How to Care for Crematogaster lineolata | The Lined Acrobat Ant Guide
Photo: Robert Webster / xpda.com, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
With a dark reddish head and thorax, a shiny black heart-shaped back end and a habit of flipping that back end over its head, Crematogaster lineolata is one of North America's most entertaining little ants.
It is the lined acrobat ant, also known as the tent-building ant for the tiny shelters it builds over its aphid herds. This guide explains Crematogaster lineolata care step by step, from a founding queen to a busy colony.
Crematogaster lineolata is a North American ant, and Best Ants UK does not sell it. It may be illegal or impossible to import to the UK, and we don't encourage importing ants from abroad. This guide is for keepers where the species is native, and for anyone curious about it.
We have kept ants since 1997, and the care rules here are the same ones we use for our own colonies every day.
👉 In a hurry? Download our free Crematogaster lineolata care sheet (PDF) or open the Crematogaster lineolata care sheet page for the key facts at a glance.
Crematogaster lineolata at a Glance
Also known as: the lined acrobat ant, eastern acrobat ant or tent-building ant
Origin: eastern and central USA, west to Colorado and Texas and south into Mexico
Keeping level: Intermediate
Queen: about 7 to 9mm, dark reddish brown with a black gaster
Workers: about 2.5 to 4.5mm, all one size; reddish-brown head and thorax, black gaster
Colony: usually one queen, several thousand workers when mature
Nest temperature: 22 to 26°C
Nest humidity: 50 to 60%
Workers before moving into a nest: 50+, a queen on her own too
Winter: a winter rest from November to the end of March
Escape risk: tiny, quick climbers, so a PTFE barrier is a must
Meet the Lined Acrobat Ant
In the wild, lined acrobat ants live in oak woodland, deciduous forest and grassland. They nest under logs and stones, in old stumps, under bark, in hollow twigs, and even inside fallen acorns and hickory nuts.
One colony often spreads across several small nests close together, so a single acorn may hold just a few dozen workers with no queen at all.
They are dedicated farmers. The workers tend aphids and scale insects, especially those feeding on plant roots, and build little tents of chewed plant fibre and soil over their herds on stems. Inside, the honeydew supply is safe from rivals.
When an acrobat ant feels threatened, it lifts its heart-shaped gaster up over its head and releases a tiny defensive drop. It is harmless to people, but great fun to watch.
New queens and males fly from late summer into early autumn, often on warm, humid afternoons after rain. A mated queen then seals herself in a small chamber and raises her first workers alone.
When Your Ants Arrive
The most important step: leave the parcel completely unopened, exactly as it arrived, at room temperature for 5 hours. The ants must adjust to your home's temperature slowly, because abrupt temperature changes make ants seriously unwell.
After the 5 hours, check the queen is safe and sound. Then leave the colony in its original packaging, with the test tube still in its tin foil and wrapping.
Put it somewhere quiet and still, away from daily household activity. Normal daylight is fine, but never direct sunlight.
Give the colony 4 to 5 days of complete rest, with no food. A good supplier feeds the ants before dispatch. Use this time to set up and water the nest. 👉 Our step-by-step ant farm setup guide shows you exactly how.
Still workers or a motionless queen after delivery are almost always delivery stress. Look at the queen's antennae: moving antennae mean she is fine. Almost all recover within 4 to 5 days.
Life in the Test Tube
Acrobat ant workers are tiny, so the colony must grow big in its test tube first. Keep it there until it has at least 50 workers. Moved earlier, the workers abandon the queen in the bigger space, and the colony can fail. The same rule applies to a queen bought on her own.
A queen on her own still needs a little food. Once a week, give her a tiny drop of protein jelly, about half a grain of rice, on a small flat piece of tin foil inside the tube, next to the dry cotton stopper.
In our experience a fed queen raises her first workers faster, and the queen and colony do far better afterwards. Keep her tube wrapped in its foil and disturb her as little as possible.
