I've been looking around, trying to find a company to order ants from for an ant farm I'm planning on keeping but I am running into a lot of problems...
1. Everything seems to be online, I cannot find a local store that sells ants... And every source I find for ants online, I check the reviews and see people complaining about the ants dying in transit... And that includes companies that claim to guarantee ants being alive on arrival. I think the shipping process is inherently flawed and I would much rather pick up ants from a local store and transport them myself then trust that the delivery guy isn't going to roughly handle the package of ants or that they will be transported in bad weather conditions.
- The terrarium I am planning on housing the ants in requires a minimum of 10 worker ants for them to thrive in so I am looking for a company that can provide at least 20 workers ants in addition to a queen. But everyone providing 20+ ants seems to be a cheap, Amazon based company where the ants die in transit.
Do I absolutely have to have ants shipped to me? I cannot seem to find a local store that sells ants. If I do need to have ants shipped, is there a company you can recommend that is careful with shipping and can provide 20+ worker ants?
For reference, I live in the Southeastern US. So a company with a shorter shipping time would be preferable.
just don't do animal abuse anon
There are a frickton of stores in Europe that specialise in ants. Obviously, the Germans with their autism have the best shop. Ants are such a niche pet that you're going to be forced to go online. Depending where you are in the world you can research your local species and wait for a queen flight and get yourself a queen outside
Anyone who keeps ants/insects know of a cheap security camera that can focus really close? I'd like to make timelapse videos.
just get a USB microscope and use software like ContaCam or something similar
Wouldn't they absolutely suck under low light conditions?
>low light conditions
yeah, you probably looking at custom IR setup or expensive camera with one of the new CMOS
ok jokes up you huck cooks frick off starting ant farms youre gonna get fined IPs up for grabs and youre already trying to unleash them after your great terrarium idea failed. do u like prison? thats what it feels like for your planned ant colony simp
If you're in the USA it's illegal to transport ants across state lines. Just get a queen when they come out, which should be in a couple of months.
>If you're in the USA it's illegal to transport ants across state lines.
Lol why
Feds don't want agricultural pests getting loose. Which is stupid as A) most tropical invasive species like Argentine ants or fire ants can't survive cold and B) ants aren't deliberately imported by hobbyists, they just hitch a ride on imported plants or soil or whatever.
>illegal
i want to seer this law being enforced lol
I kept ants in Florida for a year.
Just be in the habit of noticing insects whenever you're walking around outside, and you'll see queen ants when they emerge.
You'll tend to see them the day after the first rain of spring or the first rain of summer.
My first colony, I got the queen on 3/1 (or was it 5/1?). Then the second one I got almost exactly a year later.
Don't let the queen dry out before you get her into a new home- i.e. don't put it in a dry container overnight- whatever water you put in with it had better not dry up overnight.
I don't know why you need workers, but the common wisdom is to start out with the test tube setup for the queen ant until the first workers eclose, then put them into their permanent home. Be prepared to accept that they might not want to move out of their test tube though.
There's this tool called a spade, costs aboot 5 bucks. Get one, go outside, use it.
Transferring an entire colony of ants, capturing the colony's queen, and making sure you get the entire tunnel system they've built into a relatively small terrarium is a lot harder then you make it seem.
There are some non-chain stores around here. I checked out their website and they do not specifically claim to sell ants. But I suppose its worth asking.
>Transferring an entire colony of ants, capturing the colony's queen, and making sure you get the entire tunnel system they've built into a relatively small terrarium is a lot harder then you make it seem.
That's your problem, your thinking you need the whole colony, you don't. Take what you need and leave the rest to the birds.
Pardon me for not thinking its right to interfere with nature by taking the colony's queen away and letting God knows how many ants die because I was interested in watching them.
>letting God knows how many ants die
That's cute. I'm sure their species can take the hit; as rare as they are.
Taking the whole thing is going to cause no less disruption - there will be significant casualties either way. If you grab a wandering queen, they're not even leading a colony yet, so you do less harm.
But I can guarantee you don't have any threatened species of ants near you, and the species you do have aren't going to miss a colony. Ants are one good harvest year from overthrowing the humans.
>Do I absolutely have to have ants shipped to me?
No. Just search for a queen in your own yard. They should be emerging "soon™."Not sure exactly when but I'm sure it's spring. Might have to do research to find exact month/week or just hope you get lucky.
If you haven't already checked out AntsCanada channel I recommend it. He's raised multiple colonies from single queens which is both fascinating and informative. I never really cared about ants too much till I watched this guys channel. Here's something you'll find relevant.
Anon please don't use antscanada as a source of information. None of his colonies lasted longer than a year and the majority of his other animals 'disappear' from his channel shortly after their introduction.
Do you have any non-chain pet stores around you that sell other inverts like tarantulas/scorpions/mantids? They can probably order ants in for you if you ask.