Stigmatomma oregonense is very unique. Their common name, the vampire ant, is well warranted. They’re a very primitive species, nearly blind, cryptic, semi-claustral, and without even a social stomach. To make up for these pitfalls, they’ve evolved a special method of storing and retrieving food. For food they almost exclusively hunt invertebrates, commonly centipedes, and will bring bits and pieces of these prey to their brood. Their larvae are very independent, capable of eating large food pieces completely by themselves. As they grow and grow, they store energy within their hemolymph, their blood. When a worker or queen requires energy, they will make a cut into the larva and drink from it. This gives them their common name and is one of their most defining traits. Their ability to ferociously take down prey larger than them is another one. Colonies are polygynous with less than a hundred workers.
Each colony comes with a tube of Dampwood Termite workers (Zootermopsis nevandensis) for feeding.
Stigmatomma oregonense is very closely related to Stigmatomma pallipes , both of which are in the elusive Amblyoponinae subfamily. Orange/brown coloured with tiny eyes and large mandibles, workers are 6 mm and queens 7 mm.
This species is not a good pick for beginners. Brood grows very slow, taking several months to go from egg to worker, faster if you feed them their choice prey of stone centipedes. A cryptic species, they’re also susceptible to eating brood and need precise humidity levels. Feed only protein workers are able to dismantle and process, and make sure they have some soil in their nest. Queens are semi-claustral, and as a result need the same care a colony with workers would.
| Scientific Name: | Stigmatomma oregonense |
| Common Name: | Oregon Vampire Ant |
| Taxonomy: | Kingdom: Animalia | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Hymenoptera | Family: Formicidae | Subfamily: Amblyoponinae | Genus: Stigmatomma | Species: S. oregonense |
| Care Difficulty: | Stigmatomma oregonense is an expert level species. |
| Distribution: | This species can only be found in from northern California up to British Columbia. |
| Habitat: | Varied. Found from temperate rainforest to mixed chaparral. |
| Colony form: | This species is polygynous meaning that a colony can have multiple queens. |
| Queen: | Queens of this species reach a size of around 7 mm. |
| Worker: | Workers will approach 6-7 mm. |
| Nutrition: | Great care needs to be given to their diet. Exclusively feed protein as you would with other ponerine-likes, they will not eat sugars. If you are able to, feeding with stone centipedes will drastically improve their overall health and growth of brood, cutting well over a month from their egg to worker time. |
| Air humidity: | Stigmatomma oregonense should be kept at humidity levels above 65%. |
| Temperature: | Heating is a potential risk factor, but if you choose to do so approach 28 C, not surpassing. |
| Hibernation: | Hibernation is not needed nor recommended for this species. Colonies can grow all year long. |
| Nesting Habits: | In the wild they have been observed to nest under rotting wood, leaf litter, and occasionally under stones. |
| Kind of Formicaria: | Make sure that humidity is able to be kept high. Ideally also provide soil. For these reasons we recommend a petri-dish set-up, a Tarheel Ants nest, or any other setup where humidity can be kept high and the ants are in contact with tangible substrate. |
| Formicaria size: | Colonies will often stay small maxing out at a few hundred workers. |
| Description: | Stigmatomma oregnense is a difficult but very unique species to keep. They hunt prey solitarily and will drink the blood of their larvae as a way of storing energy. |
| Development: | Colonies will have their nuptial flights during August, September. |
| Offering quantity: | Queen (Captive Bred), Queen (Captive Bred) + 1-3 boosted workers, Queen + 5-10 workers, Queen + 10-25 workers, Queen + 25-50 workers, Queen + 50-100 workers. |
| Weblinks: |
What's a Test Tube Insert?
Test tube inserts are upgrades to the test tube setups provided. If purchased, they come with a dark hood to lower light levels for the colony, an insert which provides a living space, and a feeding insert to provide food for the colony.
Ungrouted inserts are a blank plastic insert which helps provide a more suitable space for the ants to grip (as opposed to glass tubes), while grouted inserts are bedded with a substrate which helps distribute humidity more evenly throughout the test tube, and helps certain ants create their cocoons more easily. Overall, grouted inserts are more comfortable for the ants.
You will NOT need an insert for colonies in test tubes, but it does help for certain species. IF you are moving the ants into a nest immediately, do NOT get a test tube insert.
Shipping Conditions
Hey! This is a live product. If you are purchasing ants during the winter months, please remember to purchase the "Winter Shipping (Live Guarantee) (72 hour heat pack + 1 inch foam cushion)" in order to guarantee the order.
Live Guarantee Policy
If live insects arrive cold or flooded please handle with care. Many of these colonies typically pop back up within a few hours. All DOA claims must be made within 24 hours after receiving your insects. Any order with a unacceptable mortality rate, but with a viable colony (e.g. less workers than in the range advertised, less queens or workers than advertised) can be compensated with store credit equal to the loss of value in the shipment, including shipping and extra packaging. Any order with DOAs, but which do not fall out of the initially advertised/promised range of workers will NOT be compensated.
DOA claims which are a total loss will be re-shipped 1 more time FREE of charge with photographic evidence. Orders where shipping is more than 30% of the total value of the order will be refunded proportionally to the loss of value in the shipment, INCLUDING test tube inserts which are purchased with the colony.
We guarantee live arrival on Xpresspost and priority shipments, as well as pickup and local delivery. Only orders that are accepted on the first delivery attempt will be eligible for DOA credit, no exceptions.
Live guarantee is VOID if you choose expedited shipping. In the winter, it is VOID if no extra packing is purchased. Fertility guarantee claims or live guarantee claims made within the month after arrival must be made with a timestamped photo of BOTH the queen alive upon arrival AND a timestamped photo of the dead specimens.
Expedited shipping can be a budget friendly method but does not always have the best results. If your order is going to be in transit more than 3 business days please do not choose this method or choose at your own risk.
DURING THE WINTER MONTHS WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO HOLD BACK SHIPMENTS IF WE DECIDE ITS TOO COLD TO SHIP.
Please note that orders to outdoor community mail boxes, or other outdoor locations void our live guarantee. If your address consists of an outdoor mail box or location, please make arrangements to have the order delivered to a friends house, or to your place of employment.
Just a warning, we will NOT ship live ants into the US unless the receiver has a permit. If such an order is made, it will be refunded, minus a 10% processing fee and restocking fee
This product is from Canada Ant Colony. The full catalogue, including all variants, can be found at https://canada-ant-colony.com