How to Catch and Care for your Ant Colony and picking out your first ant farm!

Make sure you give them 2 or 3 small pieces of food once a week. For more information on food this ant species eat, please visit this link: Ant Species | Mrs. Queen Ant(https://www.rwpphotographix.com/antspecies) There are ants like this Leaf Cutter 🐜🐜 Picture shown are fungus that give nutrition and feeding the larvae egg. The leaf cutter ant cut down oats, dry rose petal, detritus, coconut fiber, dried strawberry, almond chips, apple jacks, orange peel, nectar, insects frass, grass, seed, leaf, and plants based to grow fungus to provide for their colony. There are ants out there that feed on a wide variety of foods, unsalted cracker, bread including sweet drinks, cakes, pet food, meat and insects, honeydew that they collect from aphids and other plant-feeding insects for honeydew.

Water: is an important part of keeping the ants healthy. Make sure they always have a small source of fresh water. You can add two to three tiny droplets of spring water in the outworld every couple of days. Another option is to use a test tube filled with spring water and plug the end with a cotton ball. Place the test tube in the outworld so the ants can drink safely whenever they need to. This keeps the water clean and lasts much longer than droplets. Fruit: You can give the ants tiny pieces of fruit as a treat. Fruit has natural juices, so it gives the ants a little extra moisture, but it does not replace their main water source. Always keep fresh water available in the outworld, and offer fruit only in very small pieces so it doesn’t mold.

Selecting an Ant Farm For the best viewing experience, I highly recommend the newer Uncle Milton ant farm models. These updated versions come with sand and a connecting tube, and they are designed so you can clearly see the ants even when they dig along the left or right corners of the habitat. Many other ant farms make it difficult to see what the ants are doing when they tunnel near the edges, but the Uncle Milton design keeps those areas visible, which makes observation much easier and more enjoyable. You can also choose: • A pre‑made formicarium with built‑in tunnels • Or build your own formicarium if you enjoy DIY projects Both options work well, it just depends on how hands‑on you want to be. Building Your Own Formicarium Creating your own formicarium can be a fun and rewarding project. Once your build is complete, you can connect it to the outworld the same way you would with a store‑bought habitat.

What You’ll Need These are the exact materials used in the setup shown in the pictures: • Coconut Fiber • Sandtastik Play White Sand • Ant Farm Kit Fine Perlite Sand • Natural Spring Water Bottle 1. Prepare the Base Layer Add a thin layer of coconut fiber to the bottom of the ant farm. This helps the habitat hold moisture and keeps the tunnels from drying out too quickly. 2. Mix the Substrate In a small container, measure and combine: • ½ cup Sandtastik Play White Sand • 1 cup coconut fiber • 1 cup Ant Farm Fine Perlite Sand Mix thoroughly until the blend is even. If the mixture still looks too sandy, add a small amount of extra coconut fiber. The final texture should feel mostly sandy but able to hold moisture for stable tunnels. Fill the Ant Farm Place the prepared mix substrate into the ant farm. 1. Add Water to the Mixture: Slowly add water using a natural spring water bottle or squeeze bottle. The substrate should be damp, not wet. • Damp = holds its shape when squeezed • Too wet = soggy or muddy If you add too much water, let the mixture dry for a couple of days or replace it and start again. Use a small tool (like your green stick) to create a starter tunnel. This gives the ants an easy place to begin digging. 5. Set Up the Outworld For the outworld, use a clear container so you can easily watch the ants explore. Drill a small hole for the connecting tube and attach it securely to the ant farm. The outworld is where you will place: • Small dry dirt • Food • Water • Any small items for enrichment • And place the ants in the outworld. Keeping food and water in the outworld helps the main farm stay clean and makes maintenance simple. 6. Moisture Maintenance The ant farm where the thin layer coconut fiber is, should stay lightly damp, not wet. Check the moisture level on the coconut fiber about every two to three weeks. If the coconut fiber begins to look light tan and dry, add a small amount of water to one corner of the farm on the bottom hole that's is close the coconut fiber with a funnel tube connect to the ant farm. Let it soak in slowly so you don’t disturb or flood the tunnels. Why Moisture is important? Because Fungus‑growing ants depend on this long‑term moisture to keep their fungus garden healthy, and a lightly damp bottom layer also helps other ant species keep their eggs from drying out. 7. Adding the Ants Once the ant farm is set up and the substrate is lightly damp: • Place the ants gently into the dry outworld. • They will explore and move into the farm on their own when they’re ready. • This method keeps everything calm and safe for the ants. After adding them, place the setup somewhere quiet and dim so they can settle in. Check back later to watch them begin their tunnels. 8. Temperature & Light Guidelines Ants live longer and stay healthier in a cool room, ideally 60–70 degrees. Avoid: • Direct sunlight • Hot rooms • Placing the farm near heaters or windows To help the ants feel secure and encourage tunneling, you can cover the farm with: • Dark paper, or • Red transparent cellophane Ants cannot see red light because their eyes are sensitive to UV, blue, and green wavelengths, not red. With red cellophane, the ants experience the habitat as “dark,” which reduces stress and supports natural digging behavior.

