How to Care for a Queen Ant | Ant Keeping 101

In this quick tutorial, Miles demonstrates what to do after you have caught a fully-claustral ant queen and give her the best chance of founding a successful colony!
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Directed by Miles Maxcer
Produced by Ben Schwartz
Audio effects from Epidemic Sound.
Images courtesy of Alex Wild: www.alexanderw...

[@Imslayerthanyounooffence]

I literally am having a school project about ants so my teacher gave me an ant farm and I went outside and found a HUGE ant colony and while looking for the queen I somehow found TWO queen ants in the process!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Amazing! I hope the project was successful. - Miles

[@rockwell6686]

@Kyloren685this is kind of jank, and I suggest just getting a test tube, but I’ve used cut up pieces of clear PVC tubing, put a (clean) bolt wrapped with plumber tape at the bottom as a plug, and put another cotton ball at the bottom as well to stop/slow the water. Then standard procedure from there.

[@EnderAnts]

A much needed tutorial since most of us are catching queen ants. Btw love the ending scene, really looks like you're entering the jungle!

[@bumpdownspooky]

Hey EnderAnts

[@noobsimdriver]

Don't dump her. (As he dumps her) lol

[@heavyglassglass]

Well, at least he told us not to do that

[@MrPinkman90]

@@heavyglassglass we learn from someone mistake

[@Professional_Hater8825]

But you dump trump right

[@heavyglassglass]

@@Professional_Hater8825 no, we fight for Trump

[@Au_Aquatica]

Beautiful video! Unfortunately here in my state in Australia the weather has been less than optimal for insects and ants. Freezing weather after rain or just flat put no rain during the warm months. Its end of autum and we are getting lots of rain but it is so windy and cold

[@NovoAnts]

Yes it has been a bit cold. Nice to see other Aussies on here

[@MilesMaxcer]

That's too bad! I'm sure better weather will be there in the future. We have long winters here in the Northwestern U.S.! -- Miles

[@swaindame]

you should make more catching ant vidios there my favorite vidios to watch on the chanel

[@MilesMaxcer]

Will do! Stay tuned for more of those later this summer. Thanks for the feedback!

[@dave7825]

Good video Miles. Oh and also, great looking beard!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Thanks, Dave! -- Miles

[@dave7825]

The Ant Network you’re welcome. I really like this channel, honestly for me it’s the best ant keeping and exploring channel I have ever found. I was wandering, do you have great plans for your channel in the future? Perhaps like having an uploading schedule? For the future, ya know. Or maybe an ant keeping store. And btw, your channel totally deserves more subscribers. Nowadays, people and kids especially play video games and do useless stuff. The internet and KZbin has a lot of useless “viral” videos. Sad that less people watch these kind of videos, most of them are watching useless videos. I hope your channel will become more popular and more people will know how magnificent nature is. Have a nice day!

[@NovoAnts]

Nice video, clean good footage. Happy ant keeping!

[@anttrails9554]

Nice Miles an upload Hello from us here :)

[@smida7776]

Wow great video you should show an updated version on how to catch a queen ant

[@MilesMaxcer]

Good idea! We'll give that a shot when conditions are right.

[@smida7776]

@@MilesMaxcer thanks

[@OBLIVIONevolvedurbex]

Hi miles i am from England and I collect for many years species of Harvester ants my species are MESSOR large colony from Africa plus a MESSOR colony from spain and two colonies of POGONOMYRMEX CALIFORNICUS, i also have MERANOPLUS BICOLOR very small cute ant colony all colonies I have had for many years i just happened to see your you tube channel so glad to find someone whos into ants like you I love to read up on ants my fav book at the moment is the world of harvester ants by Stephen welton taber I also love leafcutter ant species but not yet kept a colony as they grow quiet big and require a strict temp range.

[@creepygallery3303]

Nice one! I'm still finding queens and it's the end of Autumn here where I live.

[@crlobbro8126]

end of spring u mean?

[@AJ420Psn]

I found a Queen Army Ant in my bath tub once. She was very big and pretty. I did not want to hurt her, so I scooped her up and flushed it down the toilet.

[@renatopintoreveggino3813]

this explained next to nothing, but everything missing is probably species-specific details. Glad to see a video like this from not ants canada!

[@Rorther]

I've raised trapjaw ants as my first any colony. They were kinda hard for the first time, since they need to forage early for food, need substrate for properly pupae formation, and they can "bite" and fly away from the recipient. But a good thing, in the other hand is that they are not that small, and they really sutrggle climbing trou glasses.

