Ant keeping is accessible, but a few classic mistakes can ruin a colony in a matter of days. Here are the 10 most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
1. Choosing too ambitious a species to start
Polyergus, Atta, Cataglyphis: gorgeous, but best left to experts. Start with Lasius niger or Messor barbarus. You’ll have plenty of time to progress.
2. Opening the founding tube
Mistake number 1: opening the tube to “see how the queen is doing”. The stress of opening can drive her to cannibalise her own eggs or kill her. Don’t touch the tube for 4-8 weeks, full stop.
If you must observe, gently remove the dark cover, take a 30-second look through the glass, and put it back. No more. Once a week at most.
3. Skipping hibernation
“But she seems happy at 22°C in midwinter!” Yes, for now. In the long run, the absence of hibernation throws the whole reproductive cycle off balance. After 2-3 years, the colony declines and dies for no apparent reason.
4. Feeding too much or too often
A young colony needs very little: one fruit fly a week for 50 workers. More is pointless and causes mould.
5. No escape barrier
Think your outworld is sealed? Wrong. Without paraffin oil or Fluon on the edges, you’ll find your Tetramorium in the living room in under a week.
Before introducing your colony into a new setup, put a spoonful of honey in the centre and check a few hours later whether any ants managed to get outside. If so, reinforce the escape barrier.
6. Moving from tube to nest too fast
The test tube should house the colony until at least 30-50 workers, sometimes 100. Moving prematurely into a large nest stresses the queen (too much space, too much humidity, too many draughts) and can kill the fledgling colony.
7. Overloading the outworld with decoration
Branches, moss, stones: pretty, but it complicates maintenance and encourages mould and mites. A plain outworld is safer.
8. Neglecting water quality
Tap water sometimes contains too much chlorine for ants. Prefer filtered or still mineral water. Distilled water is too poor.
9. Handling the queen with your hands
The warmth of your hand, the smells, the risk of crushing: always handle with soft plastic tweezers or a brush. A queen crushed during the transfer = colony lost.
10. Expecting growth too fast
An ant colony is built over years, not weeks. Patience is the watchword. Don’t compare your colony in the founding phase to YouTube videos of 5-year-old mature colonies.
Patience, observation, restraint. A colony needs to be left alone most of the time. The keepers who succeed are those who resist the urge to intervene.
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