Caring for an ant actually means caring for an entire colony starting from a single fertilized queen: giving her a dark, humid space to found in, waiting without disturbing her, and then offering the colony that emerges a modular ant farm from AntMaster's Terra line, with distinct humidity zones, varied food, and winter rest if the species requires it.
Last updated: September 5, 2026.
What is myrmecology, and what does it mean to keep an ant colony at home?
Myrmecology is the study of ants, and in the context of the hobby, "doing myrmecology" means keeping a living colony in a home ant farm to observe its development from founding through growth in worker numbers. Unlike other pets, you're not caring for a single animal: you're caring for a superorganism made up of one or more queens and all their offspring, where each worker fulfills a role based on her age and the colony's needs at that moment. The hobbyist doesn't interact with the ants directly, but instead provides an environment — temperature, humidity, space, food — close enough to what they'd have in nature for the colony to develop on its own. It's a hobby of observation and patience: visible changes, especially at first, happen over weeks, not days.
How is an ant colony founded?
It all starts with a queen fertilized after the nuptial flight, who is placed alone in a test tube prepared as a founding chamber: water at one end, held back by a cotton plug, with the rest of the tube dry and covered in opaque paper to simulate the darkness of an underground chamber. In most species founding is claustral, meaning the queen doesn't need to eat during this period: she lives off her own fat reserves and the tissue of her flight muscles, which she reabsorbs. That's why she isn't offered food, and why the tube shouldn't be opened, moved, or exposed to vibrations either: stress and handling are the most common causes of failed foundings. Some species have semi-claustral founding, in which the queen does need to go out and look for food during this stage; which type of founding applies to a given species is something worth checking in its care sheet before you start, rather than assuming.
What does an ant farm need for the colony to thrive?
A functional ant farm needs, above all, a humidity gradient: a humid zone where the queen and larvae are comfortable, and a drier zone where food can be stored without going moldy. That's why plaster ant farms remain the reference material in the hobby: plaster is porous, absorbs and releases humidity gradually, can be carved to create chambers and galleries, and isn't toxic to the animal. Acrylic designs, 3D-printed resin, or natural cork also work, but each material behaves differently with respect to humidity and requires a somewhat different watering routine. Besides the material, you need ventilation — to prevent air from stagnating and mold from appearing — and an anti-escape barrier on the walls of the foraging area, usually talc or oil, because ants climb smooth surfaces better than you'd think. In our ant farms collection there are plaster and modular models designed to cover these needs from day one.
- A humid zone for brood and a dry zone for storage — never the whole ant farm at the same humidity.
- Enough ventilation so condensation doesn't build up and mold doesn't appear.
- A reliable anti-escape barrier across the entire foraging area surface, checked periodically.
What do ants eat in an ant farm?
A colony's diet is built around three elements: sugars, protein, and water. Sugars — honey water, artificial nectar, fruit — provide the energy adult workers need to move and work. Protein — live or frozen insects such as small crickets, mealworms, or flies — is what allows larvae to grow, and it becomes especially important when there's brood developing. Water must always be available in a feeder that won't let the ants drown. The exact proportions and feeding frequency vary a lot by species: some colonies are mostly granivorous, others almost exclusively predatory, and most fall somewhere in between; it's worth checking that specific balance in each species' care sheet rather than applying a single rule. As a general guideline, it's better to offer small amounts frequently and remove uneaten protein leftovers before they rot. In the feeding section you'll find the options we typically use to cover both categories.
How do I know if my colony is doing well or if something is wrong?
A colony that's progressing shows consistent signs: the queen stays grouped with part of the workforce and the brood, eggs, larvae, and pupae are continuously visible, workers forage normally, and the number of individuals increases over time, even if slowly. Warning signs go the other way: prolonged absence of egg-laying, brood that disappears without becoming adult workers, visible mold in the humid zone, mites on the ants or on the food, high and sustained mortality, or a queen isolated from the rest of the group for days. No single one of these signs is necessarily serious on its own — a young colony can go weeks without visible changes — but when several combine, or persist over time, it's time to check humidity, feeding, and husbandry before the problem gets worse.
What is diapause, and why does an ant colony hibernate?
Diapause, or hibernation, is a seasonal rest period needed by species from climates with pronounced winters: the colony's activity drops to a minimum, the queen slows or stops laying, and overall metabolism lowers to save energy until favorable conditions return. It isn't a keeper's whim or a simple optional pause: in species that require it, systematically skipping it can shorten the queen's lifespan and weaken the colony's growth rate in the following years. Tropical species, on the other hand, usually don't need diapause at all and stay active year-round if conditions remain stable. The exact temperature, duration, and time of year it should be applied vary by species, so this is one of the points where it's best to follow the animal's specific care sheet rather than a generic figure: getting hibernation wrong is one of the mistakes with the most consequences for the colony's long-term health.
