Messor cephalotes

Name: Messor cephalotes
Origin: East and Central Africa (including Kenya, Tanzania)
Queen: approx. 22 – 25 mm
Workers: approx. 4 – 22 mm, strongly polymorphic with especially large major workers
Food: Seeds and grains (harvester ants), plus carbohydrates and occasionally protein
Humidity:
Arena: 30 – 40% (dry)
Nest: 40 – 50%
Temperature:
Arena: 24 – 28 degrees
Nest: 24 – 28 degrees
Winter Dormancy: No
Nest Type: Dry nests made of plaster or aerated concrete (Ytong) with a generous grain chamber
Colony Size: up to approx. 5,000 workers (monogynous)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Messor cephalotes:

Advantages:
Messor cephalotes is the largest harvester ant species in the hobby and impresses with the enormous size of its major workers and queen. Since no winter dormancy is required, the colony remains active year-round.

Disadvantages:
Due to the considerable size of the ants, a lot of space is needed early on. Founding requires some experience.

Care:
A test tube setup is enough at first; soon it should be moved to a larger, dry nest with a grain chamber and an arena of at least 20×20 cm.

Feeding:
Seeds and grains as the main food, supplemented by occasional carbohydrates and protein.