Updated November 22, 2019
By Julie Johnson
An adult queen ant populates and sustains an ant colony. Female worker ants cater to the queen, while the queen's only role is to reproduce. Without the queen ant, an ant colony would not survive. Worker ants would die, and there would be no way of replacing them. If you want to grow a long-lasting successful ant farm, you need a queen ant. Since it is against federal law for insect suppliers to ship queen ants to other states and regions, the best way to get a queen ant is to catch one on your own.
Differentiate between a queen ant, worker ant, and male ant. During the warm spring and summer months, usually after a large rain, queen and worker ants leave the ant colony. Inspect a group of ants that have surfaced after a rainstorm for an ant with wings. During mating season, the queen ant will have wings. Male ants also have wings, but are never in a colony of worker ants, and are smaller in size than a queen ant.
Look under fallen logs, large rocks, and rotten tree bark, or along driveways and sidewalks to locate a queen ant away from the colony. After a queen ant mates, she loses her wings. However, the queen ant is much larger than any other ant, and has a rounder, thicker abdomen. After you identify and capture a queen ant, keep her in a container with plenty of air, food, and moist soil until you can transport her to your ant farm.
Dig up and flood an ant colony. Because ants tunnel deep into the ground, you will need to shovel a foot around an ant hill and 5 or 6 inches down. Once the ant hill is hollowed out, pour a small and steady stream of water into the ant hole with a water hose. The worker ants will soon begin to emerge and transfer the larvae to a dry location. Wait there for the queen ant to eventually appear out of the flooded ant colony, and add her to your ant farm.
Sift through a colony until you uncover the queen ant. Dig around a small ant hill, and place the entire ant colony into a container deep enough to hold the complete nest. Shovel far enough down and around so that you are able to extract ants out of all the chambers and tunnels. You want to make sure there are no more ants left in the hole. Using a small gardening shovel and your fingers, sort through the ants in the container until you are able to locate the queen.
FAQs
Try keeping clumps of dirt together and cover buckets so the queen doesn't escape. It's tricky work. Handle the queen with care if you're going to catch her. Queens are delicate, so putting her in something like a test tube setup with some water and cotton is a safe way to transport her.
How do I catch a queen ant? ›
Try keeping clumps of dirt together and cover buckets so the queen doesn't escape. It's tricky work. Handle the queen with care if you're going to catch her. Queens are delicate, so putting her in something like a test tube setup with some water and cotton is a safe way to transport her.
How to lure a queen ant out of its nest? ›
Well here is the answer, STEP 1=You need to prepare a cup of water. STEP 2=pour the water into the nest. Once the ant nest is flooded you can see the worker carrying the brood to protect them from water in the nest soon the queen will also emerge out.
How do you pick a queen ant? ›
Which Queen should I Choose?
- Species: Select a species that suits your level of experience and matches your interests. ...
- Size: Consider the size of the queen ant. ...
- Colony Size: Decide if you want to start with a single queen or a founding colony. ...
- Climate:
You can pour boiling water on an ant trail and down an anthill in hopes of immediately killing the worker ants and the queen ant.
Why are queen ants illegal? ›
These ants are native to South America but found their way to the United States through shipping craters. Having no natural predators here, they spread throughout the southern states, causing irreparable economic and ecological damage. For this reason, USDA prohibits the sale of queen ants in the United States.
What time do queen ants come out? ›
During the warm spring and summer months, usually after a large rain, queen and worker ants leave the ant colony. Inspect a group of ants that have surfaced after a rainstorm for an ant with wings. During mating season, the queen ant will have wings.
How deep is the queen ant? ›
The new fire ant queen excavates a brood cell (chamber or room) about 1 or 2 inches (25 to 50 mm) underground. Often, more than one new queen will occupy the same cell, but only one will survive to establish a monogynous (single queen) colony.
Is there a queen ant in every nest? ›
Of course not every species' colonies share a queen-focused civilization. Some colonies have more than one queen, which helps a colony expand quickly. Other colonies have no true queens. Instead, some worker ants have the ability to reproduce.
How to tell if a queen ant is stressed? ›
Signs include a lack of activity, sluggish behavior, erratic movements, or a decline in egg-laying. Seek advice if you notice these symptoms.
First, it's important to note that it's extremely rare for most people to encounter a queen. That's because it's the job of the colony to protect the queen, so she stays hidden in a wood nest most of time. Carpenter ant queens are much larger than other ants in the colony and may measure up to an inch in length.
What happens if you squish a queen ant? ›
So, what happens when a queen ant dies? The answer is straightforward, the colony will eventually die as well. Ants don't flee to another territory or nest if their queen passes away.
Can you tame a queen ant? ›
Once the rest of the colony has been dealt with, the Queen can be passive tamed, though Bug Repellant or Ghillie Armor is needed. They prefer Sweet Vegetable Cake for taming, with Giant Bee Honey also being accepted.
How rare is it to see a queen ant? ›
First, it's important to note that it's extremely rare for most people to encounter a queen. That's because it's the job of the colony to protect the queen, so she stays hidden in a wood nest most of time. Carpenter ant queens are much larger than other ants in the colony and may measure up to an inch in length.
