I hold the bag open over my compost bucket and they fly right in. then I close it and put them in the freezer

Leptogenys elongata

Tiny

Anyone able to identify? Massachusetts I was thinking Monomorium minimum

but do you think they can reach this waterer on the side of the container or will I need to keep the test tube with water in it? This "farm" has ti ea with gypsum in it , not sure if they can get water from that or if it is just for moisture . Also debating how to keep them supplemented with nectar. For beekeeping we can give sugar cubes... Is that not a thing for ants? I am afraid they will drown. Thanks for any advice.

I’ve had my colony for a while and there’s about 10-13 workers, they’ve been very active and 2-3 of them were often at the end of the test tube seemingly trying to get out. The queen is breeding like wildfire.

My issue: I’ve connected an outworld today finally, they naturally went into it to explore but seem to be looking for any and all escape routes they can. Ones called immediately and fell due to the slippy powder, they’ve no also starting prodding the cotton wool in the extra test tube I attached. Their whole vibe seems to be that they want to escape, but I don’t know if that’s the case or they just act like this??

TLDR: trying to figure out why my ants are so active and seem to be after an escape. Could it be too much sugar water? Natural behaviour? Or something else.

The left side setup is my 4 worker Lasius colony, they send one cautious scout out who collects food then goes back, so they are drastically different.

Hello, just over a month ago I caught two tetramorium queens, and have housed both in test tube setups since. One currently has about 15 workers and generous brood, and is well on her way to found a strong colony. I have fed her colony multiple times now and try not to disturb them. The other queen I had mostly given up on, as although she produced brood, it was sparse and she never shed her wings. Today I checked up on her and found 3 nanitics to my surprise, and a slowly growing pile of brood. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time nor equipment to raise two colonies. I am based in southern Ontario (Canada) and with fall fast approaching, I don’t know how to safely release this new colony, especially with temperatures beginning to drop.

On the topic of fall, I am worried about the colony I intend to keep as winter approaches. My house is old and the insulation is poor, and in the winter nighttime temperatures can reach 13 ish degrees Celsius. During the day with heating it probably reaches 21. What will happen to my ants in these lower temperatures + fluctuations? I don’t have a mini fridge so I don’t think I can properly set them up for diapause, but even with a heating mat I’m afraid their outworld will be too cold. Any advice is welcome, thank you!

Just received Camponotus nicobarensis family with queen and 1 worker.
The water has yellow shade and black dots. There is some kind of dirt on the another side, but not sure what is it yet.
I didn’t noticed stressed or strange behaviour. They eat protein and sugar syrup.
They were in a delivery for only 2 days.
I’ve written to seller store, but still waiting for response.

Should I try to move them (not insistently) to another clean tube?

Found this queen today, about 1cm long.
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Any idea on the species?

Has anyone found any interesting ants at any Riverside developed parks? Not in the Foothills or mountains but any other parks?

I posted a day 827 update on tiktok and YouTube, and in it I highlight some bigger ants. I am under the impression these are majors, am I wrong? Could they be media?

Found in France size around 5-7mm
help me identify pls

Got my first Camponotus compressus colony today :))

I am using a plastic container as an outworld with a lid I’ll keep closed (not airtight). Do I still need an escape barrier, or is the lid enough?

Also, whats the best way to feed sugar water-cotton, drops, or a feeder?

Thanks!

Hey everyone! I’m new to ant keeping and I wanted to ask if I applied Fluon correctly.

I followed the instructions from the TrapJaw Labs video with Miles Maxcer. I turned the outworld upside down and applied two coats of Fluon vertically with a brush. I let each coat dry for around 15–20 minutes before applying the next one.

I’m planning to keep a Pheidole pallidula colony in tubs and tubes inside this box.

Does this look right, or should I do anything differently?

Thanks for the help!

The vagus test tube looks moldy but it's because of the lighting, it's just debris in there

My regular fridge is already full, so unfortunately I don’t have any space for my ants.

I have a Camponotus colony with 7 workers. It’s getting harder to take the cotton plug out to give honey/protein since they like to chew at the cotton and wedge themselves in there. I plan to put the tube inside an outworld but keep the tube dark. Is this ok for a colony so small?

What’s happening in the Test tube on the left she has no eggs but I caught her and the middle one at the same flight the middle one layed eggs within a week and I’ve had them for 4 weeks now this queen hasn’t come off the cotton and the water seems yellowish

I want to learn more about Ants, what are some of their habits? I just joined here too!

Any ideas how I can connect the 2 terrariums to each other? The nicobarensis colony is getting way to big. Both glass walls and plastic upper edges

How can I give ants water or move them safely? The last time I encouraged them to move into a fresh tube with water (by useing light), the queen ate/killed 30+ ants and eggs...she did move though. We down to 6 ants now..

Ive been told this other habitat is to big for colonies starting out...but is there any way i can move them into it..id really like to use the water tower and not have to worry about them dying of thirst.. tube?

Is there a habitat for starting colonies with refillable water sources? Do we really just keep moving them back and forth into fresh tubes?

These are my son's pavement ants btw.

I gave my new colony of pavement ants a bit of honey after workers arrived. I have another pavement ant colony thats grow and i would give too large a drop of honey, workers would often get themselves stuck so i tried to be careful with the amount of honey given and when i gave this new colony honey i realized was a lil big but i didnt think it would do harm. Some time later i check on em and the queen is eating the honey and i thought nothin of it until i noticed a lack of movement…the queen had gone to far into the honey and got herself stuck. Ive saved ant/ in the past who have done this and was hopin i wasnt too late for my queen, she was still
Moving but barely and i knew what that meant but i tend to be optimistic and wait to see if shed recover but naw. Ive kept a number of colonies by now and have never had this happened, and i know shit happens but and didnt wanna think badd on the queen but like all i could think how does an ant even allow themselves to get stuck like that, has anyone experienced something like this?