[@majorbred]

I caught a queen and it laid eggs, but there were droplets of water in the tube. Some of the eggs could have gotten wet. Will they still make it?

[@MilesMaxcer]

It all depends on whether or not the queen interfered and cleaned the eggs off. Left to sit in water, eggs may drown or develop a bacterial or fungal infection.

[@danielledansie688]

Thanks for referring me here. I'm hopeful she will be happy!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Best of luck, Danielle!

[@karrengumagay6515]

May i know how to house carebara diversa founding to large colony?

[@li-lan5776]

I just caught 4 parasitic Lasius aphidicola queens. Good luck is about right lmao. Only one of them is to the tolerant stage so far, but there's been no fatalities so I'd call it a win Liked your qtip feeding ideas btw

[@X-Sannin117]

@1:49 - “Next, I will gently-coax her in, don’t dump...” *Proceeds to tip over container as queen tumbles into new tube.* 😅

[@CouncilOfMemes69]

Thank youuuuu you saved my queen ant

[@dowiecenteno4293]

I got a black queen outside my yard a was shocked I put it in my ant farm she didn't lay eggs i know she's still scared I put it in the dark inside my drawer under my bed full of stuff I give it space to put it in I was happy I always wish for a queen and I'm so lucky thank god she got out her nest I was shaking she bit me it didn't hurt

[@BALDI519]

Thanks i can start my blue ant colony!

[@patek1717]

Are pheidole floridana fully claustral?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Yes, they are!

[@supsimps3141]

I never caught a queen ant but I did find a queen ant crawling around my arm

[@pedrodias4527]

Miles how can I make an aspirator with things at home

[@MinigunL5]

-DIY Aspirator Guide- Materials: About 2 feet of vinyl tubing, an adequately sized container with a plastic lid (to capture in multiple containers, buy some that use the same lid and you can switch), a Dremel or another tool that is capable of cutting/melting plastic to the diameter of your tubing, a rubber band, some hot water, and some paper towel or a small t-shirt scrap (about 1 1/2" to 2" wide and long). Optional: A hot glue gun can be useful to seal the holes for vinyl tubing, but is not if you cut without any issues. Instructions: 1. Cut your vinyl tubing into 2 pieces. One should be shorter, say, 6-10 inches, and the other longer, 14-18 inches; I prefer to use the longer end like you would a vacuum to move around and suck up ants. 2. Lay an end of each length of tubing in your hot water, we'll get back to it later. 3. Take your preferred cutting/melting instrument, and cut 2 holes in the plastic lid on opposite sides, these will be for your tubing to fit into. Make the holes as round as possible, it is important that they are slightly smaller than the tubing diameter so it is a tight fit. 4. Take your tubing out of the hot water a few minutes after it has gone in, and push the now flexible end of each piece into the holes you just cut or melted about a half inch. Push the shorter section of tubing in a little farther, so an inch or so is on the inside of the lid. 5. (Optional) Use your hot glue gun to seal the tubing in if you want, or if you left any small holes with your cuts. However, if you didn't make any small holes through cutting error, the tubing is probably sealed well on its own and this step is unnecessary. 6. Take your paper towel or t-shirt scrap, this will act as a filter for dirt and the like, and place it over the inside section of shorter tubing, so that the middle is over the tubing hole. Then, fold your rubber band over the scrap over and over, until it is held tightly on the tubing. Your aspirator is complete, happy anting! Credits to MadBiologist

[@howardgem]

Correct, that was a great video

[@dfwturtles105]

Very Very cool!

[@MilesMaxcer]

Thank you!

[@yuvs7291]

Noiccce

[@4my4blessings]

How do you convince a queen or a very small colony to move from one test tube to another? (Lasius flavus, for reference)

[@logand9190]

I caught a queen ant! But i put her in a test tube and the cotton with the water gets drank dry so i have to push the cotton in more. I dont want to disturb it every 3 days. Is there something im doing wrong with the test tube method?

[@MilesMaxcer]

The surface of the cotton should not appear wet, although moisture should be reaching it. Sometimes cotton that is too tightly-packed won't wick water effectively, and that could be what is going on here. Be sure to check out our test tube tutorials for proper setup instructions.

