Canada Ant Colony
Formica pacifica (Pacific Field Ant)
Formica pacifica (Pacific Field Ant)
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This is our collection of most of the field ants, or Serviformica. These are large, black ants at queens from 8-12 mm and workers from 6-9mm. They grow large colonies up to 5000 workers in just 3 years. They prefer 22-26 Celsius and like around 50% humidity, though there is slight variation across species. They're more skittish than most ants, and so are of medium difficulty to start, but are extremely enthusiatic and fast growing once they break 50 workers. In the wild, Formica are some of the most dominant ants, hunting down other species and consuming large amounts of biomass. We get many of these each year, though the numbers are variable.
A fully claustral species, ants are grayish brown with queens being roughly 10mm and workers 4-6mm. Identifying specific Formica species can be a nightmare, and as such should only be tried by advanced keepers with a lot of time on hand.
This species is an excellent pick for beginners. Although some people have described Formica as finicky, they just require to be disturbed less often than most species while the colony is still small. They also require near constant access to sugar water, and as a result we recommend getting them a sugar feeder such as byFormica feeders. They require hibernation.
| Scientific Name: | Formica pacifica |
| Common Name: | Pacific Field Ant |
| Taxonomy: |
Kingdom: Animalia | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Hymenoptera | Family: Formicidae | Subfamily: Formicinae | Genus: Formica | Species: F. pacifica
|
| Care Difficulty: | Formica pacifica can be a beginner to intermediate level species (see first and third paragraphs). |
| Distribution: |
Can be found in North America.
|
| Habitat: | Varied. Found from drier woods to grasslands. |
| Colony form: | This species is polygynous meaning that a colony can have multiple queens. |
| Queen: |
Queens of this species reach a size around 9-12 mm. |
| Worker: | Workers will approach 4-7 mm. |
| Nutrition: | The typical sugar water and insect diet will suffice, but emphasis should be given on supplying them sugar water. |
| Air humidity: | Formica pacifica should be kept at humidity levels above 40%. |
| Temperature: |
Heating will greatly increase brood growth, and as a result we recommend doing so. They can be safely heated up to around 30 Celsius.
|
| Hibernation: | Hibernation is generally required for this species, and can consist of a fridge hibernation for 3-4 months. |
| Nesting Habits: | In the wild they have been observed to nest directly in the dirt or under stones. |
| Kind of Formicaria: | Nearly any typical setup will work for them, including Tarheel Ants formicarium, other plaster nests, acrylic nests. Woods nests however cannot be recommended. |
| Formicaria size: | Colonies will often get very large, exceeding 3,000 workers. |
| Description: |
Formica pacifica are a very notable species of field ant. With large active colonies, they're very rewarding and hard to go wrong with. |
| Development: | Colonies will mostly have their nuptial flights during late Spring to early Summer. Some will fly later however. |
| Offering quantity: | Queen, Queen + 5-10 workers, Queen + 10-25 workers, Queen + 25-50 workers, Queen + 50-100 workers. |
| Weblinks: |
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
Thank you to Jerry from Insect Supplies Canada for letting us use his photos!
For US Ant Keepers
We can't ship live ants to the US, but we've partnered with Stateside Ants to help spread ant keeping. They're a highly reputable ant store and ship to all states in the lower 48. You can check them out here and use code DTAHAFFIL for 10% off
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- Description
- Shipping Conditions
- For US Ant Keepers
- Reviews
This is our collection of most of the field ants, or Serviformica. These are large, black ants at queens from 8-12 mm and workers from 6-9mm. They grow large colonies up to 5000 workers in just 3 years. They prefer 22-26 Celsius and like around 50% humidity, though there is slight variation across species. They're more skittish than most ants, and so are of medium difficulty to start, but are extremely enthusiatic and fast growing once they break 50 workers. In the wild, Formica are some of the most dominant ants, hunting down other species and consuming large amounts of biomass. We get many of these each year, though the numbers are variable.
A fully claustral species, ants are grayish brown with queens being roughly 10mm and workers 4-6mm. Identifying specific Formica species can be a nightmare, and as such should only be tried by advanced keepers with a lot of time on hand.
This species is an excellent pick for beginners. Although some people have described Formica as finicky, they just require to be disturbed less often than most species while the colony is still small. They also require near constant access to sugar water, and as a result we recommend getting them a sugar feeder such as byFormica feeders. They require hibernation.
| Scientific Name: | Formica pacifica |
| Common Name: | Pacific Field Ant |
| Taxonomy: | Kingdom: Animalia | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Hymenoptera | Family: Formicidae | Subfamily: Formicinae | Genus: Formica | Species: F. pacifica |
| Care Difficulty: | Formica pacifica can be a beginner to intermediate level species (see first and third paragraphs). |
| Distribution: | Can be found in North America. |
| Habitat: | Varied. Found from drier woods to grasslands. |
| Colony form: | This species is polygynous meaning that a colony can have multiple queens. |
| Queen: |
Queens of this species reach a size around 9-12 mm. |
| Worker: | Workers will approach 4-7 mm. |
| Nutrition: | The typical sugar water and insect diet will suffice, but emphasis should be given on supplying them sugar water. |
| Air humidity: | Formica pacifica should be kept at humidity levels above 40%. |
| Temperature: | Heating will greatly increase brood growth, and as a result we recommend doing so. They can be safely heated up to around 30 Celsius. |
| Hibernation: | Hibernation is generally required for this species, and can consist of a fridge hibernation for 3-4 months. |
| Nesting Habits: | In the wild they have been observed to nest directly in the dirt or under stones. |
| Kind of Formicaria: | Nearly any typical setup will work for them, including Tarheel Ants formicarium, other plaster nests, acrylic nests. Woods nests however cannot be recommended. |
| Formicaria size: | Colonies will often get very large, exceeding 3,000 workers. |
| Description: |
Formica pacifica are a very notable species of field ant. With large active colonies, they're very rewarding and hard to go wrong with. |
| Development: | Colonies will mostly have their nuptial flights during late Spring to early Summer. Some will fly later however. |
| Offering quantity: | Queen, Queen + 5-10 workers, Queen + 10-25 workers, Queen + 25-50 workers, Queen + 50-100 workers. |
| Weblinks: | https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Formica_pacifica |
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
Thank you to Jerry from Insect Supplies Canada for letting us use his photos!
We can't ship live ants to the US, but we've partnered with Stateside Ants to help spread ant keeping. They're a highly reputable ant store and ship to all states in the lower 48. You can check them out here and use code DTAHAFFIL for 10% off