Formica cinerea
DifficultyIntermediate · 5/7
Kept by BrumaSpecies comparison
Formica cinerea vs Formica fusca
Side by side: difficulty, size, growth, climate, hibernation and nuptial flights, from the data and sources of each species sheet.
Head to head
| Formica cinerea | Fact | Formica fusca |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping | ||
| Difficulty | ||
5/7 Intermediate | Difficulty | Easier3/7 Beginner |
| Escape risk | ||
High | Escape risk | LowerMedium |
| Diet | ||
SugarInsects | Diet | SugarInsects |
| Best nests | ||
Ytong nest · Sandwich nest · Acrylic nest | Best nests | Ytong nest · Naturalistic setup · Sandwich nest |
| Colony | ||
| Growth | ||
FasterVery fast | Growth | Moderate |
| Colony size | ||
Reaches 10,000 workers | Colony size | Reaches 2,000 workers |
| Workers | ||
4–8 mm All the same size | Workers | 4–7 mm All the same size |
| Queen | ||
8–11 mm | Queen | 8–10 mm |
| Colony founding | ||
Fully claustral One or more queens | Colony founding | Fully claustral One or more queens |
| Defense | ||
Bites · Sprays formic acid | Defense | Bites · Sprays formic acid |
| Climate | ||
| Nest temperature | ||
21–27 °C | Nest temperature | 21–25 °C |
| Nest humidity | ||
50–60 % | Nest humidity | 50–60 % |
| Hibernation | ||
5–8 °C Oct – Mar | Hibernation | 5–8 °C Oct – Mar |
| Nuptial flights | ||
Jun – Aug | Nuptial flights | Jun – Aug Hot days |
| Native range | ||
Europe, Asia | Native range | Europe, Asia |
Size to scale
Formica cinerea
Workers · 4–8 mmQueen · 8–11 mmFormica fusca
Workers · 4–7 mmQueen · 8–10 mm
Their year side by side
Formica cinerea : Hibernation: Oct – Mar, Nuptial flights: Jun – Aug
Formica fusca : Hibernation: Oct – Mar, Nuptial flights: Jun – Aug
Months for temperate Europe and the Mediterranean. The weather decides the exact days, so flights can come earlier or later where you live.
How to tell them apart
Formica cinerea
Almost black workers with a silvery gray sheen, large eyes and dark reddish legs. They run very fast and on irregular paths, which makes them hard to follow.
- Watch out Escapes are most likely during outworld maintenance, because the workers move so fast and irregularly: work calmly and keep an eye on every ant until the setup is closed again.
- Tip A white Ytong nest suits this species well, because the almost black workers stand out against it and every chamber is easy to watch.
Formica fusca
Dull black to dark gray workers with brownish legs that run fast and forage alone, bigger and longer-legged than Lasius niger and less silvery than Formica cinerea. Formica lemani is almost identical and only a microscope (hairs on the pronotum and the legs) tells them apart, so a colony sold as Formica fusca is a best guess within the fusca group, and this sheet describes the species in the strict sense.
- Tip Give the nest a humid chamber and keep the outworld dry. The species comes from dry, open ground, and keepers report that a moist nest with a dry arena works well.
- Watch out Leave a founding queen alone as much as you can. Keepers report queens that ate almost all their larvae after repeated checks and vibrations, so keep the tube dark, still and closed until the first workers appear.
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