How To Care for Pheidole pallidula
Bruma 8 min read
In short
Pheidole pallidula is a Mediterranean big-headed ant for advanced keepers: keep the nest at 21–28 °C with 60–70% humidity, feed it sugar, insects and small seeds, use an escape-proof nest, and hibernate the colony at around 12–16 °C from late November to early March.
Hi guys! I hope you’re doing well!
Today we are going to learn how to care for a very peculiar ant species: Pheidole pallidula. By the end of the guide, you will have all the information you need to start growing your own Pheidole pallidula colony all by yourself!
Let’s get into it!
Download
If you don’t have time right now to read the care guide, don’t worry! You can download it and read it whenever you like! Download the CV of this species by using the button below!
Quick Facts
| Fact | Pheidole pallidula |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Advanced |
| Native range | Western and central Mediterranean |
| Worker size | 2–4 mm |
| Major size | Up to 6 mm |
| Queen size | 7–8 mm |
| Colony structure | Monogyne or polygyne |
| Colony founding | Fully claustral |
| Nuptial flights | May–August |
| Nest temperature | 21–28 °C |
| Nest humidity | 60–70% |
| Hibernation | 12–16 °C, late November to early March |
| Diet | Sugar, insects and small seeds |
| Best nests | Acrylic, naturalistic |
Introduction
Pheidole pallidula is a small, fast-growing species of ant. It’s a Mediterranean species, found in southern Europe and North Africa. Many populations further east, from the Balkans to Western Asia, are now treated as separate, closely related species.
This species is easily recognizable by the characteristic large head of the majors. They use their large and sharp mandibles to break down food for the smaller workers and the queen, doing a very good job in terms of teamwork.
For this reason, they are also informally called “big-headed ants,” which, in my opinion, is the perfect nickname for this species.
The fact that the worker ants of a species have different sizes is called polymorphism. The Pheidole pallidula queen's size ranges from 7 to 8 mm, and from 2 to 4 mm for the minor workers. The majors can reach a length of up to 6 mm, and in some cases, they can come quite close to the size of the queen!
Pheidole pallidula can be both monogyne and polygyne: some colonies have a single queen, while many others have several queens laying eggs side by side. New colonies are usually founded by a single queen after the nuptial flight.
The nuptial flights of this species usually occur in late spring and in the summer, between May and August.
Distribution
Temperature
Ideal rangePheidole pallidula, like many other Mediterranean species, is very adaptable to temperature changes. They do not have very strict temperature requirements, and they can easily be kept at room temperature.
However, the ideal temperature for this species is between 21 and 28 degrees Celsius. If you live in a cold area or usually use an air conditioner in the room where your ants are, a heat mat or a heat cable could be useful.
By raising the temperature of the nest, the metabolism of the brood will accelerate, reducing the time needed for the ants to fully develop into adults.
If provided with the right temperature and humidity levels, the colonies of Pheidole pallidula can grow extremely fast! When they reach a certain worker count, they start to grow exponentially, easily reaching 1,000 workers in a few years!
Humidity
Ideal rangePheidole pallidula loves high humidity levels! They thrive when the moisture inside the nest remains consistently high, aiding the development of the brood.
They prefer a range of moisture levels from 60% to 70%, but they can also live without problems at humidity rates of up to 80%.
One thing you have to consider is that this species doesn’t like dry climates!
If you notice that your nest dries out too quickly, you may need to consider changing the setup a bit. You can rearrange the elements of your formicarium to create an environment that better maintains moisture levels.
If you have a natural setup, you can easily increase the moisture level by spraying some water using a spray bottle, like the ones used in gardening. You can also add moisture-retention material, like a piece of wood or a bark substrate.
Food
Like almost every ant species, Pheidole pallidula needs a dose of sugar for the workers and some protein for the queen and the brood.
Given their fast growth rate, they require a lot of protein.
Proteins are the building blocks of every animal's body and are essential for the development of the ants. The queen needs protein for the production of eggs, which will grow into larvae and then into pupae.
During the life cycle of the ant from egg to adult worker, the brood needs a lot of protein to successfully complete the various stages of development. Once the body of the ant is fully formed, the need for protein diminishes, and the need for sugar takes its place.
Sugar water should do the job fairly well, providing the colony with plenty of energy. Honey is also a very good source of sugar, possibly mixed with some water. If you want to go for the best possible sugar source, Ant Antics sugar snaps are the product for you!
With these fantastic colorful little bottles, you can provide your ants with a very high-quality source of sugar, fueling their all-day-long working routine! With the sugar snaps, you can be assured that your ants are going to love them!
