[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":319},["ShallowReactive",2],{"species-sheet-\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-ebeninus":3},{"species":4,"profile":194,"countryNames":229,"lookalikes":242,"similar":246,"posts":298},{"id":5,"authority":6,"colonyStructure":7,"confidence":8,"countries":11,"defense":24,"diet":26,"difficulty":30,"dryHumidity":31,"escapeRisk":10,"estimated":34,"experience":41,"extension":42,"finder":43,"founding":44,"growth":45,"guide":46,"hibernation":47,"hibernationMonths":48,"hibernationTemperature":51,"humidity":54,"image":56,"imageCredit":57,"imageHeight":61,"imageWidth":62,"interests":46,"keptSince":46,"legal":63,"lookalikes":66,"majorSize":69,"maxWorkers":70,"meta":71,"nests":72,"nuptialFlightMonths":76,"nuptialFlightTime":79,"nuptialFlightTriggers":80,"polymorphism":82,"queenSize":83,"regions":84,"relatedPosts":87,"reviewedAt":65,"scientificName":91,"sources":92,"stem":179,"subfamily":180,"temperature":181,"tribe":184,"workerSize":185,"__hash__":188,"slug":189,"genus":190,"nickname":191,"aliases":192,"tagline":193},"species\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-ebeninus.yml","Santschi, 1927","monogyne",{"biology":9,"husbandry":10,"nuptialFlight":9},"medium","low",[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23],"EG","IL","LB","SY","TR","IQ","IR","KW","SA","BH","AE","OM",[25],"bite",[27,28,29],"seeds","insects","sugar","2",[32,33],30,50,[35,36,37,38,39,40],"temperature","humidity","hibernationTemperature","workerSize","queenSize","maxWorkers","compiled","yml",false,"claustral","moderate",null,"recommended",[49,50],1,2,[52,53],15,18,[33,55],60,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-ebeninus.jpg",{"author":58,"license":59,"url":60},"Moshe Neeman (משה נאמן, moshe_neeman)","CC BY 4.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFile:Birulatus_israelensis_in_Israel.jpg",800,1200,{"status":64,"checked":65},"free","2026-10-11",[67,68],"Messor semirufus","Messor capitatus",10,5000,{},[73,74,75],"ytong","acrylic","naturalistic",[77,78],11,12,"morning",[81],"rain","polymorphic",[77,78],[85,86],"middleEast","northAfrica",[88,89,90],"how-to-make-a-test-tube-setup-tutorial","ytong-vs-acrylic-which-is-better-for-an-ant-nest","how-to-hibernate-your-ants","Messor ebeninus",[93,99,104,110,114,119,123,127,131,135,139,143,149,153,158,162,167,171,175],{"type":94,"title":95,"url":96,"covers":97},"reference","AntCat: Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927 (protonym Messor semirufus var. ebeninus, syntypes from Syria and Israel, valid species)","https:\u002F\u002Fantcat.org\u002Fprotonyms\u002F165791",[98],"taxonomy",{"type":100,"title":101,"url":102,"covers":103},"paper","Ward, Brady, Fisher and Schultz (2015), Systematic Entomology 40: The evolution of myrmicine ants, phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (the tribe Stenammini, with Messor)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1111\u002Fsyen.12090",[98],{"type":100,"title":105,"url":106,"covers":107},"Tohmé (1969), Proceedings of the VIth IUSSI Congress, Bern: Essaimage et premiers stades du développement de Messor ebeninus (swarming of the semirufus group in Lebanon after the first autumn rains)","https:\u002F\u002Fdictionnaire-amoureux-des-fourmis.fr\u002FUIEIS-IUSSI\u002FIUSSI-Bern-1969\u002FIUSSI-Bern-1969-Tohme.pdf",[108,109],"biology","nuptialFlight",{"type":100,"title":111,"url":112,"covers":113},"Tohmé (1972), Insectes Sociaux 19: Le nid et le comportement de construction de la fourmi Messor ebeninus (two-level nest, dry granary above and damp brood chambers below, digging in the damp soil)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1007\u002FBF02224727",[108],{"type":100,"title":115,"url":116,"covers":117},"Salata, Lapeva-Gjonova, Georgiadis and Borowiec (2023), ZooKeys 1185: Review of the Messor semirufus complex in Greece (Messor ebeninus listed for the Middle East and eastern Turkey, the only uniformly black member of the complex in the Eastern