/r/antkeeping

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit for ant keepers!

A subreddit / forum for ant keepers to show off their colonies, formicariums, queens or anything else related to keeping ants as pets!

Ants & Ant-Keeping Discord!

Subreddit Wiki!

FAQ

  • 1) Why keep ants?

  • Simply put, they're wonderfully fascinating pets. For a lot of people in the hobby, this video was a gateway to understanding how incredible a pet ant colony can be. I've included a few more videos to get you started below!

  • 2) How do I get started?

  • Well, first you need a queen! I've written a guide for finding your first queen, but if you want to dive right in, here's a video showing just how easy it is:

  • Helpful links!

    • Guides:

  • Wikis and databases:

  • Other communities:

  • AntsAustralia Community

  • Ant keeping stores:

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    NORMAL THEME


    /r/antkeeping

    32,789 Subscribers

    2

    Ant ID Please? ( Caught in Hong Kong, China)

    7 Comments
    2024/11/01
    07:11 UTC

    0

    Need tips for ant keeping fir the first time

    2 Comments
    2024/11/01
    05:43 UTC

    1

    Can ants eat oven dried mealworms

    11 Comments
    2024/11/01
    05:11 UTC

    2

    What does ant bread look like?

    I can't seem to find much, if anything, about what ant bread looks like. Is it this sticky wad? There were a couple of girls tending it, right on top of a larvae, so I'm only guessing that's what it is..? Pogo barbatus

    0 Comments
    2024/11/01
    02:23 UTC

    3

    How do i know if my sugar water has gone bad?

    4 Comments
    2024/11/01
    01:11 UTC

    2

    Ideas on my plan?

    So I have two queens. One lasius niger and one lasius flavus. Lasius n has three workers and lasius f has none but brood. I've always thought about making a naturalistic setup. But what if I didn't have to make one. I would poke a hole in my garden, away from and neighbouring colonies. I would monitor them or try to at least push them out.( Not physically) And I would have my own colony right in my garden. Feed them the right stuff and garden colony? I think this would work but I'm not sure. And as well as that I wouldn't be able to observe the queen. Either one of these colonies I'm will to test it on. What do you think?

    2 Comments
    2024/10/31
    22:11 UTC

    2

    My colonies are dying and I don't know why! HELP

    I have been raising two Camponotus colonies from wild caught queens, CA02 and Vicinus. Both have about 12 workers and have been the stars of my YouTube video series. The other day I found one of the CA02 workers dead in the outworld, the next day all of them were dying except the queen. I moved her into a new test tube with her brood and she was fine for about 4 days after the incident, then she started behaving weird and now she is dying.

    The day following the CA02 die off, I noticed one Vicinus worker a day start dying. Now there is only one worker left and I'm scared the queen will suffer the same fate. Here is a series of clips in the order they occurred.

    I thought maybe it was a bad meal worm or the sugar water. Now I'm wondering if it could have been a piece of fruit I gave them. About week prior I have given the colonies a piece of strawberry, a few days later I gave them apple. Only now I'm finding that fruit can have pesticides. Could that be the reason or could there be another factor I'm not considering? The fact that they started dying a week apart strikes me as odd. Any insight is appreciated.

    6 Comments
    2024/10/31
    16:43 UTC

    3

    What are the schedules of nuptial flights?

    Im tryna hunt for camponotus maculatus or variegatus sp in the Philippines when is their schedule for nuptial flights? If its already over ill wait next year

    4 Comments
    2024/10/31
    10:35 UTC

    11

    I need help

    I need a info fact. -Do Phidole sp. have cocoons? -If they do , how long will it take to hatch? -If not , When will they finished pupation? -How large will the colony be to start getting majors? -How long will it take for a worker to get to a egg to pupae/Cocoon?

    If u do respond thank you for responding.

    6 Comments
    2024/10/31
    08:30 UTC

    5

    Does sugar water still go bad even in the fridge?

    I put my leftover sugar water in the fridge for the ants next meal will they go bad even in the fridge? And if so then when do they go bad

    10 Comments
    2024/10/31
    06:49 UTC

    2

    How long can ants survive without water

    I will be going to another country and i will leave my ant colony for possibly a month or 2 and i put 3 test tube set ups in it filled with water and if they go dry how long can ants survive without water?

    16 Comments
    2024/10/31
    06:02 UTC

    2

    Should I separate my queens?

    Recently i bought a queen online a messor queen(no specific species) and i got 2 queens instead of 1. Now i plan on raising both of them but since i don't know what species they are so i got no idea if they coexist with one another. Should i move them into separate test tube setups just to be safe or is it fine? Note: I live in Turkey and it has to be a native species because it was a legal site, also i don't have a macro camera so i can't id it neither

    1 Comment
    2024/10/30
    17:48 UTC

    3

    How big needs to be a colony of lasius Niger to move them in this formicarium?

    15 Comments
    2024/10/30
    17:26 UTC

    3

    Queen ant in car

    ..I unfortunately have to bring my queen Polyrhachis ant through a 7 hour roadtrip.

    I’ve had her in the dark, but I’m really worried about the vibrations. She hasn’t had her first workers yet either.

    Will she be okay?

    8 Comments
    2024/10/30
    14:56 UTC

    2

    Where to buy ants in South Africa?

    I'm in the northern suburbs of the Cape Town area if anyone knows a good place to source ants, or is willing to trade. I'm looking for a messor queen

    2 Comments
    2024/10/30
    13:11 UTC

    3

    Can i boil water to give to my ants instead of using distilled water

    42 Comments
    2024/10/30
    11:58 UTC

    11

    First nanitic of camponotus(sorry for the music if there is)

    3 Comments
    2024/10/30
    11:08 UTC

    3

    Queen in test tube

    How do you guys either A get rear cotton Ball out? or B keep filling up water while queens are in test tube?

    2 Comments
    2024/10/30
    08:37 UTC

    5

    Stigmatomma (Rothneyi?) Queen for sale

    Caught a Stigmatomma Female Alate (not sure if fertilised).

    Based in Penang. Willing to sell her and the test tube together for cheap.

    10 Comments
    2024/10/30
    06:14 UTC

    2

    Annyone know how long it takes for an iridomyrmex to have workers from eggs?

    0 Comments
    2024/10/30
    05:30 UTC

    2

    Anyone have tips for keeping dorymyrmex? Specifically dorymyrmex bicolor

    1 Comment
    2024/10/30
    04:27 UTC

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