Choosing your first ant colony

You don't need anything unusual to enjoy your first ants. A small colony of black garden ants can be brilliant to watch. One worker finds food, then a few more turn up. Before long, they're working together to carry it home. There's plenty happening, even when the colony is small.

Before choosing a nest, decide what you'd like to watch. Some ants collect seeds, some are particularly lively at feeding time, and others grow slowly but are fascinating up close. It's also worth thinking about how much time you have for feeding and checking their setup.

Black garden ants (Lasius niger) are a reliable first choice and become more interesting as the colony grows. Harvester ants (Messor barbarus) collect seeds and eventually develop workers of different sizes. British red ants (Myrmica rubra) are keen feeders, although they need a moist nest and can sting. If you'd rather keep something larger, European carpenter ants (Camponotus ligniperda) are impressive, but a young colony can be slow to grow.

You can start with a queen on her own, but be prepared to wait for her first workers. That can take quite a while. For most beginners, we'd suggest a queen with a few workers already established. There's more to see from day one, and feeding a small working colony is a good way to learn.