Materials You’ll Need 1. Jar with a lid • Option A: Smear a thin ring of Vaseline or butter around the inside top edge to prevent escapes. • Option B: Use a jar with a lid that has a small hole for a funnel tube. Cover the hole with cotton to allow air but stop escapes. 1. Spoon or small stick • For ants to climb onto so you can gently shake them into the jar. 1. Straw • Used to gently blow air into a nest entrance to encourage ants to bring brood (eggs/larvae) to the surface. 1. Shovel or small digging tool • Helpful for deeper nests. 1. Test tube setup for a queen ant and or queen ant/colony. • Queens prefer tight, dark spaces. • Use a test tube with ½ water, a cotton plug, and a cotton stopper for air. Finding an Ant Colony Ants live in many different types of soil, so your approach depends on the species and the ground: During Nuptial Flight Season In late spring or early summer, on warm days after rain, young queens walk on the ground looking for a place to start a colony. If you see a large ant walking alone with no workers around, you may have found a newly mated queen. Finding Established Colonies If you want a colony with queen ant and her workers: • Fire ants  Look for large mound hills. Be careful — they sting. The safest method is to let them climb onto a stick or spoon and gently shake them into the jar. • Sugar ants, orange sugar ants, or other small species  Look for small soil mounds or tiny holes in the ground. If you can’t find the nest, follow a worker ant back to its colony. • Leafcutter ants  Their nests will have a hill side mound, may be deeper. After rain, they sometimes move brood closer to the surface, making collection easier. • Carpenter ants  These live in rotting wood. If the wood is soft, you can gently open it to find the colony. If they live inside a tree that isn’t rotten, the queen may be harder to reach. Collecting the Ants Here are several methods you can use depending on the species: Method 1: Spoon or Stick Let ants climb onto a spoon or stick, then gently shake them into the jar. Method 2: Blowing Into the Nest Entrance Insert a straw into the nest entrance (not the fire ant!) and gently blow air inside. This disturbs the colony and may cause workers to bring brood and sometimes the queen to the surface. (Do this carefully and take breaks so you don’t get dizzy.) Method 4: Digging Use a spoon or big/small shovel to carefully remove layers of dirt. Treat it like uncovering fossils slow and gentle. Look for brood chambers and follow tunnels until you locate the queen. Catching a Queen Ant A queen ant is: • Larger than the workers. • Has a bigger, bulkier thorax (where wings were attached) • May still have wings or show wing scars • Often a different shade — sometimes darker or brighter than workers • Has a larger abdomen (gaster) If you collect a queen from an established colony, make sure to collect some of her workers too. A queen without workers cannot survive if she is already a colony queen. Never mix ants from different colonies , they will fight. Caring for a Newly Caught Queen (Test Tube Setup) If you catch a young queen after a nuptial flight: 1. Fill a test tube halfway with spring water. 2. Insert a tight cotton ball to hold the water in place. 3. Gently guide the queen into the tube. 4. Add a cotton plug at the end for ventilation. 5. Keep her in a dark, quiet place. 6. Check occasionally for eggs and brood. Once she has 25–30 workers, you can move the colony into your ant farm.

