My name is Zach, and I've been raising ants since 2016. Ant keeping is a fascinating hobby; you basically have a society on your desk. You can watch them grow from a single queen, to a bustling society with their own waste management, defense, and even healthcare systems. Starting and raising an ant colony requires some basic knowledge and equipment, but it can be an incredibly rewarding and educational experience. The oldest colonies I have now are around 5 years old, but I have friends whose colonies have lasted almost double that time period.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get started, and some tips and tricks on keeping your ants happy. 

What Do I Need?

Ants

• Queen Ant or Starting Colony

Housing

• 1 x Test Tube (Alternatively, a water pick, sold at flower shops, can be sufficient.)
• Cotton balls
• Test tube Outworld (Optional)
• Formicarium and Outworld (Usually sold together, or can be DIYed)

Feeding

• Heat Cable or Heat Mat
• Honey, Sugar, or a Commercial Ant Food
• Feeder Insects, such as crickets, mealworms, or roaches.
• Ant Liquid Feeders

Miscellaneous Supplies

• Fluon
• Tweezers
• A fridge, wine cooler, or garage (In Temperate Regions)

Step 1: Research Different Ant Species

Before acquiring ants, it's important to understand different species and choose one suitable for beginners. Some species are easier to care for and adapt well to captive conditions. Popular beginner species include:

• Lasius niger (Black Garden ant): Common and easy to care for. Very hardy and active.
• Formica subsericea (Silky Field ant): Larger than Lasius niger. Has a very aggressive feeding response, but colonies can be finnicky at small sizes.
• Tetramorium immigrans (Pavement Ant): Extremely hardy. Fast-growing, and voracious feeders.
• Camponotus spp. (Carpenter ants): Larger ants that are slower to grow, will produce soldiers.
• Pogonomyrmex spp. (Harvester Ants): Made famous by Uncle Milton, they are very hardy, love heat, and thrice on seeds.

Step 2: Acquire a Queen Ant or Starter Colony

The queen is the heart of your colony, so acquiring a healthy queen is essential. Here are some methods to obtain one:

1. Capture a queen during the nuptial flight season (spring and summer for many species). Look for winged queens on warm, humid days after rain. They can be identified by their large thorax and abdomen. Online communities like formiculture can help identify the species you've caught
2. Buy a queen and starter colony from a reputable ant supplier. Most countries have specific laws regulating which ant species can be kept, and will often regulate where you can purchase them from. Ensure the species is legal to keep in your area.

Buying a small starter colony will let you skip to step 5 (Ant Care In a Test Tube). Buying a colony ready to move into a formicarium (10-25 workers for large ants, 25-50 workers for small ants) will allow you to skip to step 6 (Moving Your Ants into a Formicarium).

Step 3: Set Up a Temporary Test Tube Setup (For Wild Queens)

A test tube setup mimics natural conditions and is ideal for founding a colony. This step is only necessary if you collect a queen on your own. Ants from most vendors will come in a test tube setup already.

1. Fill the test tube one-third full with water.
2. Insert a cotton ball to form a water reservoir, preventing water from leaking out.
3. Place the queen ant in the dry section and seal the entrance with another cotton ball.

Step 4: Wait for the First Workers

If you only have a queen, put the test tube into a dark and warm place. Ideally, if you have access to a heat cable, you should set it at the head of the dry part of the tube to heat the ants.

Most queens are fully-claustral, meaning they will not need any food during this period. Generally, fully claustral ant queens are larger and have larger abdomens than other queens.

Certain ant species are semi-claustral, meaning they will need periodic feeding during this period. Generally, semi-claustral ant queens are smaller, and have thinner abdomens than fully-claustral ants.

In addition, many ant queens will want to hibernate for a winter before laying eggs and producing workers. For many ant species in the Northern US and Canada, this is only required during the first year of the colony's existence. If you collected or purchased a single queen in the fall or winter, please refer to step 8 (Hibernating Your Ants).

