Formica sanguinea - Wood Ant - Intermediate
 
This truly remarkable species is found throughout Europe. "The Slave Maker" queens are ants known as social parasites. This means she will invade a nest of another formica species by tricking the workers into thinking she is one of them, then she kills the nests queen becoming the new queen.
 
Our Queens are placed with Serviformica brood and happily raise them as their slaves, that is what make this species interesting, they take part in nest raids during the summer months in which they raid other fomica nests to steal pupae which they raise as their own to boost numbers (Making-Slaves).  Once a foreign nest is found, scouts return to spread the word causing a raiding party hundreds strong to conduct the pupae mission.
 
In captivity your colony can survive just fine without host pupae, although she will begin with a few slaves. However, if desired, you can place other formica pupae into your setup and raise yourself a delightful multi-coloured colony.
 
Warning: This species has a potent formic acid which they spray. A stressed colony in an unvented setup could run into problems as they defensively spray their acid.
 
Colony Size
1,000-3,000 workers
Queen Age
10 to 15 years
Monogyne (single Queen per colony)
Temperature
Room 20 to 26 degrees
Hibernation
Yes - October through March at 5 to 10 degrees.
Polymorphic (Different size casts)
No - Workers vary by a few mm but not considered polymorphic.
Sting/Spray
Spray formic acid - Caution in poorly ventilated outworlds.
Bite
Yes - a Pinch
Diet
Protein, Sugars, honey and Insects
Nest Type
Natural, Acrylic, Sand, Earth, Glass.  
Size
Queen - 12mm
Worker - 4mm-9mm
Polymorphic - No
Development
Egg to Adult Worker - 10 to 12 weeks