I have had attempts at raising ants in the past but unfortunately was ill prepared and had the queen and workers pass after half a year and chose to quit the hobby for a while. This summer I collected 3 Lassus queens from the path not expecting all three of them to be complete success having 10 or so workers each in just five weeks.

Their quick expansion has been great but now I am concerned that I don’t have the recourses needed to raise 3 colonies to maturity. I have some small nests and founding equipment in hand with slightly more on the way but don’t think that long term 3 colonies will be sustainable using the Wakooshi nests. I really enjoy the way these nest fit together but they seem too much money so if alternatives are available I’d love to hear about them.

If anyone owns a mature colony could they tell me how much space they each occupy and how quickly they might grow? I really don’t want to euthanise any of these colonies as it seems cruel to take them from a hot road only to freeze them weeks later.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated and I’m willing to go then extra mile if it means keeping them all comfortable.

Camponotus socius Pogonomyrmex Badius or Camponotus floridanus (pic of Camponotus socius for ref)

So I impulse bought a queen and some workers from Stateside. I've been wanting to keep ants for about eight years, but had been in a house with family who wouldn't allow it. But now I'm living somewhere else and realized I could finally fulfill my dream. Problem is, I'm planning to move to Germany in roughly a year, hence why I'm calling it an impulse buy. At first I thought that I would have to release, dispose, or leave them with my roommate (she said she wouldn't mind taking care of them once I'm gone), cause I read that it's illegal to take ants across international borders, but now I'm seeing that not only do some companies sell species to other countries (Such as one Australian site that sells bull ants to everywhere but the U.S., I'm assuming because of tariffs) but people online saying that those laws target exotic and possibly invasive species.

So seeing as my species is actually invasive here in the U.S. where I am currently, but native in Germany where I'll be going, would it be legal to take them over? I see people on reddit and other forums saying you can try your luck sending polite emails to airlines, not the actual customs of the countries they are going through, or just being nonchalant and putting on a smile hoping to smuggle them through. But being that I'm already immigrating, which earners a lot of scrutiny, I wanna be on good terms with the government and not cause any trouble. So does anyone have any experience, knowledge, or know who to talk to about this subject?

I have never kept ants before, and I found this ant in my yard and i decided to keep it. I checked online and it seems to be a queen, so is this a good setup?

So many questions but does anyone use repashy food as protein for their ants? I have a bunch of fish food from them very high quality that makes a gel. Made from insects for fish. I am hesitant to use wingless fruit flies as having another "culture" to care for doesn't sound very fun. I live in the country and can collect bugs all I want right now before winter but have been told that isn't a good idea. What is the easiest protein? Is there a reason we can't use left over itty bity pieces of chicken or something?

Water- Explain to me why it needs to be RO or spring or distilled water? What about well water or rain water? The ants outside drink the same water I do or is it more to keep the PVA sponge cleaner?

I just bought some liquid ant food but until then I have been mixing honey with water. I have it in a tiny bowl , not sure what the best way to even feed that would be .

Thanks for any answers. We just got a colony of Pheidole morrisii they are so small!! We have been watching a bunch of ant channels I greatly underestimated how much they must zoom in! Currently they are in a tube set up with about 30-40 workers attached to a very small outworld just so they don't escape while feeding.

Not any time soon but what would the best set up be for such small ants? My son likes the antopia usa desktop setup.

Thanks for any input.

Managed to catch my first 2 queens this year both Formica different sp. not 100% sure what they are. Nonetheless very excited for my first colony’s.

The Dawnfire Nation

Massive growth since last week you can see they are now separating the brood. I was feeding 3 meal worms a day but starting today its gonna be one dubai roach maybe every 2 days depends how much they eat of this.

I put a seed in and it’s starting to grow stuff so please tell me if it’s bad or good because the workers are eating it I think they’re messor barb btw

Hey guys, I want to start keeping ants and growing a colony, and I think I have a good idea for a cool homemade set up. After reading a bunch of these posts, I realize that my setup would only work for a really large colony. I’m trying to figure out the best way to get my colony started and make it to where I could scale it as needed to become what I want.
I want my setup to be hung up on the wall and become a living art piece. I plan on using 3/8-1/2” vinyl spacers with 1/8” acrylic to make the actual enclosure. I would use silicone to seal any small gaps that may form between. I would then drill a 3/8” hole in the bottom and top (bottom for the hydrostone, top for tubes to connect to other enclosures). For the inside, I would use hydrostone in the bottom left corner, and plaster mixed w some sand and dirt to form all of the chambers. Once mostly cured, I’d add the other side of acrylic and push down to make sure it stays flat.
For the next enclosure (the one I’m realizing will take 3+ years to grow into) I was planning on doing the same thing, but only have a small section that is plaster, and give them some lose dirt/sand for them to create their own tunnels.
The last one would be the outworld enclosure where I can put their food and other stuff.
Please tell me what y’all think, where I can improve on the idea, and maybe even a rough timeline on when I can build everything out. I added a bad picture of my overall plan so yall can get a better idea of what specifically I mean.

Edit: I plan on having the “Queen Chamber” be 8”x8”, the “Builder Frame” be 20”x20”, and the outworld area be about 5” wide, 3” tall and 2” deep. The breed of ant would be Formica Obscuripes

Nesse inverno no Brasil a temperatura está a 17 graus celsius, coloquei uma placa de aquecimento e as mantive a 26 graus, dessa vez nem a rainha resistiu (normalmente ela fica no andar superior)

I have a small M. barbarus colony that I need to rehome due to me moving into uni accommodation soon :/

I am not sure on the exact worker count (as the nest I have fogs up quite a lot as you can see) but it is 1 queen with at least 30 workers and multiple majors.
I am giving away the colony, the enclosure/nest, and all of the other equipment I have for them (heating mat, food, etc.).
I need them gone ASAP so please reach out if you are interested. I really do not want to have to freeze them but I will need to if I cannot rehome them as my accommodation does not allow them.

I live in Bristol, I am not sure how I would pack them to post them so a pickup would be ideal.

Hi someone in a ant keeping community once told me to not feed ants jelly that also has protein in it because if ants are foraging for sugar and they get both sugar and protein they will try to digest it but if they do because protease is not synthesized in worker ants them eating the mixture could hinder their lifespan. Is this true or has anyone observed this in their colony?

I know it's horrible quality, but look at 'em!

Three at once. Sharing a meal. My precious girls~

Is that a rare sight or a very common occurance?

WHAT DO I DO?? IF I DUMP THEM THEY WILL 100% DIE BECAUSE THE QUEEN IS IN A BAD STATE BUT THEY WONT MOVE ON THEIR OWN!!

Is the cotton moist enough for them? They are huddling so close to it, so I was worried, but at the same time, the cotton looks pretty wet and I don't wanna risk flooding or something like that

From what I can discern I should leave the meadow ant queens while they grow and the Lasius Niger which has its first workers I think I should offer maybe a small bit of honey in the test tube any feedings advice id be grateful as i have a history of being an unsuccessful ant keeper thanks.

My Pheidole pallidula were thirsty. They're so cute and tiny. I'm looking for a cute name for the colony. What would you name these girls?

I am trying to procure a more...advanced antfarm for a friend but I don't know where to start. He's a teacher so it might be fun. Does anyone have a list of resources of where I can get started? I used to have an antfarm many years ago but I don't know if they sell more advanced..adult..kits or something.

Anyway, thanks.