Caught a Harvester Ant Queen.

[SirKyle]

I've been trying to start a Harvester Ant colony for years but something always seems to mess it up. Last year I tried raising them the test tube method only to discover it doesn't work on them.

So this year I caught a new queen and am trying to get her to found a colony. What's the best thing to keep her in? Would a test tube work if it had a little dirt in it? Or does she really need to be in the ground?

Any tips on Harvester ant rearing would be very much appreciated.

[Cerbenix]

First time hearing that harvester ants cant be raised in a test tube. I had 2 messor barbarus queens both in test tubes. The one that I moved to proper nest is the one that died unfortunately but the other one I kept in the test tube and shes doing fine, pumping out brood like a champ.

[SirKyle]

Last year I caught two...I think Pogonomyrmex californicus queens. One had a few eggs by the time I got a test tube to put her in. After I put her in the tube, she ate the eggs and never laid anymore. Neither of them did and both eventually died. I asked on one of the ant Canada videos and was told they just don't like test tubes.

[Batspiderfish]

Plenty of people have raised Pogonomyrmex in test tubes, just most of them are semi-claustral and mustn't be sealed inside.

[Cheesefish77]

I placed my queen into a plastic container half filled with slightly damp soil, and she took to it quite well, digging a nest and occasionally emerging to dig or grab a seed.