Aphaenogaster Gibbosa - Beginner
Nocturnal Stealth Hunter - Beginner
Gibbosa are a fantastic looking species, one of only 200 Aphaenogaster species worldwide including the ones found in fossils. The appearance of the Gibbosa even has a prehistoric feel and it makes them unique in their characteristics.
The Gibbosa is named by us as the "Stealthy ant" because of their ability to move and live fairly inconspicuous lives. This does not mean they do not venture out to the surface though. Gibbosa will hunt prey in the dark of night, aiming for smaller prey, the farm underground aphids and they can even consume small seeds using their strong mandibles. Seeds such as Grass, Poppy and even Chia would prove edible to them.
You will find Gibbosa in the wild frequenting woodland and forests where there is ample rocks to which they can nest under. It is a great home for them with the rock service temperatures remaining more constant like a cave. The preferred areas in our experience is pine forests.
Probably the most interesting thing about Gibbosa is that they are sometimes capable of Thelytoky. This means where a queen dies, her unfertilised workers are capable of laying and producing more unfertilised female workers and even future Queens. This is done by effectively producing a clone of their "mother". Essentially this means that if a lead worker is accepted by the colony (not always the case) then the colony can never die out, The new designated workers will send out queen alates to pass on their genetic line.
Gibbosa are well suited as a beginner species as their care requirements are small, but these sneaky ants will discreetly find weak-spots in any setup and they will be out under the cover of darkness without your knowledge.
Colony Size
Up to 10,000 workers
Queen Age - Up to 25 years
Monogyne - One Queen per colony Fully Claustral - No food until first workers
Temperature & Humidity
Nest 21 to 24 degrees | Outworld 18 to 28 degrees
Nest 50%-70% | Outworld 30% to 50%
Hibernation
Yes - November to March at 15 degrees
Polymorphic (Different size casts)
Slightly, although small in comparison the cast does change very slightly with the smaller and larger workers.
Sting | Bite | Spray
No
Diet
Insects, Sugars, Carbs
Nest Type
Acrylic, Sand, Earth, Ytong, Plaster, Glass
Size
Queen - 7mm
Worker - 6mm-7mm
Development
Egg to Adult Worker - 5 to 8 weeks