Ant Keeping

>>2368301
I used to and at first I thought it would be a funny experience but then became disgusted by the ant clusters formed in some of the holes and threw everything away.

File: camponotusrufipesprogress20daysnotes2.png (3MB, 1500x844px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 1500x844px

>>2368301
Yeah I do OP.

First you should know that most Ant species really don't explode in their population until they're about 1-2 years old so you really don't get suddenly overwhelmed by them.
But once the colony gets big Ants eat A LOT. You can try controlling their population by feeding less proteins but that will just incite them to try and escape.

Also if you're American you're SOL since you'll have to catch a Queen yourself and also build their enclosure yourself. As far as I know shipping Ants is illegal in the US.

If you're European/Russian/Asian or Australian though I can give you a few links where you can order Formicariums and Ants.

Well I could write some huge guides here but just watch these vids that should give you a quick rundown on Ant Keeping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDrUr0gvP90

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiD5Sx60CVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yawFq_cI8E8

>>2368301
I'd recommend Camponotus spp. They're slow growing and too large to make good escape artists (by ant standards). They're fairly hardy once they get going, but they're a bit fragile in the founding stage. I'd recommend catching a few queens to make sure you end up with at least one viable colony. If you're in the northern hemisphere, this is about the time of year they're flying. Wait for a 75°+ day, preferably a humid one, and go to a lightly wooded area. Starting flipping rocks and logs. You're bound to come across at least one queen.

>>2368301
Bump

Hey Anon. Keep all sorts. At the moment I have leaf cutters, quite a few camponotus, pogonomyrmex, crematogaster, lasius and myrmica species. The US have quite strict rules when it comes to ants though. If you have Pogonomyrmex in your region I would try for those. They are faster growing than Camponotus while still being a good size. They're also shit at climbing glass which is an extra pro for escape prevention.

Canponotus are good but can be bastards to get going from founding. Once you're at 20 workers though you're typically pretty good to go.

Ants live a hell of a lot longer than you might think as well. You could be looking at keeping a queen anywhere from 15 - 30 years. The first 2 years as pointed out can be slow as all hell and then they step on the gas and they start popping out shit tonnes.

>>2368301
WHYYYY OH WHYYYYY GOD DID I DECIDE TO KEEP ANTS!@@!! THEY'RE EVERWHERE!!@@

I've been wanting to see if I can snag a queen or two of camponotus here in Cali, but the weather's been so fucky I'm not really sure when their nuptial flights will be, and considering I've yet to successfully capture ANY species of ant, I'm still sorta flailing around in the dark. I wouldn't mind finding something that grows a bit faster too, but not really sure what's in my area, aside from the aforementioned carpenter ants and shitloads of fire ants, which I'd like to avoid for now.