Novomessor cockerelli
Desert Long-Legged Ant
Photo: Sam Kieschnick, via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
🐜 At a glance
Origin: South-western USA and northern Mexico; creosote desert plains, pebble-ringed nests
Nest temperature: 25–30°C; advanced Heating System Small at 28°C, under a quarter of the nest
Outworld temperature: 18°C night, up to 28°C day; by day like the nest or a degree or two cooler
Humidity: Gradient: rest areas 30–45%, brood corner 60–80%; never hydrate the whole nest. Outworld about 50%, never watered
Winter: No hibernation; may slow for 2–3 months; never below 15°C, 17°C is safer
Move to a nest: 10+ workers; 15–20 is better, a lone queen too
Size: Queen about 11–14 mm; workers about 7–10 mm, one size, very long legs
Colony: One queen; A few hundred to a few thousand workers
📖 About this species
A big, long-legged desert ant that scavenges insects, seeds and fruit and carries large finds home as a team. A North American ant, not sold by Best Ants UK and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK.
🍯 Feeding
Proteins: Protein Jelly or Cricket Mash twice a week; protein matters most for this scavenger, never skip it
Seeds: our harvester seeds as a regular part of the menu, on tin foil or a feeding dish, never on the substrate (sprouted seeds are harmful)
Carbohydrates: organic Ant Honey or Ant Nectar once a week, for example every Thursday; far better than sugar water
Outworld only, leftovers out after 2 days. Founding queen: a tiny drop of protein jelly on tin foil once a week. Buy food only from established ant-keeping suppliers (mites)
💧 Watering the nest
Distilled or purified water only, never tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled
Pipette a few drops at a time through the watering hole and stop when 1 or 2 drops appear inside; water the brood corner only
Never open water (they can drown): a watering test tube in the outworld, never a water dispenser; never water the outworld
🏠 Setting up the ant farm
A7 Plus ant farm with its pre-installed digital meter (Nest + Outworld option if you already have your ants)
Daylight, never direct sunlight; away from windows, radiators, vibration, speakers and kitchens. Test tube warmth: a heating cable at the cotton stopper end only
Escape risk: fast, strong climbers that probe every seam. PTFE Fluon band around the top inner edge of the outworld lid, reapplied about every 4 weeks (every 2 weeks for 300+ ants)
💡 Good to know
No sting, but very defensive with a strong bite: never handle them
On arrival: parcel unopened for 5 hours, then 4–5 days of complete rest in its packaging
In the wild, workers plug the entrances of rival harvester nests with grit and pebbles
⭐ Golden rules | Never break these
🚫 Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and never expose them to abrupt temperature changes.
🚫 Never use gel ant farms, Ytong or concrete nests, or DIY nests.
🚫 Never use tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled.
🚫 Never move a colony into a nest too early, and never tip or shake ants out of their tube.
🚫 Never release ants into the wild. If you can no longer keep a colony, visit our ants adoption page and ask us whether we can adopt it.
🛒 Recommended for this species
📚 These care notes cover the essentials only. Please read the full ant farm setup guide and our Novomessor cockerelli care guide from A to Z. Questions? Message us through our contact form and we will be happy to help. 💚
Written and reviewed by the Best Ants UK team, keeping ants since 1997.