Horned Lizard Food!
Harvester Ants are sold and distributed for WFRR by PhrynosomaTexas. All profits from sales go directly to daily operations of WFRR.
Feeder Ants for Horned Lizard ( aka Horny Toad ) or for use in Ant Farms
Summer Pricing:
500ct.: $14.00 ( Shipping by Priority Mail included! )
( $11.00 for HornedLizards Yahoo Group Members )
1000ct.: $19.00 ( Shipping by Priority Mail included! )
( $17.00 for HornedLizards Yahoo Group Members )
( Our next cheapest competition sells them for $20/1000 before shipping! )
Effective 6/16/09, Delivery Confirmation will now be required on all orders. The cost has already been factored into the total. See the checkout at the bottom of the page for order options.
Direct PayPal Payments To: Phrynosoma_Texas(at)yahoo or select your quantity from the drop down menu below.
( Note: If you reside in TX, CA, OK, or NM, be advised that these states have native species of horned lizards which are protected by wildlife/game laws that are unlawful to possess without Wildlife/Fish & Game Dept. permit. If you reside in one of these states, and are wanting to order ants, I now require a digital picture be emailed along with your payment, in order to identify the species you have. Failing to do so will delay your order. If you have captured a horned lizard from the wild, either to keep as a pet, or under the belief that you are "rescuing" it, then I would urge you to contact us for information before deciding to make it a pet, rescue it and treat it as a needy case, or attempt to relocate it. Thank you. )
Pogonomyrmex barbatus spp.
These are fresh and live Harvester ants, from the same colonies I feed my own Horned Lizards everyday. Our rescued Horned Lizards eat most of them, but we usually have enough on hand to sell and help fund our efforts. Whether as food for Horned Lizards, or for ants farms, these are the most popular genus of ant.
The P. barbatus species of harvester ant, is the most abundant harvester ant species within the Horned Lizard's natural range; from Texas, through Oklahoma and Kansas, and west to New Mexico and Arizona, and south into northern Mexico. The majority of Horned Lizard species are instinctually familiar with this species of harvester ant. Other species, such as P. californicus, have a smaller relative distribution and may be rejected or not favored by some species of Horned Lizard, particularly those not native to California or western AZ. and NV. The P. rugosus species, is a barbatus "complex" harvester ant, and is relatively smaller.
Why buy from us?
1. We are an animal rescue, and funds from the sale of these ants go to support our efforts in animal rescue, public education, and wildlife conservation; including the Horned Lizard.
2. We use sustainable methods to gather our harvester ants, which causes less impact to the local ecosystem.
Our biggest competitors use methods such as complete colony excavation with backhoe tractors, or digging deep trenches and then using compressed gas to evacuate the ants from their nest by blowing them out by the tens of thousands. These methods destroy the colony, which might have been there for a decade or more, and this results in the loss of a possible food source for wild Horned Lizards which live in the immediate area. Since these methods destroy colonies, which may take years for a harvester ant queen to build up, these methods are not sustainable in the long run.
We gather havester ants, using only vacuums on the ground surface. This ensures that not too many workers are taken from any one colony, and that the impact to the colony is minimal. The queen is quickly able to replace the lost workers without risking collapse of the colony, as would be the case with our competitor's methods.
When we discover a young winged queen or male drone in our vacuums, and we know where they came from, we make every effort to return them to their colony so that red harvester ants here will have the best chances of continuing on strong in the wild. These harvester ants not only serve as an important part of the ecosystem as a food source for "Horny Toads", but are one of the few natural deterrents to imported red fire ant invasion. Though they frequently lose to fire ants, harvester ants compete for resources with fire ants, and can help slow or stop the spread of that invasive pest species.
3. We are by far the most reasonably priced, whether you are looking for these ants as feeders or for an ant farm. We are routinely priced several dollars cheaper for the same quantity than our closest competition, and some suppliers even ask for the outrageous sum of $8 for a mere 30 ants!
4. We ship fast. Usually within 2 days of cleared payment, depending on weather and your location, and we use priority mail ( 2-3 days ConUS ). Some of our competitors use the slower first class option, and/or take up to 2 weeks to even fill your order for shipment. The slower mailing method also may likely result in you not getting all your ants alive.
Basic Life Cycle of the Harvester Ant:
The winged males and females gather at the entrance to their home colony where they were raised, awaiting spring and summer rain showers. After these showers, the winged ants take flight to mate. Once mated, the female flies off to become a new queen and start her own colony. The rain soaked ground helps her to dig just deep enough to lay her first eggs. She stays to keep guard, and survives on nothing but her own nutritional reserves until the new ants hatch. When the new young workers are born, they help to enlarge the colony for their queen and start gathering food for the colony as it grows. The workers are very industrious and spend all of their time digging tunnels, tending to the queen and the new young ant larvae, or foraging for food. The workers normally do not live very long, but the queen Harvester Ant and her colony itself may live for 12 or more years in the wild!
