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Pheidole dentata

Eastern Big-Headed Ant

Pheidole dentata
Intermediate level
🛒 Shop colonies and kits

🐜 At a glance

  • Origin: South-eastern and central USA; into northern Mexico; logs, stumps, open ground

  • Nest temperature: 24–28°C; heater at 26°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: Nest 50–70%; outworld about 50%, never watered

  • Winter: No full hibernation; optional gentle rest 15–18°C; never below 15°C

  • Move to a nest: 50+ workers; A queen on her own too (tiny workers)

  • Size: Queen 5.5–7 mm; minors 3–4 mm, majors 3.5–5 mm

  • Colony: Usually one queen; thousands of workers when mature

📖 About this species

A small big-headed ant from the south-eastern USA, with tiny minors and big-headed majors that rush out to fight fire ants. A North American ant, not sold by Best Ants UK and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK.

🍯 Feeding

  • Proteins: Protein Jelly (keep in the fridge) or Cricket Mash. Live food only for established colonies: scalded, cut in half, never smaller, no mealworms

  • Carbohydrates: organic Ant Honey or Ant Nectar, far better than sugar water or home-made mixes; small drops

  • Seeds: a few small seeds for the majors, on tin foil or a feeding dish, never on the substrate

  • Twice a week, small amounts, outworld only; leftovers out after 2 days. Founding queen: a tiny drop of protein jelly on tin foil once a week

💧 Watering the nest

  • Distilled or purified water only. Never tap, rain or bottled mineral water, even boiled (mould and fungus).

  • Pipette a few drops through the watering hole; stop when 1–2 drops appear inside. About once a week, or when the meter drops below 50%.

  • Never water the outworld; keep it at about 50% humidity. A watering test tube in the outworld gives a safe drink.

🏠 Setting up the ant farm

  • A7 Plus ant farm kit only (small nest, built-in digital meter); Nest + Outworld option if you already have your ants

  • Advanced Heating System Small 4W under one quarter of the nest, opposite the watering area, set to 26°C

  • Daylight, never direct sunlight; away from windows, radiators, vibrations, speakers and kitchens

  • Escape risk: high, tiny fast workers. PTFE Fluon band on the top inner edge of the outworld lid, reapplied every 2–4 weeks

💡 Good to know

  • North American ant: not sold by Best Ants UK, and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK. We never encourage importing ants

  • Majors defend the nest against fire ants with a special alarm; no rest in a queen's first year

  • Never release it. Can't keep it? See our ant adoption page

⭐ 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 Pheidole dentata 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.

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