Keep one queen per colony. Keepers who have tried putting queens together report that they kill each other within a few weeks. The brood takes about 6 to 8 weeks from egg to worker, and the pupae have no cocoons.
Moving Into the Ant Farm
When the colony is ready, connect the test tube to the nest with the delivery tin foil still on. Leave it like that for 14 days.
Then slide the foil back about 1mm every day until the tube is fully exposed to daylight. Bit by bit, the tube becomes the bright spot and the dark nest becomes the safe home.
If the ants haven't moved 2 days after the tube is fully exposed, wrap the foil back on, wait another fortnight and repeat. Moving in happens on the ants' own time: anywhere from a couple of days to 6 months.
Once the colony has moved, leave the old test tube connected for at least another 14 days, as ants sometimes leave brood behind.
The red filter and black cover stay on the nest all the time. You can lift the black cover once a day for 2 to 3 minutes, ideally at night, and take the red filter off once a week for 2 to 3 minutes. Take colony photos no more than once a month.
The Best Ant Farm for Acrobat Ants
Tiny acrobat ants feel safest in a small nest they can fill, and they squeeze through the smallest gaps. In the wild they chew wood and plant fibre, so check the seals and connections of your setup regularly.
👉 The right home is the A7 Plus ant farm kit. Its small nest suits tiny workers, and the pre-installed digital meter shows nest temperature and humidity at a glance. You don't need to give them wood, and DIY wood, cork or plaster nests are never a good idea.
Acrobat ants are very sensitive to vibration, so choose a steady spot. Place the ant farm in normal daylight, never direct sunlight. Avoid windows, radiators and heaters, vibrating surfaces, speakers and TVs, and rooms with strong smells such as the kitchen.
Temperature and Heating
Keep the nest at 22 to 26°C, with a warmer and a cooler part so the ants can choose. In a warm home, that needs little or no heating.
In a cool home, though, where the room stays around 20°C or below, the brood takes far longer to develop. 👉 There, an Advanced Heating System Small 4W set to 24°C makes a big difference.
The heat mat goes under one quarter of the nest only, on the side opposite the watering area, so the ants can choose their spot. Never heat the whole nest.
In the outworld, aim for about 18°C overnight up to 28°C by day. By day it should ideally match the nest or be a degree or two cooler. If the nest is heated, warm the outworld too, because a big gap confuses the ants.
Water and Humidity
Keep the nest humidity at 50 to 60%. Use distilled or purified water only. Never use tap water, rainwater or bottled mineral water, even boiled: they cause mould and fungus, which is deadly for ants.
Water the nest with the pipette provided. Pour slowly, a few drops at a time, through the watering hole. Stop as soon as 1 or 2 drops appear inside the nest. That is how you know it is done correctly.
Water about once a week, a little more in summer and a little less in winter. With a meter, simply water when the nest humidity drops below 50%.
Never water the outworld. Keep it dry, at about 50% humidity, like an average UK home. A watering test tube in the outworld gives the workers a safe drink.
Feeding Your Acrobat Ants
Honeydew farmers have a sweet tooth, and a growing colony needs protein too. Feed twice a week, in small amounts, in the outworld only. Remove leftovers after 2 days to stop mould.
🍯 For energy, give our 👉 organic ant honey or 👉 Ant Nectar, which has even more carbohydrates than honey. Both are far better than sugar water or home-made mixes. Offer small drops, as tiny workers can get stuck in a big one.
🥩 For the queen and brood, give 👉 Protein Jelly or 👉 Cricket Mash. Keep protein jelly in the fridge at all times.
Serve food on a small piece of tin foil or in a 👉 small feeding dish, so leftovers are easy to lift out. Acrobat ants are tidy and usually pile their rubbish in one corner, which makes cleaning out easy.
Live food, such as crickets or locusts, is only for big, established colonies, never small ones. Always scald it first: wearing gloves, hold it with tweezers in just-boiled water (above 90°C, no longer bubbling) for 10 to 15 seconds.
