the first or second year, and more than 500-1000 by the 2nd year.
Queen size: 6-7.5mm
Worker size: 2-3.5mm
Live Arrival Guaranteed
If ants arrive in bad condition, contact us for help. Live arrival is guaranteed.
SHIPPING INFO
Shipping happens from Monday-Wednesday. During the winter, shipping may cost more due to the need of a heat pack.