I got into antkeeping after reading a comment on this very site about what a cool hobby this was (and having been fascinated by ants since my childhood).
I fell into the rabbit hole of types of formicariums, species identification. I settled on my "favourite" specy that I wanted to have that was endemic to my region. I bought a queen + 3 workers from a reputed seller, but they waited a week before sending the test tube and when they sent it it the queen was dead on arrival :(
So I decided to just look for signs of nuptials flights in my city and look for a queen myself, it was a really fun summer! Always looking at the pavement when walking outside, keeping test tubes in my bag, taking long walks in the morning after it rained because it was the ideal conditions for some of the species I wanted.
In the end, one afternoon I found that dozens and dozens of queens had taken their nuptials flights all over the city, it was awesome to notice this for the first time.
So I got a queen of one of the most numerous and unremarkable species in the region, it's been two years and it's been really fun. A really not that expensive hobby! If even if you're not into diy (like I am) you need only a test tube to get started, and then later when the first workers arrive a foraging area that can just be a plastic container.
Really recommend it, and I'm not interested at all in buying exotic species. Sure, leafcutter ants look awesome, but I wouldn't keep a snake in my house either!
Not that I'd ever be in the market for illegal wildlife, I find the whole trade abhorrent, but $220 for a pregnant queen of an exotic ant species that would spawn an entire colony and live for years doesn't seem at all expensive.
I think realistically businesses in other parts of the world have no incentive to fully enforce ethical provenance across the entire supply chain for these kinds of products, and in most cases, fully lack the capability either. You'd have to run some kind of ATF-kinda thing in a third world country where official rule of law is already dicey or absent.
It's illegal to ship queen ants across state lines (let alone from out of the country) without a USDA permit, so you'll be hard pressed to find many sites willing to admit to it.
That said, Bugs In Cyberspace is well respected within the invert space - I'd be shocked if they were engaged in any kind of illegal insect trafficking. Roach Crossing is another solid place to buy from as well.
So I used to raise giant bugs for fun. Millipedes and rhinoceros beetles mostly. Only get the rhinos if you want a HUGE FUCKING GRUB for two years and a super cool beetle for like 3 months.
The grubs are gross and kind of a pain. You'll have a tank you have to keep close watch on for a couple years that is only dirt, because they don't really come out.
If you want big old bugs that are easy and cool, get Cameroon train millipedes. You used to be able to get African giant black millipedes, but there is a mite that destroyed that trade. But the train millipedes are almost as big. They're shockingly low maintenance and love eating vegetable scraps. And if you have a male and at least one female you are almost guaranteed to have a million billion babies at some point.
"The foreigners never came to the fields themselves - they would wait in town, in a guest house or a car, and we would bring the ants to them packed in small tubes or syringes they supplied us with."
i never got the appeal of having someone else do the only interesting part of anything for you
I mean, you're not going down there for one ant. You probably want to fill your carry on with them and digging up dozens of ant mounds on strangers land doesn't sound all that great
OK, but why? They are ants, they don't do anything useful as pets, you cannot play with them and you cannot observe them build their giant mounds in a glorified aquarium.
What an odd question, people have had ant colonies in terrariums as pets for decades if not centuries. And yes, you can observe them in terrarium conditions. This particular breed of ant is a little less violent than a lot of the species we're used to.
The species described in TFA are very big ants, so they are easy to observe. Moreover, unlike most ants, they eat mostly seeds, so I assume that they are easier to feed in captivity.
However, the decision to keep any kind of pet, even an ant colony, requires accepting the responsibility for the welfare of the pet for its lifetime.
The problem with animal pets is that too many buy one on impulse and after some time they become bored and they no longer take good care of the pet or they completely abandon it.
If you have enough imagination, you can "play" with them.
Professional and amateur scientists have made countless behavioral experiments with ants, since the time of Jean-Henri Fabre, in the 19th century, to see how they solve various problems.
I fell into the rabbit hole of types of formicariums, species identification. I settled on my "favourite" specy that I wanted to have that was endemic to my region. I bought a queen + 3 workers from a reputed seller, but they waited a week before sending the test tube and when they sent it it the queen was dead on arrival :(
So I decided to just look for signs of nuptials flights in my city and look for a queen myself, it was a really fun summer! Always looking at the pavement when walking outside, keeping test tubes in my bag, taking long walks in the morning after it rained because it was the ideal conditions for some of the species I wanted.
In the end, one afternoon I found that dozens and dozens of queens had taken their nuptials flights all over the city, it was awesome to notice this for the first time.
So I got a queen of one of the most numerous and unremarkable species in the region, it's been two years and it's been really fun. A really not that expensive hobby! If even if you're not into diy (like I am) you need only a test tube to get started, and then later when the first workers arrive a foraging area that can just be a plastic container.
Really recommend it, and I'm not interested at all in buying exotic species. Sure, leafcutter ants look awesome, but I wouldn't keep a snake in my house either!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithops#Conservation_status
But they were so cute, looking like weird butt-cheeks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lithops_salicola.jpg
So I picked some up at a local flower shop when I saw them.
they seemed to be selling them legally.
I think we wouldn't do anything with exotic flora and fauna unless smuggling had happened at some time in the past, then it got grandfathered in.
on the other hand, dandilions, eucalyptus, mongooses (mongees?)
I think realistically businesses in other parts of the world have no incentive to fully enforce ethical provenance across the entire supply chain for these kinds of products, and in most cases, fully lack the capability either. You'd have to run some kind of ATF-kinda thing in a third world country where official rule of law is already dicey or absent.
https://bugsincyberspace.com/about/
glad to say search shows no "queen" results, though idk if that means anything
That said, Bugs In Cyberspace is well respected within the invert space - I'd be shocked if they were engaged in any kind of illegal insect trafficking. Roach Crossing is another solid place to buy from as well.
The grubs are gross and kind of a pain. You'll have a tank you have to keep close watch on for a couple years that is only dirt, because they don't really come out.
If you want big old bugs that are easy and cool, get Cameroon train millipedes. You used to be able to get African giant black millipedes, but there is a mite that destroyed that trade. But the train millipedes are almost as big. They're shockingly low maintenance and love eating vegetable scraps. And if you have a male and at least one female you are almost guaranteed to have a million billion babies at some point.
i never got the appeal of having someone else do the only interesting part of anything for you
However, the decision to keep any kind of pet, even an ant colony, requires accepting the responsibility for the welfare of the pet for its lifetime.
The problem with animal pets is that too many buy one on impulse and after some time they become bored and they no longer take good care of the pet or they completely abandon it.
Professional and amateur scientists have made countless behavioral experiments with ants, since the time of Jean-Henri Fabre, in the 19th century, to see how they solve various problems.
https://theonion.com/ant-farm-teaches-children-about-toil-de...
I don’t understand why people would build an entire industry around insect trafficking just to watch ants for a few days before getting bored of them.