Messor barbarus
Harvester ant
DifficultyBeginner · 1/7
Kept by BrumaSpecies comparison
Messor barbarus vs Messor structor
Side by side: difficulty, size, growth, climate, hibernation and nuptial flights, from the data and sources of each species sheet.
Head to head
| Messor barbarus | Fact | Messor structor |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping | ||
| Difficulty | ||
Easier1/7 Beginner | Difficulty | 2/7 Beginner |
| Escape risk | ||
Low | Escape risk | Low |
| Diet | ||
SugarInsectsSeeds | Diet | SeedsInsectsSugar |
| Best nests | ||
Ytong nest · Acrylic nest · Naturalistic setup | Best nests | Ytong nest · Acrylic nest · Naturalistic setup |
| Colony | ||
| Growth | ||
FasterVery fast | Growth | Fast |
| Colony size | ||
Reaches 1,000 workers | Colony size | No data yet |
| Workers | ||
3–8 mm majors up to 14 mm | Workers | 4–8 mm majors up to 10 mm |
| Queen | ||
14–17 mm | Queen | 9–11 mm |
| Colony founding | ||
Fully claustral One queen | Colony founding | Fully claustral Several queens |
| Defense | ||
Bites | Defense | Bites |
| Climate | ||
| Nest temperature | ||
21–26 °C | Nest temperature | 22–28 °C |
| Nest humidity | ||
50–60 % Seed granaries: 10–40 % | Nest humidity | 50–70 % Seed granaries: 30–50 % |
| Hibernation | ||
12–16 °C Oct – Mar | Hibernation | 8–12 °C Nov – Feb |
| Nuptial flights | ||
Sep – Nov After rain | Nuptial flights | Apr – Jun |
| Native range | ||
Europe, North Africa | Native range | Europe |
Size to scale
Messor barbarus
Workers · 3–8 mmMajors · ≤ 14 mmQueen · 14–17 mmMessor structor
Workers · 4–8 mmMajors · ≤ 10 mmQueen · 9–11 mm
Their year side by side
Messor barbarus : Hibernation: Oct – Mar, Nuptial flights: Sep – Nov
Messor structor : Hibernation: Nov – Feb, Nuptial flights: Apr – Jun
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
Messor barbarus
Black workers in many sizes, from small minors to majors with an oversized red head that cracks seeds. They walk slowly and clumsily, and they are poor climbers.
- Tip Give the nest a humidity gradient: dry granaries keep the seeds from sprouting or going moldy, while the brood needs the humid chambers.
- Tip Seeds alone can feed the whole colony, but a few insects once the colony has grown a bit speed up the growth of the brood.
Messor structor
Light to dark brown workers of many sizes, sometimes nearly black, with abundant hairs and a coarse, striated surface that looks duller than the glossy black Messor capitatus. Since 2018 the name covers only one of five species once lumped together, and ants collected around the Mediterranean and sold as structor are very likely Messor ibericus, which is hard to tell apart without measurements under a microscope but is kept the same way.
- Tip Start with a queen that comes with workers, or put several queens together. French keepers report that lone queens often fail to found a colony in captivity, because the species seems to start new nests mostly by budding.
- Tip Offer dead insects and very ripe sweet fruit next to the seeds. French keepers say it needs them more than other harvester ants do, and honey is often ignored.
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