You will need test tube (16mm x 100m or 18mm x 150m) Plastic or Glass. Pva spongs stopper or Cotton Ball Organic and a long stick. Wash Your hand before handling the stuff, because you don't want bacteria and mold inside. 1. A pva spong call saugwunder off of Amazon! Link: SAUGWUNDER Cleaning Sponge Super Absorbent Water Durable ^~ You Know 17.5×7.5×3.5 cm[6.9 x 3 x 1.38 inches] Use for Household Clean Cars/Boats The dust and Dirt on Furnitures,Bathtubs&etc. (Blue) (amazon.com) (https://www.amazon.com/SAUGWUNDER-Absorbent-17-5%C3%977-5%C3%973-5-Suction-Block-Household/dp/B079R933X5/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2QVE1J81065Q4&keywords=pva%2Bsponge&qid=1680886476&sprefix=pva%2Bsponge%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-5&th=1) or you can use cotton ball organic from any store. 2. Rise the test tube off with water. Let it dry out. 3. For pva spong if bought off amazon: Open the wrapper and rise it off with spring water bottle or distill water only (No Soap) to make sure dust or anything is off and drain off. Squeeze water out to dry before cutting it to fix inside the test tube. or if you bought a already made pva spong for test tube just rise and squeeze water out dry. 4. Add spring water bottle or distill water about 1/2, then add the pva sponge or cotton inside all the way to the water till it is just completely wet, so it will keep moisture and for your queen ant to drink. You don't want the spong/cotton to accidently get too far into the water or it will cause the water to come into the chamber. 5. Gentle let the queen ant climb in and once she inside the tube, add the cotton ball in tight as a led, the cotton ball has a sufficient airflow ventilated so they can breath! (I replace the white led with cotton, I didn't have cotton on me when picture was taken) 6. Wrap the test tube with dark paper so she'll feel safe in the dark and create a flat test tube holder with boxes or form board like this! Will update pic soon. 7. If you want to get the sponge out use a stick (I had my green stick from uncle Milton ant farm and bent it) go inside and move it back and forth kind of fast so it will come out quickly. Or if you have a cotton ball in it fill it up with water to soak it then take a stick or twizzle, or scissor to get it out easy.

After a young queen ant is mated, depending on what species your queen ant is some are Claustral, Semi-Claustral and Socially Parasitic. What the different between them? 1. Claustral - Are queen ants that find a place and seals herself inside the chamber and use her body to feed her eggs and larva. No food needed until her first workers arrive. 2. Semi-Claustral- Are queen ants that need some food. They stay in their chamber nest sometime and go out to hunt for food while raising the first brood. 1. 3. Socially parasitic - Queen cannot found alone; she must enter a host colony.

Are Gel Ant Farms Safe for Ants? No gel ant farms are not safe for ants.  Gel habitats may look fun, but the gel: • grows mold quickly • does not provide proper humidity • does not support natural tunneling • can harm or kill ants over time For healthy ants, avoid gel farms completely. Best Substrate for Ant Farms The safest and most natural option is 100% natural play sand mixed with materials that help hold moisture and keep tunnels strong. Recommended Mix • Natural play sand • Coconut fiber • Fine perlite sand • (Optional) Loam soil I haven’t tried loam yet, but many ant keepers do mix it with sand. For step‑by‑step instructions, see the “Setting Up Your Ant Farm” section in your Ant Care/Ant Farm page. What Is a Formicarium? A formicarium is a type of ant habitat where the clay tunnels are already built in. You can: • Buy a pre‑made formicarium • Or build your own Your Formicarium Plans I'm planning to build a large formicarium using a 10‑gallon terrarium, filled with the same natural materials from my setup guide. I'm also considering: • A wood‑based formicarium for carpenter ants • A soil/sand‑based formicarium for ground‑nesting ant

Do not mix two different species or two different colonies of the same species together, they will fight. You will need to collect ants from the same location ant bed you found them at. Example: I have two different colonies of the same species of trachymrymex septentrionalis I kept them in two separate ant farm so they are not together, because I know they will fight. They are very territorial and protected of their colonies.

Worker ants can still live for months or even years without a queen ant, but the colony cannot grow anymore so they slowly fade away. Queen ants can live anywhere from 5–20 years or longer, depending on the species.