Starting a Colony-- Common Situations
We get many questions on just what you need to buy for a beginner ant-keeper, so here's a list of common scenarios you might be in!
I have never kept ants before (and want a shortcut)
Fear not! We've compiled a bunch of starter kits for your first colonies in the list below. These kits come with more or less all the set up you will need, and each kit comes with an instruction guide. Most of the items in the kit can be treated as one-time purchases for now
You'll also need some ants-- we typically recommend a beginner colony for one of our beginner species with at least 10 workers (however, the bigger the colony, the more active they will be). Feel free to play around with the filters to find something more suitable for you.
polygynous = can have multiple queens
polymorphic = has multiple worker sizes (e.g. soldiers)
Beginner Ants In Stock (With at least 10 workers)
Then, heat. Really, any of these options work. I personally suggest the smaller sizes unless you have a large number of colonies or a large colony. The heat will ensure your ants grow faster and are more active.
Lastly, food! At such a small colony size, typically you won't need to buy extra foods from us. The ants will want some sort of sugar and some proteins (e.g. seeds (filter by diet) and insects/meat/egg (everything else)).
We do sell fruit fly cultures, which are the favourite foods of many ants.
Confused flour beetles and surinam roaches are a really low maintenance way to keep feeders. You don't have to have all of them, and it's fine to pick a single staple food, but a variety always helps.
We provide a sugar mix, which is a favourite of the ants, but can be substituted with sugar water (1:4), honey, maple syrup, etc.
byFormica® Sunburst™ 60ml Ant Nectar
If you dislike live feeders, we also provide preserved feeder insects
I am on a very tight budget, but want to start keeping ants
No worries! Ant-keeping can be a very inexpensive hobby! You just have to start small. If you're on a tighter budget, I would recommend getting just a queen and some test tubes. No specific test tube upgrades needed. A queen by herself will be able to start a colony (albeit slow at first) and our most inexpensive queens start around 15$ (Select "None" for your test tube upgrade). Believe it or not, ants can be kept in these test tubes long term. In laboratory settings (or for large, messy colonies), often a "tubs and tubes" setup is used (just a foraging container e.g. rubbermaid container and test tubes). Our "Sort by Price" feature for beginner ants may help you with this endeavor.
Here's a guide on how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8edRYbn65Oo
I purchased an Uncle Milton Ant Farm (or some other soil nest)
Most soil nests are a bit difficult to use because of limited visibility (ants don't exactly love to be seen).
In this case, I would recommend getting a larger ant colony (preferably 25+ workers, but the more the merrier) to make sure that you can consistently see activity both in and outside of the nest. I highly recommend getting heat to increase growth and activity of the colony. Really, any of these options work. I personally suggest the smaller sizes unless you have a large number of colonies or a large colony. The heat will ensure your ants grow faster and are more active.
Because you are looking at a larger colony, food will be a bit more important. The ants will want some sort of sugar and some proteins (e.g. seeds (filter by diet) and insects/meat/egg (everything else)).
We sell fruit fly cultures, which are the favourite foods of many ants. A fruit fly culturing kit can last up to a year (even a bit more) ant maintain a colony.
Confused flour beetles and surinam roaches are a really low maintenance way to keep feeders. You don't have to have all of them, and it's fine to pick a single staple food, but a variety always helps. Crickets, mealworms, etc are also great.
We provide a sugar mix, which is a favourite of the ants, but can be substituted with sugar water (1:4), honey, maple syrup, etc. To make sure the water doesn't get absorbed into the soil, use an aluminum foil plate.
byFormica® Sunburst™ 60ml Ant Nectar
If you dislike live feeders, we also provide preserved feeder insects
I purchased a Gel Farm
Now, sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but the gel farm won't work. The gel is not nutritionally capable of supporting ants for a long period of time. It can mold and dehydrate, creating an inhospitable environment. While gel farms are equipped to sustain ants for a couple weeks to a couple months, ants can live for years.
At this point, I would recommend you remove the gel entirely, and treat it as a soil nest (In which case, consult the "I purchased an Uncle Milton Ant Farm (or some other soil nest)" section of the guide).
Alternatively, refund the nest and visit "I have never kept ants before (and want a shortcut)"