Beginner Ant Keeping Tips for Lasius Niger

[FlameofOsiris]

Now, I'm a fairly new ant keeper and I want to start an ant colony,however, I'm not sure what to buy from the store. So far, I have 3 options

A-Get an "All You Need" Pack.
B-Buy an Omninest and a tubing pack
C-Buy a hybrid nest, Outerworld and tubing pack

I'm looking for the "bang for your buck" kind of approach.
Also, is Lasius Niger a good ant species to first start out with? I'm relatively sure that it's a good species but I decided to ask you guys too, just in case.

Also, I'm afraid I must order the ants illegally, all the GAN farmers in my area are EXTREMELY expensive (NYC) so, I can't buy from there. Not to mention all the farmers within a 100-200 mile radius house their ants in test tubes and nothing else!

[idahoantgirl]

Now, I'm a fairly new ant keeper and I want to start an ant colony,however, I'm not sure what to buy from the store. So far, I have 3 options

A-Get an "All You Need" Pack.
B-Buy an Omninest and a tubing pack
C-Buy a hybrid nest, Outerworld and tubing pack

I'm looking for the "bang for your buck" kind of approach.
Also, is Lasius Niger a good ant species to first start out with? I'm relatively sure that it's a good species but I decided to ask you guys too, just in case.

Also, I'm afraid I must order the ants illegally, all the GAN farmers in my area are EXTREMELY expensive (NYC) so, I can't buy from there. Not to mention all the farmers within a 100-200 mile radius house their ants in test tubes and nothing else!

Don't buy illegally! it's not only against the law but it can be dangerous to the environment!! please, don't do it. wait the winter and then find a queen yourself in the spring! If you just bought a queen illegally now you'd have to hibernate them anyways and not touch them all winter anyways! just find a queen yourself and then you get to have the whole experience! Also, lots of people rush into ant keeping and end up accidentally killing their queens because they have not researched extensively. Use the winter to research! There is a ton to know !

[FlameofOsiris]

Now, I'm a fairly new ant keeper and I want to start an ant colony,however, I'm not sure what to buy from the store. So far, I have 3 options

A-Get an "All You Need" Pack.
B-Buy an Omninest and a tubing pack
C-Buy a hybrid nest, Outerworld and tubing pack

I'm looking for the "bang for your buck" kind of approach.
Also, is Lasius Niger a good ant species to first start out with? I'm relatively sure that it's a good species but I decided to ask you guys too, just in case.

Also, I'm afraid I must order the ants illegally, all the GAN farmers in my area are EXTREMELY expensive (NYC) so, I can't buy from there. Not to mention all the farmers within a 100-200 mile radius house their ants in test tubes and nothing else!

Don't buy illegally! it's not only against the law but it can be dangerous to the environment!! please, don't do it. wait the winter and then find a queen yourself in the spring! If you just bought a queen illegally now you'd have to hibernate them anyways and not touch them all winter anyways! just find a queen yourself and then you get to have the whole experience! Also, lots of people rush into ant keeping and end up accidentally killing their queens because they have not researched extensively. Use the winter to research! There is a ton to know !

I do know it's against the law, but there are no other places. I can't catch any queens (I live smack dab in the city and have a pretty lousy backyard, so I guess I just have to order ants specifically native to my area (like camponatus spp.) It wouldn't be dangerous because if they escape being that the specific camponatus ant is native to the new york area.

[Batspiderfish]

Agreed. You're not gonna make friends on the American forums if you import your ants illegally and threaten your local ecology. You might even get kicked off the forum, or fined if you are caught. Ordering ants from Europe which are "native" to North America is also a no-go.

[Batspiderfish]

If you want to get a queen, either save up to buy from somebody in the state or make plans to go somewhere out-of-town, where you can find queens.

[FlameofOsiris]

This is true I suppose, maybe I could ask a friend or family member to get me my ants when they go somewhere from a GAN farmer. I'm sorry but there is no way I could catch a queen by myself, I've got no time, my parents definitely won't drive or let me go there by myself. I guess I could go out of town with my sister when she has free time to get the ants

[Batspiderfish]

I am sorry that it is difficult for you to find ants on your own, but getting ants illegally isn't the answer. You might be able to find ants in the parks. Contact some of the GAN farmers posting queens and let them know how much you are able to spend -- they might be willing to lower the price for you.

You might also be able to hold off on buying a formicarium. Colonies will do pretty well in test tubes for a while.

[FlameofOsiris]

I am sorry that it is difficult for you to find ants on your own, but getting ants illegally isn't the answer. You might be able to find ants in the parks. Contact some of the GAN farmers posting queens and let them know how much you are able to spend -- they might be willing to lower the price for you.

You might also be able to hold off on buying a formicarium. Colonies will do pretty well in test tubes for a while.

Could you define what "a while" means?
I suppose I could contact the GAN farmers in New York, see if they're willing to lower the price or possibly even ship them. (In USA it's illegal to ship ants over state lines, so him shipping them to me within the state is legal) However, I'm not too sure if they'll accept. I mean, 1-12 ants for 40$? You have to be kidding me!Goodness, it's only 20$ for 15-25 ants, which I would definetly buy if it weren't illegal

[FlameofOsiris]

ello anyone?

[idahoantgirl]

ello anyone?

actually, people have house mature colonies completely in test tubes. what they do is have a lot of test tubes in an outworld. each test tube acts like a chamber. here is an AntsCanada video about making your own formicarium. at 16:55 you can see this style set up. many colonies can be kept in a single test tube even when they have 100 plus workers! If you put a bunch of test tubes in an outworld, you could potentially have a thousand or more workers in your colony and still house them this way!