[@logand9190]

@@MilesMaxcer Thanks

[@Dulce-z1o]

So I also did this same thing but with a king and the queen did what's necessary and stated to lay eggs 🥚 so right there's already a small colony with like 8 ants

[@KenilL-x3c]

Thanks for the info

[@streetgymnastics1654]

Yesterday, I made an ant farm and even kept one as a pet, while the process, I found a queen ant and I put it in a container, fed it some mushed up bread and what do I do next? Ps. I put some holes in the container. Sincerely, Meika

[@LuisSanchez-os3or]

They cameta You use, is a reflex? Or cell phone? Greetings from Mexico

[@MilesMaxcer]

We use many cameras, including the Canon EOS R, Canon T6i, and the DJI Osmo Action.

[@kiryu63]

What ant queens can I find during winter?

[@Baryalan9183]

None

[@MoudebGaming]

I caught my first carpenter queen ant in 3 years!! But she keeps chewing the cotton in the test tube instead of relaxing. I know she is mated because she cleans are abdomen, can you please help me? Also, how do I know if it is a full clustered or semi clustered

[@peety6323]

I just found a Queen sugar ant on my floor. I don't have anything set up for her. She is under a green plastic vitamin bottle right now. What else can I use around the home for her starter habitat? I'm waiting for her to climb up to the bottom of the vitamin bottle. How long can she stay in there while waiting to buy her a small habitat? I don't want her to suffer or die.

[@howardgem]

Does it matter if you have more than seven Queens from a different nest because I’m collecting different eggs?

[@shino_buko_chou5565]

Where did you get the ant house from?

[@dawnturek19]

I had a queen and her colony. Camponotus. About a month ago her colony died. She is still alive but not thriving. Will she survive? What can I do to help her? She is in a test tube with cotton ball blocking water. She is native to my state wondering if I should free her for better luck?

[@gimmuelavila7902]

hi may i recquest im your fan im promphilippines how to raise a trap jaw ant without queen

[@MAMTASINGH-zw1ye]

You are the best

[@kingcrockett3394]

Yaaaaay hello

[@sparrowworld5204]

I need a help i caught an queen ant in clothes and may be brood dried up,,, i don't from how many days she had been there ,,she drank water for almost for one minute when I added a wet cotton into the box which I caught. What can I do should i feed her as she may already lost energy ,,, She is campanotis queen

[@Bunny-ns5ni]

I live in Eastern Washington State, and I caught several dealate queens of different species. I really want to get an accurate ID on all of them. If you, or anyone would help me, that would be great. 😄

[@MilesMaxcer]

Send us a DM on Twitter, FB, or Instagram! Miles has lived in Northern Idaho for many years and is experienced with ants local to you.

[@Bunny-ns5ni]

@@MilesMaxcer Thank you very much! Love the channel, by the way!

[@nomoresayingcusswordsguys7602]

I just fed the queen ant to my red back huntsman or black house spiders

[@shiromizuki7472]

Can you tell what species is the queen ant you gave sugar water?

[@MilesMaxcer]

That was Camponotus vicinus!

[@shaianerhonastudillo8342]

Can I have a test tube? I have many queen ant but I don't have a test tube....

[@ShiroGrey]

What do I do whit this queen ant in my test tube

[@jgbricks7863]

Question: my campanotus ligniperda queen has one worker and a few larvae and it has been nearly three months and I googled it and it said about 3 months

[@lupewolfz49]

Hello! Hello! Does anyone here know how to take care of a pyrimid queen ant? Its my first time, so i'd like some help.

[@MilesMaxcer]

Hi Enare Wolf! We hope you got the help you needed, but if not please let us know and we'll be happy to assist. Best, - Miles

[@Taiphyr]

I’m Kinda Late To This Video But- I’ve Created A Small Artificial Enclosure For My Fire Ant Queen (Very Very Small Queen, About The Size Of A Small Seed Or Bigger.) Any Advise On How To Move Her Into A Bigger One When Ready? I Don’t Want To Hurt Her By Dumping Her In, Or Scooping Her Up. (Notice, There Is No Holes Expect For A Lid Opening With Many Small Holes. We Are Infact Going To Buy Tubes. She Haven’t Gotten Any New Brood Yet- But When The Colony Starts Getting To Large Numbers The Enclosure Will Most Likely Be Too Small.)

[@kjiggy059]

Dude you are legit

[@MilesMaxcer]

Thank you!

[@Edits_by24]

What eles can you use for say if you dont have test tubes?

[@MilesMaxcer]

We have a video on how to use vials or jars to found queens! That might be useful. Pill bottles can work great. Good luck! - Miles

[@HeyItsThattGuy]

Anyone know the size of the petri dish?

[@Paul-ev9qu]

Does it depend on a ant on honey water and sugar water?

