Starting Your own Ant Colony!
Seem like you already past the 1st step of ant keeping which is interested on keeping ants!
Okay lets get serious!
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You need to have a single queen ant to farm your own colony. Without queen ant, your ants colony cannot reproduce since worker ant only can last a few week to several month depends on the species but Queen ant can live up to 30 years! Ant queen can be capture in your area during mating season or after nuptial flight season depend on the species. Queens ants can be found at anytime of the day or night. All you need to do is to look for it. The best ways is you should always carry containers, bottle or test tube every time you leave you home because sometimes we didn't expect what we will find out there. How to identify queen
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Queens with wing does not mean that she is not infertile. The queen may break off their wing inside your test tube. So just catch the queen that you find.
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If happen to catch ants queens, make sure you always keep them separated because they may fight to death.
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The best time to find queens ant is after rainstorm and warm humid days.
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Best location to find them are at countryside, walkway or fielded areas. Feel free to catch more than 1 queen but do not over catch.
How to rise a queen ant
Most ant keeper find that the best way to rise a single queen ant is by using test tube set up.
In test tube setup, the queen is confined to small space there to emulate founding stage of ant colonies development in the wild or natural conditions.
On the bottom of the tube will be the water part that has been restrain by cotton wool which provide humidity and for the queen/colony to drink. Middle part will be the colony chamber and at the end of the tube should be close by using cotton wool to prevent the ant from escaping.
Know the queen type
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Start your own colony!
Seem like you already past the 1st step of ant keeping which is interested on keeping ants!
Okay lets get serious!
Queen ant for sale!
The queen ant has a important role to serve. She's the egg layer for the colony to keep developing. She will be the mother of all the other ants in your colony.
Fully Claustral species (large thorax & gaster)
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Fully claustral species are able to sustain themselves on water alone until their worker is emerge.You might can put sugary food early on can be beneficial for their development.
Semi- Claustral ant queen
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This species are lack the ability to fast during the founding process. They must leave their chamber to hunt for the food. Unlike fully claustral species, you will need to feed them and provide a space which they can forage for the food.
After your queen appropriately housed, make sure you cover the setup from any source of light and vibration and place on a place with room temperature.
What to feed ant?
Ants is like most creatures on Earth, depends on water and nutrition to survive. Almost all ant species are omnivores, meaning they eat most things digestible. Ant are experts at making use of their surroundings to feed themselves and their colony members.
Protein
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Mealworm, super worm, dubia roach, red runner roaches,etc
( most of this pet food can find on local fish shop)
Ant colonies spend a lot of time gathering insects and other things they consider rich in protein. The protein works as a foundation for the colony, fulfilling the base need for growth and expansion. The protein is fed to the larvae and queens. The larvae is fed chewed up pieces by the workers, giving them everything they need to grow into adult ants. The workers themselves can not digest solid food, only in liquid form. Even though they have mandibles capable of chewing their prey, they can not swallow it due to a filter in their mouth. The solid food is not small enough to pass it’s mesh. The adult ants do not require protein the same way that the larvae does. The queen on the other hand needs a constant supply to be able to create and lay eggs. This is resource-demanding work that require both protein and carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates/Sugar
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Sugar water, honey, syrup, etc
The adult ants doesn’t grow and therefore they don’t need protein the same way as the larvae and queens. But since the workers spend their days and nights working they need energy, carbohydrates. And the easier they are to consume the better. Ants love sugar, and will almost always prefer it when they need to refill their reserves. Sugar can be fed in different forms, but the liquid form is undoubtedly the best.
Water
Just like us, ants need water to survive. Most colonies can survive without food for a while, but a lack of water is deadly. If you are using test tube setup it won't be a problem, but if the colony are in formicarium setup please place a wet cotton wool or tissue on the outworld of your formicarium. Avoid use bowl or dish for water because will risk your ants to drown in it.
Note: Occasionally, after all your efforts in accommodating for your queen, she can unexpectedly die without any real explanation as to why. Try not to be discourage by it and just focus on others you may have caught or just catch another queen. The point is, ant keeping hobby often requires patience. It can sometimes take a long time for the first generation of worker to arrive