As a source of protein, you can offer them almost every type of insect. In captivity, you can feed them crickets, mealworms, fruit flies, and spiders. In the wild, they scavenge small dead insects and collect seeds.
Pheidole pallidula also likes to eat some types of small seeds. With the help of the big-headed majors, they can easily break the seeds and access the soft part inside.
If you’re reading this guide, there’s a high chance you're just starting out and that you just caught or bought your first Pheidole pallidula queen ant. If that’s the case, you don’t have to worry too much about feeding at this stage.
That’s because Pheidole pallidula is a fully claustral species, which means that the queen won’t need to eat for at least a month, until she has her first workers.
She especially doesn’t need protein right now, because she can obtain the protein she needs from the decomposition of her wing muscles. However, if you want, you can offer her a little drop of honey or some already broken seeds. That should provide her with the right amount of energy to start her own ant colony!
Hibernation
Ideal rangePheidole pallidula needs hibernation. They hibernate through the winter, from around late November to early March. They need at least a couple of months of diapause, a biological phase in which the queen doesn’t lay eggs.
This phase is very important for the health of the queen, and it’s the only time in the whole year when she can peacefully take some rest.
For this species, the ideal temperature for hibernation is around 15 degrees Celsius. I would not suggest going much lower than this, because in some cases it could create problems for the long-term growth of the colony.
A normal refrigerator is too cold for this species, so you can put the colony in a cool basement, garage or unheated room, where the temperature stays around 15 degrees Celsius.
If you're a beginner ant keeper and this is your first hibernation, I would strongly suggest you check out my guide on how to hibernate your ants! Here I explain in detail every aspect of this complex process called hibernation! What it is, why ants hibernate, and the most effective ways to hibernate your beloved ants!
Nest Type
Acrylic Nest
Discount!
Get this extremely cool ant nest on the WaKooshi online shop! Use the discount code BRUMA to get 10% off your entire order!
The most important thing to consider when choosing the formicarium for Pheidole pallidula is that they are notoriously excellent escape artists.
For this reason, we must choose a nest that makes escaping as hard as possible.
One of the best solutions to this problem is using an acrylic nest. They are usually built with several plastic layers, placed tightly one above the other to create the structure of the nest.
One of the best aspects of this building system is that it does not create any gaps between the pieces, making it practically escape-proof. With this type of nest, we can sleep peacefully at night, knowing that our beloved ants cannot take control of our house by invading it.
If you're interested in these types of nests, I would suggest you check out my WaKooshi Mercury nest review! It's the extremely cool test tube-based acrylic ant nest in the picture above!
Naturalistic Setup
Another option could be a more naturalistic setup. For this easy nest alternative, all you need is a tank, some dirt, and, if you want, some decorations.
This nest perfectly replicates their natural environment, making it easier for the ants to settle in. When choosing the enclosure for this type of nest, make sure to get one without any gaps between the various parts!
If you like the idea of making a naturalistic setup for your ant colonies, you will definitely enjoy my tutorial on how to make a jar terrarium! In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know to create an amazing setup, just like the one in the picture above!
I hope you have found this guide helpful!
If you just found your queen and want to know how to create the perfect environment for her, check out this guide on how to make a test tube setup! This is the perfect way to start your ant colony!
Sources
FAQs
5The ideal temperature for Pheidole pallidula is between 21 and 28 °C. Like many Mediterranean species, it is very adaptable and can live at room temperature, but a heat mat or heat cable helps in a cold room. With the right temperature and humidity, colonies grow extremely fast and can easily reach 1,000 workers in a few years!
Pheidole pallidula loves high humidity: keep the nest between 60% and 70%, although they can live without problems at up to 80%. Consistently moist chambers help the brood develop, and this species doesn’t like dry climates. If the nest dries out too quickly, I suggest spraying some water or adding a piece of wood or a bark substrate.
Pheidole pallidula needs sugar, like sugar water or honey, and a lot of protein, such as crickets, mealworms, fruit flies and spiders. They also like small seeds, which the big-headed majors break open for the rest of the colony. A new queen is fully claustral, but you can offer her honey or some already broken seeds.
Yes, Pheidole pallidula needs to hibernate from around late November to early March, with at least a couple of months of diapause. The ideal temperature is around 15 °C, within a 12–16 °C range. A normal refrigerator is too cold for this species, so I suggest a cool basement, garage or unheated room instead.
I suggest an acrylic nest for Pheidole pallidula, because these ants are notoriously excellent escape artists and tightly layered acrylic is practically escape-proof. A test tube-based acrylic nest works great too. A naturalistic setup can also work, but make sure the enclosure has no gaps between its parts, or the small workers will find a way out!
Author
Bruma
