Pogonomyrmex badius
(Florida Harvester Ant)
Care Sheet

About the Queen

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Pogonomyrmex badius have large, chunky orange queens. ​

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These queens are fully claustral and, placed into a test tube setup with sand and perhaps a few seeds, will begin laying eggs. They may not lay eggs and the brood may not develop if they're too cold. About 85-87 degrees Fahrenheit is good for founding.

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This species is monogynous. Queens founding together might cooperate until workers, but will fight shortly resulting in one winner (or in some cases, no winner). 

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About Growth

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Pogonomyrmex badius are fast-growing ants, but on one condition: their setup is extremely humid.

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This species is most successful in the hot, humid sandhill of Florida. It makes sense then, that we would consider these ants to be humidity specialists. More about this in the next section.

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This species has a fairly quick egg-worker time, with callows typically hatching no more than 40 days after the egg is laid. It can be much faster when in a very warm, very humid environment. 

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Colonies of this species can reach more than 5,000 workers!

 

Temperature & Setup

 

This species needs hot, humid nests. Brood will not grow if the setup isn't extremely humid, resulting in the stagnation and eventual death of the colony. This doesn't mean you should flood the colony, but it does mean that conventional nests (like those with just a water tower) aren't equipped with the proper hydration for this species. In 90% of cases, if this species isn't growing, it's because the setup is too dry or too cold for them.

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The catch with this species is that they need extremely high humidity while also having a very warm nest. This makes it a bit difficult to balance them without some micromanaging. Most of the nest should be in the upper 80s, ideally with some cooler areas and some hotter areas (some areas should be above 90 to incubate brood). 

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This combination of high heat and constant high humidity can be difficult to maintain and sometimes cause bacterial growth. It's important to monitor the colony closely and allow a drier area for them to put trash. 

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Leave a section of the nest dry (usually closest to the entrance) so that they can store some of their seeds there without the seeds germinating.

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If you have a young colony kept in a test tube, make sure you don't heat too close to the water reservoir. This can cause a flood. Instead, heat at the front/middle of the test tube, allowing the ants to choose the temperature sweet spot and move their brood accordingly. Although they're humidity lovers, they shouldn't be swimming. ​

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Make sure not to move this species into a nest that is too large for them. The workers should be able to fill at least 1/3 or 1/2 of the nest.

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One of the best setups for this species is the Substratum. The Substratum allows you to constantly hydrate the sand the ants are living in, while also allowing you to heat most of the nest and create a nice gradient for the ants. This species also loves sand and is extremely entertaining to watch make tunnels, so it's perfect!

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This species doesn't do very well with smooth surfaces because they aren't very good at climbing. It helps to give them some sand if they're in a test tube, or if there's a smooth surface somewhere in their setup! They can still climb to some extent, though, so make sure you have a barrier. 

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Feeding

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Pogonomyrmex badius are harvester ants, meaning they primarily harvest seeds and this is how they grow. They do benefit from having protein, though, and won't grow as much without it offered regularly. 

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Seeds favored by P. badius:

• Kentucky Bluegrass

• Dandelion

• Sand Lovegrass

• Chia

• Poppy

• Many more

Our seed mix typically features 10-20 different types of seeds, and P. badius will eat most, if not all, of them. 

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As for protein, this species isn't picky. 

• Fruit flies

• Roaches

• Crickets

• Mealworms

• Many more

Make sure not to feed them anything toxic or that has pesticides.

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Although you may notice your colony building up a huge stockpile of seeds, this doesn't mean they don't need new seeds. Studies have shown that this species will almost always prefer to eat new seeds, keeping a stockpile which grows and grows in size. This means you should provide fresh seeds regularly, even when they have plenty in the nest! They can still live off of the stockpile if you need to go on vacation for a while, though. It's more about growth. 

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Hibernation

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Pogonomyrmex badius does not need hibernation and is capable of growing year round!

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To summarize: Keep Pogonomyrmex badius in a nest with extremely high humidity and heat. Feed them seeds and protein regularly and make sure not to let them dry out. 

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If you're interested in getting specific help from antkeepers, see our Stateside Ants Discord server!

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If you want to purchase this species from us, check this page!

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