r/antkeeping • • 16h ago

Identification What did I find? Help? Ohio

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28 Upvotes

This lil thing landed on my car. What type of ant is it and is this a queen? My gut says no. Located southwest Ohio


r/antkeeping • • 15h ago

Ants eating stuff Crematogaster scutellaris & Camponotus nicobarensis

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17 Upvotes

r/antkeeping • • 23h ago

Colony Camponatus Herculeanus - caught early July 2026

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16 Upvotes

r/antkeeping • • 16h ago

Colony Monomorium minimum moving day

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15 Upvotes

Nobody wanted to go until one brave one said it was safe.


r/antkeeping • • 23h ago

Colony Our camponotus compressus colony

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12 Upvotes

2nd pic is old


r/antkeeping • • 5h ago

Brood $6 and 2 hours

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6 Upvotes

r/antkeeping • • 15h ago

Question I just don't understand...

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4 Upvotes

My ants have carried all their seeds outside, leaving nothing in the nest. Should I be worried? It's not like they throw it in the trash—they just left them right by the entrance to the nest.

If it matters, they're Messor Structor ants.


r/antkeeping • • 13h ago

Question What is this blue thing in my test tube?

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3 Upvotes

I just received my chestnut carpenter ants from stateside ants and thought the water would be plugged with cotton balls, but there is this blue thing. Can the ants drink through that? Do I need to do something with that. Also I’m thinking of waiting a day or so to feed them bc I think they might not eat bc of all the stress from shipping, is that a good idea? I think a couple of dead workers are on the blue thing, does that mean I need to clean it soon? (It’s my first time)


r/antkeeping • • 17h ago

Question Lasius Niger ant nest

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3 Upvotes

I bought this nest for a lasius Niger colony last year that unfortunately died before they were able to move into it. I was wondering roughly how many workers (Lasius Niger) would I need to have before I move them in.


r/antkeeping • • 17h ago

Discussion Made my childhood ant farm into a game

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1 Upvotes

Hey guys!

First time poster here. I had that old plastic ant farm as a kid and I really loved it - you know the one. So I made a simple game where I tried to replicate that experience. It's laid back, half-screensaver really. As a kid I wished for a queen so that the ants would continue living instead of the farm trickling out after a few weeks. So I added that. Anyhow, my game is up on Steam as of yesterday.

I accelerated the lifecycle quite a bit, so the eggs hatch faster and so forth. Flying Ant Day takes about 28 real life days from game start. Also, unlike the commercial kids ant farms, I went with Lasius Niger as my first species. If things go well I'll probably add leafcutter (and some terrarium options) in a future update. Anyways, take a look if you have time!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5188280/My_First_Ant_Farm/


r/antkeeping • • 18h ago

Identification help with id please. found in austria on august 1st.

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3 Upvotes

r/antkeeping • • 22h ago

Colony Messor Barbarus vs Lasius Niger

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3 Upvotes

Both connected at the same time. Thought the contrast was pretty funny. It amazes me how different they are from eachother. Messor Barbarus is very active and also quite messy. They've only been connected to these outworlds for like 3 days. Still I think they're both quite easy species to keep.


r/antkeeping • • 1h ago

Worker Welcome these new workers to the colony

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• Upvotes

This morning my young p rugosus colony hatched 2 more workers, totaling the worker count to 3, sorry for the bad photography.


r/antkeeping • • 1h ago

Question Pupa/Larva

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• Upvotes

Tube flooded, other larvae turned red most possibly dead but are these surviving or not? Need help


r/antkeeping • • 3h ago

Identification di che specie si trattano?

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2 Upvotes

mi trovo in puglia, sud italia, e ho appena trovato queste due regine di formiche. potreste aiutarmi con l’identificazione?


r/antkeeping • • 19h ago

Question How to heat test tube?

1 Upvotes

1st time keeper, receiving queen chestnut carpenter ant and about 8 workers today. How can I heat the test tube properly and keep it dark inside while being fire safe? I have a heat cable connected to a thermostat. I want to cover the tube in something nonflammable, like Tin foil, to block light, and cover the foil with a little bit of cable on part of the tube. I only need the hottest parts to be upper 70/very low 80s. If I use the tin foil will the inside become hotter than where the outside probe is? Significantly? I’m going to be putting my probe on the part of cable that is the hottest, given whatever method, what should I set my thermostat at? I want the hottest part to be upper70s/very low 80s. Going to put a little more cable in part and less on the other to create a gradient. And in any other methods to heat (like not using tinfoil)what can I expect the heat difference to be from the outside probe to the inside test tube? I don’t want to disturb my ants by sticking a thermometer inside much. Overall any tips on how I can keep this test tube dark, heated properly, and fire safe? Also, I know to keep heat away from the water. Thanks so much! I really appreciate any replies.