Mediterranean, type material from Syria and Lebanon)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.3897\u002Fzookeys.1185.111484",[98,118],"distribution",{"type":100,"title":120,"url":121,"covers":122},"Saar et al. (2023), bioRxiv preprint: Systematics of harvester ants (Messor) in Israel based on integrated morphological, genetic, and ecological data (M. ebeninus as a distinct lineage and the most widespread Messor in Israel, misidentifications with morphological keys)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.biorxiv.org\u002Fcontent\u002F10.1101\u002F2023.07.16.549226v1",[98,118,108],{"type":100,"title":124,"url":125,"covers":126},"Sharaf, Abdel-Dayem, Al Dhafer and Aldawood (2013), Zootaxa 3709: The ants of Rawdhat Khorim Nature Preserve, Saudi Arabia (Messor ebeninus widespread on the Arabian Peninsula, workers most active in April and December)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.11646\u002Fzootaxa.3709.6.6",[118,108],{"type":100,"title":128,"url":129,"covers":130},"O’Donnell, Bulova, Caponera, Oxman and Giladi (2020), Insectes Sociaux 67: Species differ in worker body size effects on critical thermal limits in seed-harvesting desert ants (Messor ebeninus and M. arenarius in the Negev)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1007\u002Fs00040-020-00782-5",[108,118],{"type":100,"title":132,"url":133,"covers":134},"Mor-Mussery and Budovsky (2017), Geography Environment Sustainability 10: Ecological and microtopographical impact of Messor ebeninus and Messor arenarius ants on arid loess rangelands of the northern Negev","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.24057\u002F2071-9388-2017-10-2-57-73",[108,118],{"type":94,"title":136,"url":137,"covers":138},"AntWiki: Messor ebeninus (country list, black color, absence of worker-produced males)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.antwiki.org\u002Fwiki\u002FMessor_ebeninus",[98,108,118],{"type":94,"title":140,"url":141,"covers":142},"GBIF: Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927, occurrence records by country (Saudi Arabia, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Syria, Bahrain, Oman, Iran)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gbif.org\u002Fspecies\u002F1316390",[118],{"type":144,"title":145,"url":146,"covers":147},"careSheet","Antstore: Messor ebeninus (sizes, colony form, founding, climate of nest and arena, winter rest, diet, nests, flight at the end of November and the start of December)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.antstore.net\u002Fshop\u002Fen\u002Fants\u002FAnts-from-South-Europe\u002FMessor-ebeninus.html",[148,108,109],"husbandry",{"type":144,"title":150,"url":151,"covers":152},"Best Ants UK: Messor ebeninus (sizes of the three worker classes, queen size, warmth, feeding in the outworld)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bestantsuk.com\u002Fproduct-page\u002Fmessor-ebeninus",[148,108],{"type":154,"title":155,"url":156,"covers":157},"forum","ANTSTORE forum: Messor ebeninus (2008 to 2009 thread: keepers say the species is harder to keep than Messor barbarus but not impossible, hibernates at a mild temperature in an unheated room and may skip the first winter; figures quoted from a source on Lebanese populations: monogyne, flights in November and December, queens laying from late February)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.antstore.net\u002Fforum\u002Ftopic7429.html",[148,109,108],{"type":144,"title":159,"url":160,"covers":161},"Ant Shack: Messor ebeninus care sheet (warm nest, humidity gradient, mild winter rest)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ant-shack.com\u002Fblogs\u002Fant-care-sheets-1\u002Fmessor-ebeninus",[148],{"type":94,"title":163,"url":164,"covers":165},"EU list of invasive alien species of Union concern (Implementing Regulation 2016\u002F1141, consolidated)","https:\u002F\u002Feur-lex.europa.eu\u002Feli\u002Freg_impl\u002F2016\u002F1141\u002Foj",[166],"legal",{"type":94,"title":168,"url":169,"covers":170},"Bundesartenschutzverordnung (BArtSchV), Anlage 1: protected species in Germany","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gesetze-im-internet.de\u002Fbartschv_2005\u002Fanlage_1.html",[166],{"type":94,"title":172,"url":173,"covers":174},"MITECO: Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Alien Species, arthropods","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.miteco.gob.es\u002Fen\u002Fbiodiversidad\u002Ftemas\u002Fconservacion-de-especies\u002Fespecies-exoticas-invasoras\u002Fce_eei_artropodos_nc.html",[166],{"type":94,"title":176,"url":177,"covers":178},"Japan Ministry of the Environment: list of designated invasive alien species (Invasive Alien Species Act)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.env.go.jp\u002Fnature\u002Fintro\u002F2outline\u002Flist.html",[166],"species\u002Fmessor-ebeninus","Myrmicinae",[182,183],22,28,"Stenammini",[186,187],4,8,"LrW1VkeQQL7YXMYFgJjOV3tD2aNsLYk7axu-jmS2RoY","messor-ebeninus","Messor","Ebony harvester ant",[],"A glossy ebony-black harvester ant of the Middle East that stores its seeds upstairs and raises its brood in damp soil far below.",{"id":195,"title":196,"aliases":192,"body":197,"description":201,"extension":203,"faqs":204,"identification":211,"language":212,"meta":213,"navigation":214,"nickname":191,"notes":215,"path":226,"seo":227,"stem":179,"tagline":193,"__hash__":228},"speciesProfiles\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-ebeninus.md","Messor Ebeninus",{"type":198,"value":199,"toc":200},"minimark",[],{"title":201,"searchDepth":50,"depth":50,"links":202},"",[],"md",[205,208],{"question":206,"answer":207},"Is Messor ebeninus just a color form of Messor semirufus?","It started out as one: Santschi described it in 1927 as a variety of Messor semirufus, and it was raised to a species later. A 2023 preprint on the harvester ants of Israel found that ebeninus forms its own genetic lineage and is the most widespread Messor in the country, but also that some ants identified as semirufus with the usual morphological keys turned out to be ebeninus. That is one reason why shops often write cf. in the name.",{"question":209,"answer":210},"How do wild Messor ebeninus colonies arrange their nest?","A study of the nest in the early 1970s describes a deep main shaft with chambers and side galleries, split into two levels. The upper level stays dry in summer and works as a granary, while the lower level reaches down to the edge of the water table and shelters the queen and the brood. Experiments showed that the queen and the workers dig in the damp parts of the soil, and that the long, hot, dry summer drives the colony to deeper, moister layers.","Shiny, evenly black workers of several sizes, with at most a slightly reddish thorax in the smallest ones, which sets them apart from the red-headed majors of Messor barbarus. Middle Eastern Messor are hard to tell apart even for specialists and shops often write cf., so this sheet follows the black form sold as ebeninus.","en",{},true,[216,219,221,224],{"kind":217,"text":218},"tip","Copy the two floors of the wild nest: a dry upper part for the seed store and a damp lower part for the queen and brood. In a Ytong or plaster nest, water only one end and leave the other end dry.",{"kind":217,"text":220},"Start the first workers on very small, soft seeds. In a rearing study of wild queens in Lebanon, the first workers ignored big, tough legume seeds and sugary food, and early colonies failed for lack of suitable seeds until tiny seeds of the geranium family were offered.",{"kind":222,"text":223},"watchOut","A queen caught after the autumn flight lays only in late winter, so a tube without eggs for months is normal. A young colony then grows slowly: in that study it had only a few dozen workers by the next autumn.",{"kind":222,"text":225},"Open water is a drowning trap for Messor, so cover water spots with small stones or cotton. Feed the seeds in the outworld only and remove leftovers before they