How to Care for Messor cephalotes | The Giant African Harvester Ant Guide
Updated: 3 days ago
Shiny, reddish and simply enormous, Messor cephalotes is the giant African harvester ant. Its queen is one of the biggest harvester queens in the world, and its majors have huge heads and powerful jaws.
This is a true showpiece species with higher food and climate needs than most harvesters. This guide explains Messor cephalotes care step by step, from the day your parcel arrives to a thriving colony.
We have kept ants since 1997, and everything here comes from our own colonies and the care rules we use every day.
👉 In a hurry? Download our free Messor cephalotes care sheet (PDF) or open the Messor cephalotes care sheet page for the key facts at a glance.
Messor cephalotes at a Glance
Origin: East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania
Keeping level: Advanced
Queen: 23 to 25mm, shiny reddish
Workers: 5 to 18mm, shiny reddish, from small minors to huge majors
Colony: one queen, up to about 10,000 ants; the queen can live up to 25 years
Main food: seeds
Nest temperature: 24 to 28°C, all year
Nest humidity: 65 to 75%
Workers before moving into a nest: 10 minimum, 15 to 20 recommended
Winter: no hibernation, keep warm all year
Water: never open water, a watering test tube only
Meet the Giant African Harvester
In the wild, Messor cephalotes lives in warm, open land with sandy soil, grasses and shrubs. It nests deep in the ground and under stones, and collects the seeds of grasses and wild plants.
The workers come in many sizes. Small minors care for the brood (the eggs, larvae and pupae), while the huge majors crack and chew the seeds. A big major can be over three times the length of the smallest minor, yet it is still a worker, not a separate soldier caste.
Each colony has a single queen, who can live up to 25 years. A healthy colony can reach about 10,000 ants, so plan for a bigger ant farm as it grows.
After her mating flight, a queen pulls off her wings and seals herself away to raise her first workers. The queens are so big and sought-after that illegal collecting has become a real problem in Kenya, so buy only from trusted, legal suppliers.
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, somewhere quiet and still, away from daily household activity. Daylight is fine, never direct sunlight.
Give the colony 4 to 5 days of complete rest. The ants were fed before dispatch, so they need nothing from you. Use this time to set up and water the nest. 👉 Our step-by-step ant farm setup guide shows you 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, and big harvester queens can take a little longer.
Inside a harvester ant test tube you will see a black divider between the two cotton stoppers. Don't remove it: it keeps the ants safe in transit, and it has a hole that the queen and workers pass through easily.
Life in the Test Tube
Keep the colony in its test tube until it has at least 10 workers. 15 to 20 is even better. Moved earlier, the workers often 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.
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. If the ants haven't moved 2 days later, wrap the foil back on, wait another fortnight and repeat. Moving in can take 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 once a month at most.
Where to Keep Messor cephalotes
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 24 to 28°C all year round. Most UK homes only reach that on a few warm days a year, so this East African harvester can't thrive without gentle heating.
👉 That is why we recommend the Advanced Heating System Small 4W on every harvester ant farm. Its digital thermostat holds a steady warm spot. Set it to 24°C.
On a horizontal nest, the heat mat goes under one quarter of the nest. On a vertical nest, it goes under half. Always put it on the side opposite the watering area, so the ants can choose their spot.
Harvesters love a warm outworld. By day it should ideally be a little warmer than the nest, around 26 to 28°C, and it can cool to about 18°C overnight. If the nest is heated, warm the outworld too: the Small 4W can warm a small outworld as well.
Never let the colony get hot either. Above 28°C in the nest puts the queen in danger.
Water and Humidity
Keep the nest humidity at 65 to 75%. Above 75%, stored seeds start to sprout, and that causes big trouble. Use distilled or purified water only. Never use tap water, rainwater or bottled mineral water, even boiled: they cause mould and fungus.
Water the nest about once a week with the pipette provided. Pour very slowly, a drop at a time, through the watering hole. With harvesters, be extra careful: no more than 1 drop should leak into the nest. Two drops can push the humidity far too high.