What are the most common mistakes when starting out in ant keeping?
Most failures in the hobby don't come from bad luck, but from a handful of mistakes that keep repeating. Checking the founding tube several times a day, or exposing it to light and vibrations, is probably the most common and the most lethal for a queen who hasn't produced workers yet. Feeding a queen during claustral founding, when her biology neither needs nor expects it, tends to cause mold rather than help. Buying a large ant farm for a colony that's still small spreads the ants out and makes it harder for them to maintain the humidity gradient they need. And starting with a demanding species without having managed a simple colony first usually leads to avoidable frustration. For someone starting from scratch, it makes sense to begin with a starter kit designed to cover founding and the first months without having to improvise each piece separately, and to choose a species with a reputation for hardiness — many European ants fall into that category — before moving on to more delicate species.
- Don't check the founding tube more than necessary; every opening is an interruption for the queen.
- Don't feed a queen during claustral founding unless the species is semi-claustral.
- Don't oversize the ant farm relative to the colony's actual size.
- Don't mix queens of different origins or different species in the same space.
When is it worth asking an experienced keeper for help?
There are moments when it's worth asking rather than continuing to try on your own: when a founding has taken much longer than usual without any sign of eggs or larvae, when mold or mites appear and it's not clear how to treat them without harming the colony, when there's sudden mortality with no obvious cause, or when it comes to reliably identifying a species before applying specific husbandry to it — and especially before deciding whether or not to hibernate it. An experienced keeper can usually tell within seconds the difference between a colony that's simply progressing slowly and one with a real problem, something that isn't always obvious to someone who's only been in the hobby a few months. Asking in time, in a specialized forum or directly to whoever sold you the colony, keeps a minor problem from turning into the loss of the queen.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ant farm or formicarium?
An ant farm, also called a formicarium, is the structure where a colony of ants lives in captivity. It usually combines a nest area — with chambers and galleries, typically in plaster or another moisture-retaining material — and a drier foraging area, connected by tubes, where the ants go out to look for food and water. The design varies depending on the colony's size and species.
Do I need a permit to keep ants in Spain?
For most species common in the hobby, no special permit is required, but it's worth checking the status of each specific species before buying it, since some ants are listed as invasive alien species at the European or Spanish level. If in doubt, it's best to confirm with the seller or with current regulations before acquiring a specimen.
How long does it take a queen to form a visible colony?
It depends a lot on the species and ambient temperature, but as an order of magnitude, the first workers usually appear weeks after founding, and a colony with a number of individuals visible to the naked eye can take several months to form. Growth accelerates progressively: the first months are the slowest, because there's only one queen indirectly feeding the entire colony.
Can I keep an ant farm in a small apartment?
Yes. Most ant farms for developing colonies take up little space — similar to a small terrarium or a small fish tank — and don't produce noise or smell if kept clean. The space needed grows with the colony, so it's worth choosing an ant farm suited to the size you expect in the medium term, not just the current number of workers.
What's the difference between a plaster ant farm and an acrylic one?
Plaster naturally retains and releases humidity, which makes it easier to maintain the humid-dry gradient without as much manual control. Acrylic or 3D-printed resin don't absorb humidity on their own, so they depend more on manual watering and well-calculated ventilation, though they tend to be more resistant and easier to clean thoroughly. Neither one is better in absolute terms: the choice depends on the level of hands-on management you want to take on.
Is it dangerous to keep ants at home?
For species common in the hobby, the risk is low if the ant farm has an adequate anti-escape system and is checked regularly. The real risk isn't so much stinging or biting — most species common in the hobby aren't a significant danger — but escape if the anti-escape barrier fails, so checking seals and barriers is part of routine maintenance, not an optional extra.
How long does an ant queen live?
It varies enormously by species, but in general queens live considerably longer than workers — in many cases several years, and in some species well over a decade under proper conditions. Specific longevity depends on the species and on whether its husbandry needs are respected, including hibernation when applicable.
Can I put two colonies or two queens together in the same ant farm?
No, unless it's a species with natural polygyny (several queens coexisting) and you follow a specific introduction protocol. Simply putting colonies or queens together almost always ends in aggression and the death of one side, because ants identify individuals outside their colony by scent and treat them as a threat.