2001.12.15 How do I catch ants to put in my Ant Farm?

One can use bait to catch them over a few days. Sugar water in a small bottle cap in a large jar would be enough to attract some ants. Simply collect the ants in the jar periodically and put them into your terrarium. --Mr. Ant

Mr. Ant's idea works very well. I have done this many times in the past, especially with Argentine ants. --Ant

Another option is to just dig up a colony and sort the ants, pupae, larvae, and eggs manually from the soil.

For wood ants, this is more difficult since extracting them from the wood nest can be tedious at best.

Place ants and nest material in an escape-proof container under a bright light with a dark humid refuge (their artificial nest) off to one side. In a day or two, the ants will separate themselves from the too-warm and too-dry nest material and move into the artificial nest. --Dr. Ant

Wilson and Hölldobler comment on using an aspirator (also known as pooters) for ant collection. --Mr. Ant and Myrmecos1

Parts needed:

1. F - Large clear elbow flask (250 - 500ml) the larger the better.
2. s - One holed stopper that fits large hole in flask.
3. T - Metal or glass tube that fits center hole in stopper and is about same height as flask.
4. T1 - 1' clear plastic tube that fits snugly over the elbow of the flask.
5. T2 - 3' clear plastic tube that fits snugly over metal or glass tube of #3.
6. S - Fine screen which has a mesh smaller than the ants you wish to collect.

Assembly:

1. Put Tube #3 into center hole of #2 stopper so that end of tube is near bottom of flask when stopper secure in the top.
2. Fasten screen #6 over elbow of flask -- then fit Tube T1 #4 over the screen and elbow so that the screen is secure and that sucking air through tube T2 is relatively unobstructed.
3. Snugly fit Tube T2 #5 over the part of Tube #2 which will be on the outside of the flask.

When your finished your Aspirator should appear as follows:

To Use Aspirator:

One simply finds a nest -- break it open and start sucking up the ants into the aspirator jar. When enough are collected, the ants can be transferred from the aspirator to another container. A bucket or large X shaped jar treated with oil of some kind 1-2" wide near the rim works great to keep ants from escaping.

WARNING: Agitated ants spray formic acid, etc. Their fumes are noxious. When one sucks, use only the mouth and not the lungs, and be sure to blow out quickly. --Mr. Ant