[@Earlyunknown]

My queen ant i keep is nearly 4 weeks, it doesnt lay eggs (yet?), after I saw that my testube molded, I replaced her, but since I'm broke, I only have 1 test tube, so put her on a container, washed my test tube, and place her again on test tube with a tiny dips of honey. But I'm a bit worried cause its my first time raising one, its not as energetic/hype as your ants in the video, its slow, and it didn't lay an egg yet, I need some tips and help.

[@aryashshyam766]

Queen ants tend to rest after they get used to the enviorment so they won't be hyped. But some species take time to lay eggs while others do it in 1-3 days

[@Earlyunknown]

@@aryashshyam766 the queen ant died, thanks for replyin tho

[@jjche3480]

i caught my queen yesterday and i think she laid an egg, but why is she barely moving? shes not dead because she moves if i touch her or something but do i need to feed her or make her warmer?

[@MilesMaxcer]

Queens are usually quite dormant in the colony founding process, and won't move around a lot unless they are laying eggs, cleaning or feeding brood, or modifying their founding chamber. They have a finite amount of energy to spend getting a colony started, so resting is important.

[@sheenarussell5320]

i have a small ant colany and i found an ant that is bigger and slower then other ants and i found some larva that my ants moved into a little home that i found for them i have them in a big flower pot so they have space but i dont know what my ants eat and i dont have a water dropper also they have a few larva a anima destroyed their colany and i found the larva in the remains picking up ants and putting some of the dirt they still had left in the pot i also dont know if my ant is even a queen i need help with this small colany that i am trying to rebuild

[@sheenarussell5320]

AND I NEED GRAMMERLY JEEZ I MADE SO MANY GRAMATICAL ERRORS

[@oceanfirestudio]

Where to find the petri dish? Can’t find that product anywhere.

[@MilesMaxcer]

There are a few models available on Amazon: www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Plastics-Clear-Plastic-Container/dp/B08PC7BXGH/ref=sr_1_3?crid=AP4PT2A91PS3&keywords=pioneer%2Bplastics%2Bround%2Bcontainer&qid=1682611093&sprefix=pioneer%2Bplastics%2Bround%2Bcontainer%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-3&th=1

[@oceanfirestudio]

@@MilesMaxcer I notice yours has little attachments for water though?

[@MilesMaxcer]

@@oceanfirestudio Ah, that's right. We show how to make these formicaria in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5TIkpt7h7trerc

[@ashokelly9074]

I love your videos they really help? I would like to ask a qestion and that is how do you know if your ant has breeded

[@MilesMaxcer]

Hi Ash! The only sure way to know if your queen has sperm and can produce fertile eggs is for her to raise her own worker ants. It is true that mated queens often drop their wings, but there can be exceptions to that rule. Sometimes unmated queens may lay infertile eggs, which may never develop or may hatch as male ants.

[@johnnotaro8496]

I found a queen ant today

[@ninam3136]

So I found a queen ant just last night in my room and want to see about keeping her, but I have no supplies that you've mentioned here (besides water, sugar, q-tips and aluminum foil). What are the most important things for me to get at this time?

[@sullyssnakesandpiders]

Use a snap cap vial and put cotton in the bottom and spritz it with SPRING water. Then wait till u get a testtube.

[@steadybetlog7130]

just a tip don't give a small colony much too big of space because ants like tight spaces

[@shayn3230]

I found ant have wings and her back at the but is small

[@alexgamerdaboy]

I have a problem my friend knocked over the thing that i keep my queen in i managed to save her but she lost her eggs she is not laying eggs anymore please help

[@MilesMaxcer]

Hi Alex! I'm sorry to hear this. What sort of formicarium is she in, and what species is she? She might need a boost of energy in the form of some honey-water. Happy to try and help troubleshoot this. --Miles

[@alexgamerdaboy]

@@MilesMaxcer thanks its the type from this vid she is i believe carpenter but im really bad at identifying ant species but she is black and has small workers she had 3 workers before the incident happened now she has 2

[@MilesMaxcer]

@@alexgamerdaboy Is this colony in diapause right now?

[@theepot108]

Can i catch a ant witheout a testtube?

[@MilesMaxcer]

You can catch an ant with any sort of container, but you do need to make sure they are set up in a sufficient formicarium as soon as possible.

[@marecekvales7018]

My Queen just shed her wings i gave her chicken

[@zubairti6243]

If a queen ant want water in their home daily

[@catmymoonlight4712]

Uhhhhhh i think my queen ant just died in the plastic container i have

[@FizzleFX]

Too bad shipping those dishes here is too expensive (EU...

