Ant species profiles
Lasius niger
The black garden ant, perfect for beginners. Hardy, versatile and easy to keep.
Messor barbarus
The harvester ant, granivorous and spectacular. A fascinating species for motivated beginners.
Camponotus vagus
The large black carpenter ant of Europe. Impressive, slow, and especially rewarding.
Camponotus ligniperdus
The large European carpenter ant, bicoloured black and brick-red. Slow but impressive growth.
Formica fusca
The silky ant, a peaceful woodland species. Calm, easy to keep, and remarkably numerous.
Myrmica rubra
The European red ant, small but stinging. A beginner-friendly polygynous species.
Lasius flavus
The yellow meadow ant, subterranean and discreet. Ideal to observe an underground colony.
Lasius emarginatus
The wall ant, heat-loving and bicoloured (reddish thorax). Very active in urban settings.
Tetramorium caespitum
The pavement ant, tiny but voracious. Ideal to observe a large colony in little space.
Aphaenogaster senilis
The long-legged Aphaenogaster, elegant and active. An emblematic species of the western Mediterranean.
Crematogaster scutellaris
The acrobat ant with its raised gaster. Visually spectacular and arboreal.
Camponotus cruentatus
The large black-and-red carpenter ant of the south. Spectacular, intermediate, and polymorphic.
Camponotus herculeanus
The boreal giant, the largest Camponotus in Europe. Lives in the dead wood of cold forests.
Camponotus barbaricus
The Maghreb carpenter ant, heat-loving, with highly polymorphic castes. Very beautiful in captivity.
Messor structor
A continental harvester ant, smaller than M. barbarus but suited to a temperate climate.
Manica rubida
The reddish alpine ant, hardy, with a painful sting. An uncommon myrmicine in captivity.
Pheidole pallidula
The dimorphic species par excellence: workers and big-headed soldiers. Spectacular.
Aphaenogaster subterranea
The subterranean ant, discreet but fascinating. Observable cooperative-hunting behaviour.
Camponotus pilicornis
A hairy Iberian carpenter ant, hardy and adaptable. A good compromise between size and ease.
Crematogaster sordidula
A small Mediterranean acrobat ant with a raised gaster. More discreet than its cousin scutellaris.
Solenopsis fugax
The little thief ant, tiny but formidable. To observe a unique parasitic behaviour.
Tapinoma magnum
The European “Argentine ant”, ultra-polygynous and expansive. An invasive species to handle with care.
Plagiolepis pygmaea
The Mediterranean dwarf ant, polygynous and minuscule. Fast growth but frequent escapes.
Cataglyphis cursor
The desert ant, fast and heat-resistant. For experts who love a challenge.
Cataglyphis hispanica
The Iberian Cataglyphis, fast and heat-tolerant. Hardier in captivity than C. cursor.
Cataglyphis nodus
The Balkan Cataglyphis, polymorphic and heat-enduring. Active during the hottest hours.
Polyergus rufescens
The Amazon ant, a spectacular slave-maker. For experts only.
Pogonomyrmex barbatus
The American red harvester ant, with one of the most toxic venoms among insects. Never handle bare-handed.
Pogonomyrmex californicus
The California harvester ant, a pleometrotic founder (several queens at the start). Fascinating social behaviour.
Camponotus pennsylvanicus
The black carpenter ant of North America, large, living in dead wood. The North American counterpart of C. ligniperdus.
Atta sexdens
The leafcutter ant, world champion of agriculture. A demanding exotic to keep.
Atta cephalotes
The other great tropical leafcutter, more jungle-oriented than its cousin A. sexdens. Soldiers with monstrous mandibles.
Polyrhachis dives
The black weaver ant of Asia: builds its nests by weaving leaves together with larval silk.
Oecophylla smaragdina
The green weaver ant: the most spectacular of the arboreal ants, living high in tropical trees.
Camponotus maculatus
The spotted carpenter ant of Africa. For keepers who enjoy tropical challenges.
Camponotus singularis
The impressive red-headed Camponotus of Asia. Spectacular soldiers, slow growth.
Camponotus parius
A small Asian carpenter ant with reddish workers. A good gateway to tropical species.
Odontomachus monticola
The Asian trap-jaw ant: its mandibles close at 60 m/s, among the fastest in the animal kingdom.
Harpegnathos saltator
The Indian jumping ant: big eyes, sharp mandibles, able to leap onto its prey.
Diacamma rugosum
A queenless gamergate species: a dominant worker lays the eggs. A unique social system to observe.
