Fungus-growing ant of the arid south-western USA (California, Arizona, Texas): it farms a fungus on what you give it (dry plant debris, oat flakes, insect fragments). No regular prey or sugar, light hibernation.
Work out the amounts for your colony →Calculator opened with Cyphomyrmex wheeleri already selected: number of workers, brood, temperature. Free, no account.Calculator figures for moderate brood at 24 °C:
| WORKERS | PROTEIN | SUGAR |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 small piece · Every 5 days | little or none |
| 50 | 3 small pieces · Every 4 days | little or none |
| 150 | 8 small pieces · Every 3 days | little or none |
| 400 | 19 small pieces · Every 3 days | little or none |
1 fruit fly ≈ a 2–3 mm insect; a medium cricket (1 cm) is about 50 fruit flies. 1 drop ≈ 0.05 mL.
Adjust to what you see: if food is left after 24 h, give less; if it all goes fast and the brood grows, give more.
Semi-claustral founding: the queen forages for fungus substrate. Offer tiny dry plant bits or oat flakes, no sugar.
From November to January, 10–15 °C.
All species · Hibernation calculator
Work out the amounts for your colony →Calculator opened with Cyphomyrmex wheeleri already selected: number of workers, brood, temperature. Free, no account.