ANTSTORE World of Ants

[matt-man123]

i have tried explaining to my dad that a colony wihtout a queen is cruel and not right and just pointless.

please help and tell him its pointless and stupid thanks

[Necturus]

Hey Matt and Dad,

well, a colony needs constant "resupply" of workers to continue, otherwise one by one they will die. Their Job is to tend the brood of the queen and collect food, and without either the individual ants will just fade away after sitting around without anything to do.
So its rather pointless. Also, adoption is not an option, so having a queen is the only way to enjoy this hobby.

How about you (Dad) see it as a chance? Youd be suprised how many parents ive met that spend more time observing the colony then their kids, although they didnt like the idea at all in the first place (including my own father, who now owns his own colony!)

Greetings,
Necturus

[tail__]

Captured workers will not treat their cage as home, they will only want to escape and won't behave like ants in nature. Keeping animals without giving them what they need is cruelty, and the ants need not only food and water, but also need to be part of colony. The queens estabilish new colonies. They are the only ants able and willing to live alone in totally new environment (for a few weeks or months) - then all workers they will breed will treat the nest they were born as their true home, they will defend it and won't want to leave it unless it become uninhabitable for some reason. Like human monarchs, although queens don't really rule the colony, they are living symbols of it's independence (being the main sources of colony's "national scent"), thus making it something more than a herd - a society. And that is the real reason why ants are far more interesting than, say, firebugs, which also like to live in groups. A full colony with queen(s) will feel safe in formicarium, and will live in the similar way as the colony in natural habitat, including reproduction - and this is a sign they have what they need to live.

[AndyB]

Well said tail_. you have to do whats best for your ants.

[matt-man123]

thanks we will be getting a queen when the mating flights occur

thanks guys

[thecowmaster]

good luck with the catching