mold.","\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-ebeninus",{"description":201},"ZNIvAY3xlPoxaIPBOLdRFW3uPYzizzEmhF7zVXeNQ3c",[230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241],"Bahrain","Egypt","Iran","Iraq","Israel","Kuwait","Lebanon","Oman","Saudi Arabia","Syria","Türkiye","United Arab Emirates",[243,244],{"name":67,"slug":46},{"name":68,"slug":245},"messor-capitatus",[247,265,286],{"slug":248,"scientificName":249,"genus":190,"nickname":250,"aliases":251,"tagline":252,"image":253,"experience":41,"guide":46,"difficulty":30,"workerSize":254,"majorSize":69,"queenSize":255,"temperature":257,"hibernation":259,"hibernationTemperature":260,"hibernationBand":261,"sizeClass":262,"founding":44,"colonyStructure":7,"regions":263},"messor-wasmanni","Messor wasmanni","Wasmann's harvester ant",[],"A big-headed seed harvester of sunny Italian and Balkan grasslands, with tidy trails to its nest and a name still written with a cautious cf.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-wasmanni.jpg",[186,187],[78,256],14,[182,258],26,"required",[78,52],"mild","large",[264,85],"europe",{"slug":266,"scientificName":267,"genus":190,"nickname":268,"aliases":269,"tagline":272,"image":273,"experience":274,"guide":275,"difficulty":276,"workerSize":277,"majorSize":256,"queenSize":279,"temperature":281,"hibernation":259,"hibernationTemperature":283,"hibernationBand":261,"sizeClass":262,"founding":44,"colonyStructure":7,"regions":285},"messor-barbarus","Messor barbarus","Harvester ant",[270,271],"Mediterranean harvester ant","Barbary harvester ant","A calm, clumsy seed harvester with huge-headed majors, and my top pick for beginners.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002FMessor_barbarus_major_2.jpeg","firstHand","how-to-care-for-messor-barbarus","1",[278,187],3,[256,280],17,[282,258],21,[78,284],16,[264,86],{"slug":245,"scientificName":68,"genus":190,"nickname":287,"aliases":288,"tagline":289,"image":290,"experience":41,"guide":46,"difficulty":30,"workerSize":291,"majorSize":292,"queenSize":293,"temperature":294,"hibernation":259,"hibernationTemperature":295,"hibernationBand":296,"sizeClass":262,"founding":44,"colonyStructure":7,"regions":297},"European seed harvesting ant",[],"A glossy black seed harvester with big-headed majors that grind tough seeds into ant bread on dry, rocky ground.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fmessor-capitatus.jpg",[186,187],13,[292,52],[182,183],[69,52],"cool",[264,86],[299,306,313],{"id":300,"title":301,"description":302,"image":303,"categoryText":304,"path":305},"blog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-test-tube-setup-tutorial.md","How To Make a Test Tube Setup - Ant Keeping Basics","In this tutorial you will learn how to make a test tube setup, the best way to create the optimal environment for a newly mated queen ant!","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fbruma_ants_thumbnail_test_tube_setup_tutorial_new.png","Ant Keeping Basics","\u002Fhow-to-make-a-test-tube-setup-tutorial",{"id":307,"title":308,"description":309,"image":310,"categoryText":311,"path":312},"blog\u002Fytong-vs-acrylic-which-is-better-for-an-ant-nest.md","Ytong vs Acrylic - Which Is Better For An Ant Nest?","In this article, we’re going to talk about two of the most popular types of ant nests: acrylic nests and Ytong nests! Let's compare them!","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fbruma_ants_thumbnail_ytong_vs_acrylic.png","Product Comparisons","\u002Fytong-vs-acrylic-which-is-better-for-an-ant-nest",{"id":314,"title":315,"description":316,"image":317,"categoryText":304,"path":318},"blog\u002Fhow-to-hibernate-your-ants.md","How To Hibernate Your Ants - Hibernation Tutorial","In this guide, we’re going to talk about hibernation: What is it? Why do ants need hibernation? Should I hibernate my ants? Let's see!","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fbruma_ants_thumbnail_hibernation_guide.png","\u002Fhow-to-hibernate-your-ants",1791900225916]