ahhhhhhhhhhhh i have to wait another year for the nuptial flight :cry:
so can anyone answer my question about the barbarus colony :grin:
basicaly NO.. it is illegal to ship ants to the US.
I'm sure you can find a lot of interesting native species. E.g. carpenter ants (Camponotus) are much more common in Canada than in Europe, and they are great to keep, being so big and semi-intelligent. I would always advise to keep native species first, even where importing exotics is legal. It is amazing how interesting can be a colony of the common species which you always saw everywhere. I keep Lasius niger, the most commom "pavement ant" in northern Europe, for about 18 months, and they are always able to invent something new to bring my attention.