How did it all start?

[Jenny]

I often wonder how did you all start collecting and keeping ants?
Was it reading books, watching them on the pavement or garden, or was it one of those fascinating insect programmes
Was it from a youngster, to revenge mother

Do you think you will be keeping them until your 70 ? I bet Wood will ;D

[huntersmoon]

Well when I was 3-4 I used to sit in my back garden watching ants run around the path. I used to cover them with a little sand and watch them dig out of it. And noticed they lived in groups (I was young and didnt know much about insects ;D). When I knew they lived in groups I was fasinated by that and kept hunting for nests everyday looking for a few ants to see if they were different from the last ones I had seen.

When I seen "red ants" as I used to call them, I some how loved to observe them do not know why ... But I think it spawned from there my intrest in ants.

When I was 15 I was bored one day and was thinking about what I did as a kid. And I decided to type "Ants" in google and it came up with a Ant farm.
And well ever since then I always wanted to keep ants of my own but because I had exams and school and GCSE's I never got around to it.

But now there over I'm expecting my ant colony tomorrow !

[Nattybob]

I've always had a fascination with ants, I cannot explain why it all started, but here are a few things that I think built on the natural interest I took in them and made me keep them:

- When I was only a toddler (about 2yrs I think) me and my older sister were on a holiday in a caravan in Devon, we were playing outside the caravan when we sat down for a snack (some opal fruits or starburst sweets as they are now known! how's this for memory?!) and accidentally plonked ourselves right atop a nest of angry Myrmica rubras! the little devils immediately attacked, stinging me and my sister all over, most children would be permanently scarred by this, but I found their attack on us amazing, like a little army!

- Growing up in my garden I would frequently watch the massive numbers of L. nigers that swarm our garden every summer, one year I remember going outside and there was a massive (and I mean gargantuan here!) moth rolling around flapping its wings, I've never been a fan of moths, but neither am I a fan of not investigating something in trouble, I got close to the moth and quickly realised what was happening, its body and legs were covered with nigers, hundreds of them! I sat and watched as they slowly took the moth apart and dragged it away!

- When I was about ten, my parents took me to Tenerife, whilst there, I spent a lot of time watching the local ants (don't know the species) One day I watched as they ambushed a cockroach, flipped it on its back and carted it away under the decking I was stood on, whilst it was still alive!

- Finally, My holiday a couple of years ago to Greece, I frequently watched Cataglyphis nodus and Messor barbarus/capitatus rip each other to shreds in the hotel grounds, I also saw a highway of Messor ants wel over a meter long, it led to an olive!

These are only a couple of thigs that made me want to keep these amazing insects, but the other things are just going to make this post too long to be bothered reading!

Nathan ;D

[Jenny]

Yes when you do get older, you think back and wonder "How did I start collecting things?"

A lot of collecting insects and other interesting hobbies do start from childhood, but then by teenage they sometimes wain off as girls and exams etc come on the scene, I have seen it happen on here with previous members Then by your late 20's when you have spare time, something like seeing your old tank in the cupboard or attic will trigger the anting thing off again, even seeing something like this forum but it could be the same for any hobby really.

[Nattybob]

Hehe, my girlfriend tries her hardest to stop my hobby, she thinks its weird, but I think she'll warm to the idea, do not think she'll ever get used to Herbert though (my pet house spider)

Nathan ;D

[Jenny]

Stick to your guns Nat and keep your hobbies, you will be glad you did when you get older too Women will try to talk you out of your interests so that you take notice of them instead ;D

[Nattybob]

Hehe, do not worry, I'm not getting rid of my ant farms, or Herbie for that matter, he's more a learning curve for me than a pet (I was fed up of being scared of spiders every time one came in my room, so I decided to learn about them and watch them, understanding is the first step to acceptance ) So far Herbie has been a great partner in conquering my fear, my next step: Hold him in my hands!

Nathan ;D

[Wood~Ant]

Crikey, I'm so old I can't remember how and when I first got into ant keeping, I guess I just sort of fell into the hobby
No jokes about Wood showing signs of senile dementia please! ;D

I know I was mildly interested in ants and other insects (mostly Hymenoptera) from around the age of 7, but did not actually keep my first colony until I was 11. After the age of 17 I gave up briefly, and then started in a big way when I reached 25.
This was when I was nursing in Norfolk and found nesting colonies of Lasius fuliginosus and L. alienus in Thetford Forest.