Horned Lizards:
Most Horned Lizard species are largely dependent on Harvester Ants as the main food item in their daily diet. The average adult Horned Lizard may eat 50-100 ants a day, or more, depending on size and species. The percentage of Harvester Ants in your Horned Lizard's natural wild diet varies with species. This could be anywhere from 60% to 90% of its natural diet. Most Horned Lizard species in captivity are P. platyrhinos, which are on the higher end of the scale, probably second only to the P. solare or P. mcallii in the amount of ants they eat.
Harvester Ants contain formic acid, which as harvesters of plant matter, is taken up from plants which produce it as a by-product of oxidation of CO2. Formic acid is believed by many Horned Lizard experts, such as Dr. Richard Montanucci ( Maintenance & Propagation of Horned Lizards in Captivity 1989 ), to aid in creating and maintaining proper pH levels and flora in the digestive tract of the lizard. This pH provides anti-infective protection from certain gram negative bacteria which cause common illnesses in reptiles, and may also help keep gastric parasites in check by providing a less hospitable pH environment.
Formic acid is a carboxylic acid, and a simple building block of more complex proteins; useful in the repair of damaged cells among other things. Horned Lizards also derive hydration from this acid, which when metabolized gives a small amount of water, salt, and carbon dioxide as by-products. These ants, being seed and plant harvesters, are additionally a great source of essential fatty acids. This provides protein and energy the Horned Lizard needs without loading him down with heavy common feeder items ( such as crickets and mealworms ) that are usually high in fat and chitin, and which require more metabolic energy to digest. Overuse of such prey items in the Horned Lizards' diet requires extra water in the bowels to digest these components properly. Insufficient hydration may result over the long term and lead to impaction. For the Horned Lizard species which are desert dwelling, water stores are better put to use elsewhere in the body than being used to break down excessively fatty meals.
Horned Lizards are generally difficult to keep in captivity and not recommended for the beginner. To ensure optimum health of your Horned Lizard and encourage full growth, feed him/her a varied diet that also includes a generous daily amount of Harvester ants.
Customer Please Read!
Payments, Shipping, and Contact Info:
* Most orders shipped within 2-3 business days. This does not mean you will receive your order in 2-3 days.
* Live orders shipped Mon-Wed. ONLY, unless you live within 1 day transit zone, or request and pay for Express mail service. Express mail option carries a minimum $25 charge, and may be a few dollars more, depending on your specific location.
* Priority Mail is generally 2-3 business days to most locations. This is not a guarantee of the delivery day, so please do not email me to inquire about your order two or three days after paying, or to ask about a delivery day, unless you have paid for Express Mail service. I am running an animal rescue, and tend to be busy caring for injured animals most of the day. Orders received Tue or later, may be shipped the following Mon.
* Tracking is not offered for basic priority mail service. If you want tracking, then request express mail.
* Because I am busy with other people's orders, animals, and a regular job, please DO NOT email or call me asking about your order the same week you placed the order. Allow 7-10 days before making inquiries. Take note that my processing time is 2-3 days, and priority mail is 2-3 days to most locations. That equals as little as 4, and as much as 6, but this is assuming we don't have bad weather, etc. Also, take note that I do not make live shipments after Wed to most locations, so if you place an order on Tue or Wed., it is probably not going to go out until the following week. Live ants cannot sit in a postal sorting center over the weekend.
* I do not sell queens
* I do not sell Horned Lizards ( Don't ask me where you can buy one either )
Accepted Forms of Payment:
* PayPal
* Credit/Debit card payments thru PayPal
* USPS Money order
Ships to N. America or anywhere you are able to import them. Shipping charges listed are for doemstic US only. Please do not email me asking if I can ship to your country. I will ship where ever you want to pay for them to go, but I make no guarantees on international orders without proof of verification from your customs/postal agency. Check your own importation laws. Shipping quotes to international addresses will depend on how much paperwork I must process to mail them.
Direct PayPal payments to Phrynosoma_Texas@yahoo.com or click on the PayPal button below.
Please ensure your correct shipping address and first and last name appear on your account when making your payment.
I require your order to be addressed to a person, not a business.
If you are paying by money order, I ONLY accept United States Postal Service money orders. Send email to request the mailing address.
If the PayPal buttons are out of service, visit paypal.com and direct your payment to the email address above.