Plagiolepis pyrenaica — Pyrenean Pygmy Ant (AntsRus exclusive)
Plagiolepis pyrenaica is a fascinating small European ant species from the genus Plagiolepis, a group known for its exceptionally tiny workers and discreet nesting habits. Despite their miniature size, colonies can be remarkably active, making this species particularly appealing to keepers looking for something different from the larger and more familiar European ants.
Workers are extremely small, typically only a few millimetres in length, with a dark brown to almost black appearance. Their diminutive size gives the colony a distinctive character: individually they can appear delicate and inconspicuous, but as worker numbers increase, their coordinated foraging activity becomes much more noticeable.
Colony structure & behaviour
Plagiolepis pyrenaica colonies can develop into active populations with workers readily exploring their surroundings in search of food. Because the workers are so small, observing their behaviour at close range can be particularly rewarding.
Their size does, however, make containment especially important. Very small gaps that would comfortably contain most common ant species may be large enough for Plagiolepis workers to exploit. A well-sealed setup and reliable escape barrier are therefore strongly recommended.
 
Keeping difficulty: Easy (Kept at least one colony recommended)
Colonyform: Polygyne
Queen size: 3-4mm brown
Worker’s size: 1-2mm brown
Food: honey water and insects and seeds
Temp: 18-26°C
Humidity: 60-80%
Founding: semi-claustral with feeding
Colonysize: 1-10,000 workers
Hibernation: yes, from end of November until end of February at 15°
 
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-day 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 24-48 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.