The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

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.

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.

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.

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

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.