The home of ant farming.

For a founding queen, the best setup is a test tube with a water reservoir (15mm x 150mm). You should not move the colony into a larger nest until they have at least 20–30 workers. Moving them too early causes stress and can lead to colony failure. Once a colony reaches its first workers, they can be moved from a test tube into a starter nest. We recommend our Founding Terra v3 for this stage, as its moisture-retaining design prevents the common dehydration issues that kill young colonies in traditional acrylic nests.

Queen ants are significantly larger than workers and possess a more muscular thorax (the middle section). Look for wing scars – tiny marks where wings were shed after mating – which is the most reliable way to identify a fertile queen.

Queen ants mate around 10 feet in the air, so they have wings. Once mated, they drop to the floor, chew off their wings and go and find somewhere to hide to start their colony. This happens only a few times a year, generally on a hot day, you can find times of nuptial flights in your area on google. When it happens, you will see loads of queens on the floor, so be at the ready with a test tube or Tupperware to catch them!

The most recommended beginner species is Lasius niger (The Common Black Garden Ant). They are hardy, do not require supplemental heating, and grow rapidly. Other good choices include Messor barbarus for those interested in seed-harvesting behaviour. We also sell them here

Unlike flat acrylic nests, our plastered ant farms feature porous “Terra” inserts that mimic natural soil humidity. Our unique magnetic connection system also allows for “tool-less” expansion. As your colony grows, you can magnetically snap on a new AFS Outworld without using messy tubing or risking escapes.

Most UK species, like Lasius niger, require a diapause (hibernation) period from November to March. Gradually lower the temperature to between 5°C and 10°C (an unheated garage or fridge is common). During this time, the ants will be inactive and do not require feeding, but you must ensure their water reservoir does not run dry.