To be certain of whether you need to feed the ants at this stage, it is best to get a positive identification for your ants. Canada Ant Colony provides a free identification service for live ants and is accurate for Canada and most US states.

Alternatively, you can ask a local ecologist, myrmecologist, or entomologist, or check the various online ant keeping communities.

Within 2-3 weeks, your queen should begin laying eggs.

4-6 weeks after the first eggs are laid, you should expect to see the first workers emerge. These ants will be smaller, and are called nanitics. Once the first nanitics appear, procede to step 5 (Ant Care In a Test Tube)

If the queens are not heated, expect to double the development time.

Step 5: Ant Care in a Test Tube

Once the first workers appear, you should begin to develop a feeding schedule for your ants. Small colonies are typically pretty docile, and will not try to escape their containment unless they're starved. As a general rule, ants need liquid sugars, which they use for energy, and protein and fats, which are primarily fed to the larvae and queen to promote growth. There are two ways to do this:

Feed Directly Into The Test Tube

To Feed Sugars: Use a pipette or toothpick, and dip it in a liquid sugar, which can be smeared on the inside of the test tube. Liquid sugars include honey, maple syrup, hummingbird nectar, or a commercial ant diet.

The sugar should be in a watery consistency, and we typically suggest not feeding more volume than the sum of half the ants' abdomens at a time. It's better to underestimate the amount of food than overestimate. The ants will store extra food in a separate stomach (called the crop).

The extra sugars will likely dry up and become a gross residue on the side of the test tube. To get around this, you can use a small feeding dish out of tin foil. However, be warned that the ants will soak it up with sand and cotton, which might make a gross garbage ball. Best to underfeed in case they drown or get stuck in the sugar residue. The ants should be fed sugars at least twice a week, but they can go longer without sugars if required.

To Feed Protein and Fat: Small ant colonies do best when fed freshly dead insects. Typically, you should cut them up, and feed, for example, a cricket leg, or a slice of a mealworm. This should be done twice a week ideally. Being fed more protein means the ants will grow faster.

Certain ants can eat seeds as a supplement to dead insects. A high protein seed mix, such as dandelion seeds or hulled hemp hearts, is ideal.

Waste Disposal: The ants will likely put their garbage in a dry part of the test tube, likely at the front. You should clear this pile out every couple weeks.

 

Use a Test Tube Outworld

Optionally, feeding becomes easier in a test tube outworld. This is alternatively called a "Tubs and Tubes" set up. It involves placing a test tube into a foraging area where the ants can feed. It makes feeding and waste disposal easier, and places less stress on the ants.

To start, simply place your test tube in an outworld, with the mouth open, or connect it to the outworld.

To Feed Sugars: Use a pipette to fill up a liquid feeder. These are commercial waterers specifically designed for ants. Screw on the base, and put it in the outworld.

To Feed Insects: To provide insects, simply place parts of freshly killed insects into the outworld. The ants will come out and bring it back into their home to eat at leisure.

Waste Disposal: The ants will designate a portion of the foraging area as a waste pile, or middens. Simply use tweezers or remove this pile by hand every few weeks.

Your ant colony will slowly grow over time, and you will be able to watch the number of workers increase over time.

Step 6: Moving Your Ants into a Formicarium

Before buying a formicarium, you should ensure that your ants are ready to move in. As a general rule, the ants should not fill more than less than 20% of the formicarium when you move them in. Otherwise, they begin to confuse the inside of the nest and the foraging area, and may begin to move their garbage into the nest, where it can rot, and is difficult to clean up.

Most nests have two components: A nest and an outworld. The outworld, or foraging area, is where the ants hunt for food, collect their garbage, while the nest is where they reside, raise their brood, (It's the part that happens underground!)

To move an ant colony from a test tube to a formicarium, there are two main methods: manually transferring them or coaxing them to relocate using environmental changes.

