13 replies to this topic

[Roumitris]

Okay so some context. I'm 15 years old, a few years ago I wanted to start keeping ants however my parents wouldn't let me so I kinda gave up on the idea. Now tho I've been getting a bunch of ant videos on my yt feed and I've started reconsidering starting. It is mid-winter right now so I have a loooot of time before I can get started, I'm still not sure if I'll end up getting a queen but I still have a few questions so I can decide.

I've read the beginners guide in the forum but I still have some questions. Firstly, any tips on persuading my parents? I havent told them yet lol but I won't until I'm 100% sure I want to do this. Is it expensive? How much money would I have to spend per year for example. Are there any good online stores based on the EU? Also do colonies grow fast? If yes, is there a way to control the growth of a colony because honestly I don't have much space. Also in the summer we usually go away for a few weeks, what can I do with the ants then? Does the general upkeep of a colony take a lot of time per day? Where can I find a variety of protein/sugar foods to feed them? If I can't keep the ants anymore, will I be able to release them in the wild? Is it likely that the ants would escape and if they do what do I do then? Lastly could you give me any other general tips that may you have? I hope I'm not getting too ahead of myself with some of these questions, I just want to have everything figured out before I start and end up giving up/not liking it/not knowing what to do.

 

 

[Manitobant]

1. AntsCanada has a video on this:

2. It depends. Some species grow very large and cost a lot more money to maintain than others

3. The EU has a lot of good stores, such as esthetic ants

4. Depends on species.

5. Give then a sugar feeder or have someone come over to ensure they don’t starve

6. No, although some species require more upkeep

7. Mixing sugar and water works fine and you cab get feeder insects like crickets at any pet store

8. DO NOT do this under any circumstances

9. Depends on species. Some are much more easy to contain than others.

10. Start with something easy like camponotus or lasius, and do as much research as you can before buying a colony.

[Roumitris]

Ok so if I can't release it in the wild, what can I do with a colony that I can't control anymore, or if I loose interest. I don't really want to kill the ants I would feel very bad.

 

edit:I also found some dried crickets and mealworms at a pet shop near me would these work?

Edited by Roumitris, February 10 2025 - 7:57 AM.

[Manitobant]

1. You can sell to another antkeeper

2. Yes, although live works much better than dried

[Roumitris]

And where could I sell a colony, I hope these questions arent getting too stupid lol

[AntBoi3030]

And where could I sell a colony, I hope these questions arent getting too stupid lol

They're not stupid; everyone has a lot of questions when they first start.

 

A lot of stores will buy queens and small colonies. But that tends to be in bulk. You can contact other ant keepers in your area and put them up for sale. I know it's kind of old, and I'm not sure if it's still very active, but the Ants Canada GAN project was a good way to sell colonies to people in your area. You can even sell ants on this forum, just make sure you include your general location. 

[rptraut]

Hello Roumitris;

Welcome to Formiculture and the world of ant keeping! Many of the questions you have are covered in threads on this forum. Use the search bar to find answers. We’re always here to help. Research is a fundamental first step in ant keeping. To start with, you might consider “adopting a colony” for a season. Find a colony of ants that interest you, outdoors. Set up a sugar/water feeder for them with a narrow entrance they can guard, and also see what kinds of insects and meat they like to eat. Observe their habits and become familiar with their behaviours. I found this interesting to do while I waited for my queens to develop colonies, they usually start off slow and I felt much more confident when the colonies developed.

You don’t necessarily need to keep your first colonies in the house. I’ve kept them in a sheltered place like a shed, garage or workshop. Prove to your parents that you can keep ants safely and responsibly in such a location, and they may be convinced to let you keep them in the house. I had to do something similar to persuade my wife to let me move a colony from my workshop into the house. Happy day, but it took four years!

An ant colony from a single queen can start off fairly slow, giving you plenty of time to research their needs. Good luck!
RPT

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

In terms of needing your parents to sign off, consider the type of ant you will keep as what might be the best selling point.

 

If you want to "sell" something you need to make it "easy" on the buyer.

from your parents POV, the problem will most likely be "and then I had to deal with it"

So based on that idea, that the biggest sticking point for most parents is just that: "I will have to deal with it."
If that is a likely issue, then go for ants that won't be a big deal to deal with ever, like Acorn ants. Some ants just do not make large colonies, with numbers staying at or under the 150 or so count.

If the "worst case scenario" for them is, a small colony of about 100 ants  at most ever escaped into the house. That's not that big a deal to consider, compared to something like a colony of 2000+ fire ants is on the loose in our house.

So what kind of ant you would keep, equals what kind of worst case situaiton they might have to face for it.
Make that "worst case" as easy as you can, and you'll probably have an easier time selling the idea to them.