With a meter, simply water when the nest humidity drops below 65%. In summer the nest may need it a little sooner, and in winter a little later.
Never water the outworld. Keep it dry, at about 50% humidity, like an average UK home.
Harvester ants must never have open water, because they can drown in it. Give them a watering test tube in the outworld, not a water dispenser. Most of the water they need comes from their seeds and other food anyway.
Feeding Your Harvester Ants
🌾 Seeds are the main food. Give our 👉 harvester ant seed mix. In our experience, about 15 seeds a fortnight is right for a colony of around 30 ants. Give more as the colony grows.
Always put the seeds on a piece of tin foil or in a 👉 small feeding dish in the outworld. Never put them straight on the substrate: damp seeds sprout, and sprouted seeds are harmful to the colony.
🥩 Once a week, for example every Monday, give a little 👉 Protein Jelly. The queen and brood need it to grow. Keep protein jelly in the fridge at all times.
🍯 Once a week on another day, for example every Thursday, 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.
Young colonies and lone queens lean more on protein and honey than on seeds. Once the colony has around 50 to 100 workers, it eats more and more seeds. Feed in the outworld only, and remove leftovers after 2 days to stop mould.
Keep Mites Out of Your Colony
Blood-sucking mites are one of the biggest dangers for harvester ants, 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, check every colony twice a month, and check each colony again before it leaves us.
A home freezer won't kill all the mites in seeds, so never rely on it. We freeze our seeds below -60°C in a special freezer before they reach you.
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
Harvesters are not famous escape artists, but every ant colony tests its outworld. 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. For 300 to 500 ants or more, reapply it about every 2 weeks. Never shake the bottle; roll it gently instead.
Winter Care
Messor cephalotes comes from East Africa, where there is no cold winter, so it needs no hibernation at all. Keep the nest at 24 to 28°C all year round, with the heating system running at 24°C through the colder months.
Harvesters are sensitive to cold. 15°C is the absolute minimum for the room, and 17°C or above is safe. Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and avoid any abrupt temperature change.
Even kept warm, the colony may slow down a little in winter, because its biological clock can't be tricked. If it does, feed less: at 22 to 26°C, about half the summer amount, and at 17 to 22°C, about a third.
Can I Release My Harvester Ants?
No. A colony raised indoors won't survive outside. If you ever 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 Messor cephalotes good for beginners?
It is an advanced species. It needs steady warmth all year, very careful watering and plenty of space as the colony grows. For a very first colony, an easier harvester such as Messor barbarus is a better start.
What do Messor cephalotes eat?
Seeds are their main food, from a harvester seed mix bought from an established ant-keeping supplier. Add Protein Jelly once a week and organic honey or Ant Nectar once a week on another day. Always feed in the outworld only.
How many workers before moving Messor cephalotes into a nest?
At least 10 workers, and 15 to 20 is even better. The same rule applies to a queen bought on her own: she stays in her test tube until she has raised enough workers.
Do Messor cephalotes need heating?
Yes, all year round in a UK home. We recommend the Advanced Heating System Small set to 24°C on every harvester ant farm: under one quarter of a horizontal nest, or half of a vertical nest.
Do Messor cephalotes hibernate?
No. They come from East Africa, where there is no cold winter, so keep the nest at 24 to 28°C all year. Never let them drop below 15°C, and keep the room at 17°C or above to be safe.
How big is a Messor cephalotes queen?
Huge: 23 to 25mm long, one of the biggest harvester queens in the world. The workers range from about 5mm to 18mm, so one colony holds tiny minors and giant majors side by side.
Do Messor cephalotes sting?
No. They have no sting, although the big-headed majors can give a small pinch with their jaws. As with every ant, never handle them.
Start Your Own Giant Harvester Colony
👉 Find Messor cephalotes queens and colonies in our shop and check availability. Once your colony settles, you can watch these giant harvesters fill their granaries with seeds.
Print this guide and keep it next to your ant farm. 👉 Keep the essentials close and explore all our free ant care sheets.