[@howardgem]

Well, that was great I have about seven Queen Anne’s School loud, about seven Queen Anne’s and I’m bothered all different. Queens. Is that alright because I’ve collected Megs from a different holiday and I found it to Queensland S, so I took those Queens and put them in my aunts and Farm and they’re not eating any sugar I don’t have any. Do you know how to make honey water by that was actually a very good video. Thanks that was actually great. There’s nobody else on KZbin and do a good video now. Yeah they’re literally all really bad but yours was actually really good😅❤😅❤😅❤

[@yurei110]

Is there a king ant?? 🤣🤣

[@jutarodio8858]

i found but he not fertile

[@daniellekinnaman]

Cause it's a male I'm guessing

[@ekhalingrai43]

I am too a lover of ants! But I have wishes to pet an ant but umm....I have 7 colonies of ants bigger and stronger but it's the matter that they livd in my garden so... I take care of them there instead of taking the queen ant so I normally feed them all including 9 colonies! So I want to name the colonies . Which one should I name them...Se in the replies!

[@ekhalingrai43]

Vote for Sugarcream antyard!

[@ekhalingrai43]

Vote for Tinker bell ville!

[@ekhalingrai43]

Vote for dry land desert!

[@ekhalingrai43]

Vote for lovebird sweet!

[@ekhalingrai43]

Vote for Arican Marshmallow

[@kishorechaudhary3824]

hey i see a Ant in your video is this real.

[@alysonscott644]

Dude it's easy to find queen ant

[@alysonscott644]

Screw buying queen ant!!!

[@slick9795]

Red sus

[@xxmickeymouse0869]

rip of ant canada. Delete ur channel

[@camilla4081]

What is the difference between a Odorous queen and a carpenter queen? Idk wut species i have

[@Pokehits4321]

Hi can I mix my two carpenter ant qweens

[@loocense34phanh56]

How often do you feed you're queen and does it only have to be sugar water or honey?

[@carsonstasney8586]

You don’t feed it until there is workers

[@kbants4063]

👍🇬🇧🐜

[@benemor]

Hi Miles, I'm happy to see another upload, and I hope that there is more on the way. I have a question that you may consider covering in a future video... How are you able to identify ant species so quickly in the field? Looking back at videos such as "The Hunt for Wood Ants" and "Using Insect Aspirators", you seem to be able to identify colonies in the field immediately. Is this just years of experience and familiarity with the ants in the areas that you frequent? Do you identify ants based on appearance in the field? Do you know their genus based on previous identifications in the lab? Do you consider their colony location and habitat? It would be great if you could share the knowledge that you have. My current method is bringing a specimen back to the lab and following a key to identify the species.

[@MilesMaxcer]

That's a great question! Lots of experience is the most important thing I use -- a trained eye and years of looking at ants can give you high confidence with genus-level IDs, and sometimes species-level IDs in certain regions. I'll give a video like what you suggest some thought. Thanks! - Miles

[@AntScapes1]

Hey! I'm Finally uploading a video of my 4 foot Formicarium build ready for my Myrmica Ruginodis colony. Any feedback/advice would be MASSIVELY appreciated! Thanks man Much Love!

[@MilesMaxcer]

I'll check it out!

[@AntScapes1]

@@MilesMaxcer thank you! part 2 coming sunday!

[@withergamin8005]

MY QUEEN IS NEITHER OF THESE BUT SHE DOES HAVE A BRIGHT ABDOMAN im starting to feel like my queen if defrient I MEAN SHE IS SMALL SHE IS VERY FAST IF SHE PANICS AND HAS ORANGE BROOD

[@slate2720]

I've tried using vinyl tubes for my queens since classic test tubes aren't available and the ones I ordered have yet to show up and every queen I kept in one died. I kept so far 3 queens in those vinyl tubes with water and cotton balls and they die. I have two campo queens in other containers, one in a mini glass jar and one in a kids toy ant keeper and they've survived longer.

[@MilesMaxcer]

Sorry to hear that! Yeah, vinyl tubes don't work very well as substitutes. You might be better off making some small chamber nests with plaster.

[@karrengumagay6515]

I love your content

[@HarveySuerte]

Thanks for hwlping i will sub

[@norinabalanay3526]

I have a queen ant my i like

[@Unknown.D3P]

What do I do when my queen abandoned their colony? Could you make a video about it?

[@andreszicari8361]

Thx

[@natezubler3970]

How much time should they lay eggs after being put in a tube set up?