 

Without specificity of the ant given, then the assumption they make is not unreasonably whatever they imagine sucks the most for them to have to clean up themselevs. So probably say no to that.
But if you can guarantee that the colony you would keep just naturally will stay a small colony that will nenver be a massive pile of scary to see loose in the house. That's probably getting about as good an odds of a yes reply as you could hope for.


NEVER EVER RELEASE YOUR ANTS INTO THE WILD.
Period the end.
If you keep ants you must be prepared to kill the whole colony if you cannot continue to provide for or find a good home for them.
No one can guarantee they are not introducing something to the local environment that will be bad.
Did you inspect each individual ant for microscopic parasites, fungus or other forms of conagons?

Of course not, no one can do that, that is why you must not turn them out into the wild, but destroy them properly if you can no longer keep them.
If that is not something you can commit yourself to, then you are not ready to keep ants.

[Roumitris]

Hmm so what you are saying is that it's normal for antkeepers to destroy colonies when they get too big... Well I'm not sure if I can really do that I would become too attached to the colony. Guess this hobby isn't really for me then lol

[AntsGodzilla]

You can also limit food intake to keep them from getting to large, or like others said you can get species that don't get large colonies. Camponotus takes forever to get large colonies, so you could house them for a while before they get troublesome. And there are easy ways to keep your ants from escaping.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

Hmm so what you are saying is that it's normal for antkeepers to destroy colonies when they get too big... Well I'm not sure if I can really do that I would become too attached to the colony. Guess this hobby isn't really for me then lol

No that is not what i said. Not sure how you got that idea of destroy a large colony as you have suggested. If a colony was too big for the space they had, then we would cull their numbers not destroy the entire colony.

 

so just the two things:
 

A: asking to keep a species of ant that has a colony size max at about 150 or less(like Acorn ants), is probably an easier sell with your parents than any ant whose colony may grow into the thousands.

 

 

and as a totally unrelated independent data point from that one


B: never ever release a captive colony into the wild, the ecologically responsible action if you can't keep a colony any more is to destroy the colony in whole.

Edited by Full_Frontal_Yeti, February 10 2025 - 12:58 PM.

[Roumitris]

Ohhh ok i completely misunderstood what you said there. Ok so is sellig/donating a colony also not good because that's what other people are saying to do if someone can't keep a colony

[TwistyPunch]

One thing I've heard you can do is freeze the ants you are culling and feed them to your other colonies. Even if it's sad culling ants; if it has to be done your other ants might as well get some food out of it. (I've never tried this myself, none of my colonies have reached massive numbers yet) But then again this only works if you have multiple colonies, or if your ants will eat their own dead.
Make sure you put your ants through diapause (aka hibernation) every year if the ants are native to an area that gets cold in the winter and the colony will not grow during this time.
I've heard that many ant species won't eat dried bugs but prefer them fresh. If you are looking for an ant species that doesn't technically require fresh insects or sugar water, I would try Pogonomyrmex. They can live on a diet of wholly seeds, which is highly conveniet. The seeds they primarily feed on aren't exotic or hard to obtain or anything. One downside to Pogonomyrmex is that the colony grows pretty fast.
Most importantly, make sure to thoroughly research the species you get! All species are different and may require specific needs. If you're looking for an easy species to start with that doesn't grow super fast, I would suggest Camponotus. Best of luck to you and your antkeeping journey!

Edited by TwistyPunch, February 10 2025 - 5:24 PM.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

Ohhh ok i completely misunderstood what you said there. Ok so is sellig/donating a colony also not good because that's what other people are saying to do if someone can't keep a colony

Selling or giving them away locally is often fine. Local laws vary though so find out first. An ant caught locally is probably fine to give awawy, but any ants brought in on permit/from elsewhere, maybe not.

And local laws may have differences between giving something away as a gift vs. selling that same thing to someone.
So again be sure you are informed on that before taking aciton. I think my phrase in the first post was: "if you cannot continue to provide for or find a good home for them."

Meaning to say that yes you can rehome a colony (consult local laws first) instead of destroy them. The key bit is not turning a captive colony loose in the wild, that is the big no no, for being ecologically responsible.


Also an older colony, that has grown large in numbers (mid-high hundreds or more) can be real challenge to move. As well if you've invested a bit in them it can be hard to just give it all away. And just as hard to find a buyer at a fair price for all of it.
Once you got a fairly large mature colony on your hands, you are sort of locked into it and would likely find it difficult to rehome them.

Again that would be another up side to picking an ant that naturally keeps small colonies in the 150 and under numbers.
Less hassle and worry about what could go wrong when their numbers are lower, and likely easier to rehome later if needed too.

 

Oh and also ants that can't bite/sting is another potentially good selling point for your parents. Some ants just don't have stings, and others are so tiny they can't pierce human skin anyway. So if anyone had worries about that you can pick ants that just can't bite/sting anyone.