Prenolepis Imparis

Buckeye Myrmecology has been granted permits by the USDA which allow us to ship these ants to many states in the Continental US. All shipments of Prenolepis imparis will include the relevant permit for your state and information on safe handling and disposal of these ants. States that we are allowed to ship Prenolepis imparis to are listed below.

STATES AVAILABLE FOR SALE: Every state in the continental U.S., except for Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Species Difficulty: Intermediate, requires species-specific care.

Max Colony Size, Growth Speed, and Structure: Prenolepis imparis have moderately-sized colonies when monogynous, with a maximum size of 1-2,000 workers, and larger colonies of over 10,000 when multiple queens are present.¹  With proper feeding and care, imparis colonies can reach 50-100 workers by the end of their first season, and will grow exponentially following this. Colonies can be either monogynous or polygynous, and anecdotal success has been observed when attempting to merge monogyne founding colonies.

Worker/Queen Information: Imparis is highly variable in coloration, and both workers and queens can have colorations including jet-black, light orange/yellow, and reddish brown depending on the population. ¹ Workers range in size from ~2.8-4.4 millimeters, ^{1, 2} and queens are approximately 7-8mm long.

Hibernation: THIS SPECIES HAS VERY SPECIFIC DIAPAUSE/ESTIVATION REQUIREMENTS. During their first season they will not require estivation, and can be raised normally until fall. P. imparis colonies should be placed into hibernation at around 65 fahrenheit around November, this will mimic ground temperatures that imparis would naturally experience in their nests, which can be up to 3 meters deep. ² Occasional feeding is recommended during diapause, as imparis are known to forage even at temperatures below freezing. ² Take colonies out in March, and make sure to feed them lots of protein and sugars, even if there is no brood present. This will allow them to “bulk up” for summer estivation, and corpulents to form. Sometime around June/July, colonies will enter estivation. This occurs at room temperature, and during this time, brood will be fed entirely from the fat reserves of corpulent workers. As callows begin to eclose in August, workers will begin foraging as normal and feedings should resume. From here, the process will repeat with both diapause and estivation each year.

Feeding Requirements: Colonies require a constant source of sugars, typically either sugar water or honey. They accept common feeder insects for protein, such as superworms, mealworms, dubia roaches, and fruit flies.

Heating and Humidity: Heating is not recommended. Medium-high humidity.

Nesting Habits and Escape Prevention: In the wild, nests can range from 18 inches to over 10 feet underground! ² Luckily, this isn’t necessary in captivity, and P. imparis can be raised in many nest types, including acrylic, grout, Ultracal, and 3D printed formicariums. Talc and fluon are both effective barriers to prevent escape.

Development Time: Egg to worker time varies from 7 to 9 weeks.

Other notes: Prenolepis imparis is known for its deep nests and ability to continue foraging even when temperatures dip below freezing in the winter. They are especially renowned by antkeepers for their corpulent workers, which can resemble the repletes of Myrmecocystus “honey-pot” ants. While visually similar to repletes, corpulents actually form by a different mechanism, in which younger workers metabolize food into fats before storing it. Also unlike Myrmecocystus, this caste system varies by age in Prenolepis, where callows become corpulents for a time, and then older workers deflate and resume normal foraging behaviors.³ Division of labor at its finest!