Messor minor hesperius is another very exciting species it has taken us many years to source this species and when I first started this company it was on my list of species to source although it has not been easy. This species is found in both North Africa and the Canary Islands and is considered a rare species.
The upkeep of this species is not difficult and can be considered beginner friendly but I do recommend experience of keeping at least one species beforehand. Messor minor hesperius is a personal favourite of mine due to the cool colourations of the workers and the ability of this species to grow exponentially every early on if kept at the right condition’s growth should increase dramatically in the second year faster than other Messor species if well fed and kept above room temperature.
If you love Messor species or just want an ant most people will not have pick this species and I am certain you will not regret it!
Keeping difficulty: Easy (some ant experience recommended)
Colony form: Monogyne
Queen size: 15-18mm black with reddish shine
Workers size: 3-14 mm black with reddish shine and polymorphic
Food: honey water, insects and 60 percent or more seeds
Temp: 18-26°C
Humidity: 50-60%
Founding: Claustral without feeding
Colony size: 1-10000 workers
Hibernation: 6–8-week diapause from the end of November recommended
Live arrival guarantee:
We guarantee the live arrival of your Queen they come well packed in our jiffy bags which have two-sided padding as well as an additional layer of bubble wrap around our test tubes. We are the only company in the United Kingdom to offer our live arrival guarantee of your queen as well as an additional 14 days guarantee if the colony if kept in the original test tube for all our European species. Why do we do this? We are confident with our colony’s health and our packaging process as well as our care guides, we also believe in our customers and making sure they have a good ant keeping experience.
Be aware of sellers only using the Live arrival guarantee and not the 14-day additional warranty on European ant species it might be slightly cheaper but could end up paying more in the long run, also all our products are sold as starter kits including food and a pipette.
We do require photographic evidence of the queen in the original test tube for validating the guarantee once outside the test tube and in a nest the environment is outside of our control.
It is illegal to release non-native species of ants into the wild and could damage the local ecosystem so bare this in mind we have a duty to our environment.
Live arrival guarantee we ensure the live arrival of the queen only upon delivery contact us within 24 hours of receiving the Queen dead on arrival with a picture of the dead queen and the original workers. DO NOT TRANSFER THE DEAD QUEEN OR WORKERS TO A NEST AS THIS VOIDS YOUR WARRNTY. For our additional 14-day guarantee for European species the Queen and workers must be kept in the original test tube sealed with the cotton and care sheet instructions followed if you want to keep this additional guarantee do not transfer to a nest or your warranty is VOIDED (we recommend you keep the 14-day warranty).
We have no control over the environment outside the test tube and have no influence in the conditions the responsibility once placed outside the test tube within the 14-day period the responsibility is with the buyer. 9 times out of 10 colonies die in the nest due to lack of water access, food, temperature, oxygen or stress due to vibrations or exposure to excess light. If your colony does fail inside a nest contact us, we can advise what went wrong but it is up to you to buy another ant colony, you will succeed but sometimes it does not work the first time. Research is key to success with ant keeping and follow our guides.
