Pavement Ant Care Sheet
Pavement ants (Tetramorium immigrans) are the ant we point beginners at. They are hardy, they tolerate ordinary indoor conditions, and they forgive the mistakes every first-time keeper makes. If you want a colony that will still be alive in a year, start here. This is the care we give our own, from a USDA-licensed breeder.
Why start with pavement ants?
Because they are tough. Most first colonies are lost to a heat or humidity mistake in the first months. Pavement ants tolerate a wider band of both than the desert species, and they build numbers steadily in a desktop ant farm rather than stalling out.
They are also active in the open, so there is something to watch from week one - which matters more than people admit when a child is involved.
What temperature do pavement ants need?
One warm end at 82-85°F, the other end at or near room temperature. It must be a gradient across the setup, never the whole nest heated, so the colony can move brood to the temperature it needs.
Use a heat cable. Only a heat cable. Not a heat mat, not a lamp, not a windowsill. Mats and lamps heat too broadly, which destroys the gradient, and they dry the nest out or cook it. Below 80°F at the warm end, growth stalls.
Heat is for the brood, not the ants. If your colony moves away from the cable, that is usually correct behaviour.
What do pavement ants eat?
No seed setup needed. Two things:
Carbohydrates - Red Ant Drank, available at all times on a wet cotton or PVA wick. Never an open pool, because they drown in it.
Protein - fresh killed feeder insects only. Never frozen, never protein gel. Store-bought crickets are fine. Do not feed honey, fruit, dog food or table scraps.
They take food readily, which is part of what makes them satisfying for a beginner - you can see the response.
How do I keep the humidity right?
Fill the test tube reservoirs with water and plug each with a PVA sponge. That is your humidity for 90 days or more, with no nest maintenance in between.
PVA over cotton, every time: cotton grows mould over the weeks a founding tube sits undisturbed, and mould is a leading killer of young colonies. Keep the water end cooler than the warm end so it does not dry out.
How fast should my pavement colony grow?
A new batch of workers every 45-60 days is the benchmark for a young colony, and pavement ants tend to keep to it. They go on to build large, busy colonies.
"Nothing is happening" is usually not a problem. With very few workers, only one or two hold the forager job, so most of the colony stays in the nest where you cannot see it.
Is my colony dying, or is it just winter?
Slowing down is normal. Not moving is not, if you are above 55°F.
The reliable test: ants in diapause move slowly when disturbed. Dead ants curl up and show no movement at all, even lifted with featherweight forceps.
There is mould in the tube. What do I do?
Do not panic - ants are far hardier than people expect. Set up a fresh test tube and do a normal transfer. If the colony is already in one of our nests, swap the bad tube for a freshly set up one and leave the old tube in the outworld until it empties over a few days.
Common mistakes that kill pavement colonies
- Heating the whole nest instead of one end
- A heat mat or lamp instead of a cable
- Letting the warm end sit below 80°F
- Cotton plugs left to mould through the founding stage
- Frozen feeders or protein gel
- Combining two colonies, or letting two share an outworld
- Opening the founding tube early to check on her
- Handling them. Ants are not meant to be held.
Which pavement ants do we keep?
Tetramorium immigrans.
Where can pavement ants be shipped?
Live ant shipping is restricted by state, and the approved list is per species. Each listing shows exactly which states that species can ship to - check the listing before ordering. We are a USDA-licensed breeder and we do not ship outside what we are permitted to.
Shop pavement ants
Questions about your setup? Email antopiausa@gmail.com - we would rather answer early than replace a colony later.