Myrmoteras binghamii, the Formicine Trap Jaw Ant
Myrmoteras binghamii Queen
Welcome to the entry log of my new ant colony. This is the first time I have ever kept this species, and so I was a little bit apprehensive on releasing this post for I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to keep them properly!
Luckily, ant keeping isn’t a lone journey :D and thanks to my good ant keeping friends, in particular “Spleen Collector” who helped me a ton with best directions on how to keep this species.
I received a colony with 2 Queens and 20 workers on the 13th December 2021.
Myrmoteras binghamii colony
The ant genus Myrmoteras is one of the formicine groups with the most bizarre form.
They have an oddly-shaped head, huge eyes and extraordinarily long mandibles opening wider than has been observed for any other ant.
Myrmoteras binghamii colony
Myrmoteras are infrequently encountered in the wild and it is considered rare.
Its geographical range of this species includes Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
As I wrote before this is one of the most bizarre ant species.
1 - it looks like a Ponerinae ant but it belongs to Formicinae Sub-Family;
2 - It can perform trophallaxis;
3 - Unique among the Formicinae in having the mandibles specialized as trap-jaws
This is what is called convergent evolution!
Myrmoteras have cryptic living habits in leaf litter and have preference for hunting springtails and other mini invertebrates.
Myrmoteras binghamii worker with a springtail in its mandibles
I have been having a ton of fun keeping this species, they are quite amusing to watch even if being so small. Their visual acuity is amazing! I would risk to say that it is even better than Harpegnathos, and for such a small ant it is incredible!
Normally, I feed them every 2 or 3 days in a rotation of honey water and springtails. Springtails unfortunately don’t last more than 24 hours.
These ants are mass murderers, none are left to tell a tale.
At this moment, also thanks to Spleen, I am trying to feed them baby red runner roaches to see if they can accept it. Since keeping a large amount of springtails isn’t the easiest thing. Luckily so far, my roach colonies have been harboring a good amount for me :D
It took them some time to adapt to their new nest and start laying eggs, but slowly they started to lay and now I have my first set of larvae, and a new batch of eggs developing.
Myrmoteras binghamii egg clutch
Myrmoteras binghamii colony
So this have been my last month and a half experiences with this amazing species!
Hope you have enjoyed this short entry log! :D
Thank you for reading!
Cheers!
Myrmoteras binghamii Queen