Newbie ant man!

[paulk]

Hi everyone, am still getting used to these forums so I am sorry if this is in the wrong place!

I am new to the world of Ants and was hoping for some advice. I would like to start a colony, a simple one to start with and was hoping that someone out there could give me advice on what species to keep and what set up I should provide.

I have been keeping inverts for many years, Phasmids and Mantids etc. Any help you can offer will be great!

[Jenny]

Hi Paulk,

Welcome to this forum You have placed your first introduction in the right place, as this chamber is for newbies to find their antennae in

Tunnel around the boards and pick up some ideas and information. Choice of species and formicarium is really your own in the end, but this forum is here to help you decide on that choice.

The UK species like nigers (Black garden ant) and rubras (red ant) are usually what new ant keepers go for to start with, until they get bitten by the hobby

[Wood~Ant]

Hi Paulk, and welcome to the Ant Hill

You will do best to start with either a British or North European ant species. As Jen has said, something like Lasius niger, Myrmica rubra or perhaps a hardy Camponotus or Formica species.

Start off with ants which are cheap to buy, or better still, ones which are local to you. Newly mated queens are easy to find in mid to late summer, when young mated females shed their wings and search for new nest sites.

I would recommend most newbies to put any ants into an Ant World, as these are around £10 to buy, can be found in stores like Woolworth or Toys R Us etc., and are virtually escape proof while providing good visibility and access.
Then when you've got more experience with keeping ants, you can progress onto more difficult species and types of Formicarium to house them in

One tip. Don't try to collect an ant colony from the wild, as unless you know exactly what you're doing, you could end up with just workers and may have destroyed an entire nest which may be older than yourself for nothing; as unless you find the queen or queens alive and well, it is a pointless exercise and something which is frowned upon by ant lovers!