In total I have been keeping and studying ants for 42 years now; and I reckon I will be for a long time to come

[Honeydewman]

When I was 5 years old I fell onto a Myrmica rubra nest. When I mean fell I mean literally. The nest was disturbed and before I had the urge to get up...OUCH!!! ....I saw all the different stages of the Ant from Egg to Pupae. From that point onwards I was captivated and have been fascinated by them ever since. Where possible as a Child I collected them in Large Shop Sweet Jars. In those days I made the mistake of collecting them from different nests, but the amazing thing was they co-existed successfully for as long as I kept them. I only ever collected the Rubra because they were extremely aggressive and I liked watching them hunting their quarry.
Nowadays, I am more professional and have learned a great deal from your WebSite. I hope too that my experiences and discoveries have also helped others...
It takes a special kind of person to become an Ant Collector I feel.

Wouldn't it be nice if one day we could all meet up and discuss our experiences? I think that there would be one hell of a party.

[Jenny]

The ant interest for me was when I was a child living back home in Wales. My father was a stone mason and built decorative walls all around our home.
These stone walls attracted the ants, and there the "bug" set in for life The oppurtunity for picking up stones there was great, but here in Sussex it is all flint.
Now I am well known at work as the girl who sleeps with the ants

[Vendayn]

Hmm, well it stated awhile back. My first real memory of ants was in 1997 or 1998...so I was 7 or 9...somewhere around there. I'm sure I was interested in ants before then, but the memory is too fuzzy.

Well I lived in these apartments and a HUGE nest of Pogonomyrmex had a nest in a small area of plants, protected by the road. Well, every day I watched them defend their nest against Argentine ants...the first few days the Argentine ants would crawl in and attack them. Well I decided to cover the nest up with dirt when the Argentine ants attacked. And maybe it was a coincidence...but after I did that the Pogos would start covering their nest with dirt as well...before they didn't. Anyway, I watched them for maybe a year? Or possibly two...don't remember, it was awhile. Every day the Argentine ants attacked, and every day the Pogo kept on living. Well I think it was in 1998 or 1999 we moved and the last day when we moved the Pogo's were digging across the one lane street, down the sidewalk and had holes from the same nest going past the second apartment building. They were EVERYWHERE...despite always being attacked, they did well. Never knew what happened to them...but I'm 99% sure that they are dead by now. But it was really fascinating watching them. It was a huge nest...too bad the Argies probably killed them...but they lived a long time despite them.

Well, a few years later...think it was 2001 or 2002...possibly 2003. I had my first "real" ant farm...ants and queens in a 10 gallon tank. Worst ant I could have kept, though since they were Argentine ants. Excellent escape artists and always escaped. But it was my first time.

Jumping forward a few years...I had my first successful ant farm of Solenopsis invicta (Imported fire ants)

queenant.proboards82.com/index.cgi?board=fallen&action=display&thread=1455

that was back in 2006 and I had them I think at the end of 2005. Had over 100,000+ ants...and that is no exaggeration. I released them, but they didn't make it.

And the story ending is...I have learned that small ants are a lot harder to keep (mostly because they escape easily and I don't like using lids at all). I have Pogonomyrmex californicus now, and they are really easy so far...so that is how it has ended so far is my one Pogonomyrmex colony and my 6 Pogonomyrmex queens. Its actually my first time I've ever got Pogonomyrmex queens and a whole colony...and first year I've found so many of them...actually...I've never found any Pogo queens until now. But so far they are very easy to keep. I think out of my 7 queens I got, only one has died (haven't seen her in about a week).

[sammy]

wow, well I havent been on here for a loooong time, did ya miss me? well, I got into ants by .... putting the red ants at the top of my garden into a jam jar with the black ants to see who would win the fight, it was allways the red ants so I used to put in more blacks than reds , I was only 7, or 8 or was I 6.... and then I found a queen one day and I put it in a little box with mud in it and it had workers, but then it died , and about 4 years later I got my fisrt and farm and queen!! and thats my life story... I mean my ant story

[Deleted]

Looking at Ant mating flights for the first time really got me going when I was young , also watching the ants hunt insects in the back garden was interesting!!!

Loved to put a dab of honey down too, and see the first ant put a scent trail down back to nest.

Ah memories... my kitchen was raided once for jam/sugar too.!!

[Akaant]

I was around 6-7 years old. I used to enjoy watching pavement ants fight in large swarms.

[Foxkit]

I think it started when I sat in a pile of fire ants at my day care. Then the house that I lived in had an acre of back yard, so it wasn't hard to find them. I think I was more interested in bee's instead of ants at the beggining, I helped a friend of my moms with her bee hives.