Manual transfer involves carefully tipping the ants out of the test tube and into the formicarium. To do this, open the test tube and gently tap it at the entrance of the formicarium in the outworld/foraging area, allowing some ants to fall in. If needed, gradually increase the tapping force to encourage the rest of the colony to exit, with workers carrying the brood and queen into the new nest. This method is quick but can be stressful for the ants, and there’s a risk of injury to the queen or losing some of the brood if done too roughly. It’s best used when the colony is small, or as a last resort if they’re refusing to move.

Coaxing the ants to move voluntarily is a gentler and more natural approach. First, make sure that the ants have access to their new homes, either by connecting them with tubing, or manually. Since ants prefer dark, warm, humid environments, you can make the formicarium more appealing by covering it to keep it dark while exposing the test tube to a bright light source. You can also make the formicarium warmer than the test tube, and let the test tube remain cold and dry.

Over time, the ants will start moving the queen, brood, and themselves into the more favorable environment. This method can take a few days to several weeks, depending on the size and preferences of the colony, but it’s much less stressful for the ants and significantly lowers the risk of harm.

Step 7: Ant Care in a Formicarium

A formicarium with an attached outworld provides a more natural foraging area where the ants can find food. This setup makes feeding and cleaning easier while minimizing disturbance to the colony. The ants will forage in the outworld and bring food back to the nest.

Make Sure to Heat The Nest!

• Use a heat cable or heat mat meant for reptiles and put it under one corner of your nest. Do NOT heat the entire nest. Ants will move around the nest in an attempt to find the ideal humidity and temperature for everyone. 

Make Sure to Water The Nest!

• Most nests should come with an instructional kit on how to water the nest. Typically, there is some sort of water port or tray that you must ensure doesn't run dry, usually with a syringe. Make sure that the nest always has water available!

To Feed Sugars:

• Use a pipette to fill a liquid feeder (commercially available for ants) with a sugar source. Place the liquid feeder in the outworld for easy access.
• Alternatively, you can place a drop of diluted honey or sugar water on a small feeding dish within the outworld.

To Feed Protein and Fat:

• Place small pieces of freshly killed insects directly in the outworld. The ants will collect the food and bring it back to the nest at their own pace.
• Monitor the outworld to ensure the protein is being consumed and replace any uneaten portions every 24-48 hours.

Waste Disposal:

• The ants will create a "midden" or waste area in the outworld where they dispose of debris. Use tweezers or gloves to remove waste piles every couple of weeks to maintain cleanliness.

Step 8: Hibernating Your Ants

Hibernation is an essential part of caring for many temperate ant species, allowing them to mimic their natural winter dormancy. Properly hibernating your ants promotes colony health and longevity. Here’s a simple guide to help you hibernate your ants:

1. Determine if Your Species Needs Hibernation:

• Temperate species (e.g., Lasius, Formica, Camponotus) typically require hibernation.
• Tropical species may not need hibernation and can be kept at a stable temperature year-round.

2. Preparing for Hibernation:

• Start slowing down the feeding schedule in late fall, reducing food gradually. Ants should be well-fed before entering hibernation.
• Lower the temperature gradually over 1-2 weeks to avoid shocking the ants. Move the colony to a cooler area, such as a basement or garage, and aim for temperatures between 5-10°C (41-50°F).

3. During Hibernation:

• Keep the formicarium or test tube setup in a dark, quiet place with stable temperatures.
• Maintain slight moisture in the nest to prevent dehydration but avoid excessive watering.
• Do not disturb the colony. Check on them occasionally, but avoid unnecessary movement.

4. Ending Hibernation:

• After 3-4 months, gradually warm the colony back to room temperature over a couple of weeks.
• Resume regular feeding and care. The colony may take some time to become active again.

 

Proper hibernation helps your ants stay in sync with their natural life cycle and supports healthy growth in the coming year.

Step 9: Common Troubleshooting Tips