Then cut it in half only, and serve it in the outworld.
Keep Mites Out of Your Colony
Blood-sucking mites are one of the biggest dangers for any ant colony, and they are not rare. They often arrive with bird seed from local shops and off-licences, dried mealworms (useless as ant food), and live food from pet shops or online, where about half carries mites.
Buy ant food only from established, reputable ant-keeping suppliers. At Best Ants UK we clean our foods in several ways before dispatch and check every colony twice a month.
Now and then, look at your queen with a magnifying glass. Tiny white or reddish specks on her joints and legs, together with ants dying fast, are a warning sign of blood-sucking mites.
Stopping Escapes
Acrobat ants are tiny, quick climbers, so escape prevention is a must. Paint a band of 👉 PTFE Fluon escape barrier around the top inner edge of the outworld lid. The ants slip off it and can't climb out.
PTFE wears off as the ants keep testing the same spots. For a colony of up to about 100 ants, reapply it roughly every 4 weeks. Once the colony reaches 300 to 500 ants or more, reapply it about every 2 weeks.
Never shake the bottle, because it foams. Roll it gently in your hands instead.
Winter Care
Lined acrobat ants come from places with cold winters and have a natural winter rest from November to the end of March. Their development slows down in that time whatever you do, because their biological clock can't be tricked.
A cool rest at a steady 8 to 10°C suits them, but only in a specialised hibernation unit with precise temperature control. Without one, simply keep them at room temperature. We never hibernate queens in their first year.
Never use a fridge, shed or garage, and never move the colony from a warm room straight into the cold. Abrupt temperature changes are dangerous for every ant.
Feed less in winter, but never guess. At 17 to 22°C, give about a third of the summer amount. At 22 to 26°C, give about half. In a cool hibernation rest, give fresh water only and no food.
Can I Release My Acrobat Ants?
Never. Crematogaster lineolata is not a UK ant, and a colony raised indoors won't survive outside. If you can't keep your colony any more, 👉 visit our ant adoption page and let us know. We'll see whether we can take it in.
Frequently Asked Questions | FAQ
Is Crematogaster lineolata good for beginners?
It is an intermediate species. The ants are lively and great fun, but the workers are tiny, the colony must reach 50 workers before moving, and a fresh PTFE barrier is essential. A careful beginner who follows this guide can do well.
Can I buy Crematogaster lineolata in the UK?
Best Ants UK does not sell Crematogaster lineolata. It is a North American ant, and it may be illegal or impossible to import to the UK. We don't encourage importing ants from abroad.
Why is it called the tent-building ant?
In the wild, the workers build little shelters of chewed plant fibre and soil over the aphids and scale insects they farm on plant stems. These tents protect their sweet honeydew supply from rivals and the weather.
How many workers before moving Crematogaster lineolata into a nest?
At least 50 workers. The workers are only about 2.5 to 4.5mm long, so a smaller colony is lost in an ant farm and can die. The same rule applies to a queen bought on her own.
What temperature do Crematogaster lineolata need?
Keep the nest at 22 to 26°C. In a cool home where the room stays around 20°C or below, an Advanced Heating System set to 24°C under one quarter of the nest keeps the brood growing.
Do Crematogaster lineolata hibernate?
Yes, they have a winter rest from November to the end of March. A cool rest is only safe in a specialised hibernation unit with precise control. Otherwise, keep them at room temperature. We never hibernate queens in their first year.
Do acrobat ants bite or sting?
They can give a small, annoying nip and release a tiny defensive drop, but they are harmless to people. As with every ant, never handle them.
Ready for Your Own Acrobat Ant Colony?
Tiny acrobat ants do best in a small, well-sealed nest with a reliable meter, so the A7 Plus ant farm kit above is the one we recommend. Add the heating system in a cool home, and they will reward you with years of lively acrobatics.
Print this guide and keep it next to your ant farm, so the essentials are always close. 👉 Explore all our free ant care sheets.
