Big Antkeeping

Myrmecia pyriformis feeding the larvae a portion of cricket. These girls have just moved into a new nest by @coltrains.critters and are loving the new space! #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #myrmecia #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #pyriformis #nest #antkeeping #australia #bullants #inchants

My Myrmecia Pyriformis are doing incredibly well with a 9 worker first generation, and a 20+ second generation in the larvae stage. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #myrmecia #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #pyriformis #nest #antkeeping #australia #bullants #inchants

My Iridomyrmex pallidus have officially moved into the early Size 2 nest prototype I gave them, and they seem to be thriving. The queen even made an appearance, which I was quite surprised about. This nest, and the other sizes, should be on sale in the next few weeks. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #iridomyrmex #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #pallidus #nest #antkeeping #australia

Camponotus c.f humilior nanitic that eclosed overnight, as well as a queen not happy with my camera being so close to her tube. Plenty more cocoons so hoping for some major growth in the next week or two. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #camponotus #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #humilior

Hey all! We've been quiet on the store side of things as life got in the way, but we're back now with a new and improved nest design, with greater versatility and modularity! With an increased number of ports and revised connector, these nests can be expanded infinitely as you please! These will be available for purchase in the New Year but you can message me to reserve yours early! Stay tuned for features on each sized nest in the coming days. #acrylic #nest #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #antkeeping #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #bigantkeeping #newrelease

My colony of Polyrachis daemeli are really starting to take off! Fed some sugar water and these two immediately began sharing it around #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #polyrachis #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #daemeli

Aphaenogaster longiceps queen, commonly referred to as funnel ants due to their tendency to create funnels out of their nest entrances. She's quite aggressive, and was not happy with me taking photos of her. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #aphaenogaster #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #longiceps

Camponotus aenopilosus queen tending her first eggs. This species are commonly called golden tailed sugar ants due to fine golden hairs on their gaster. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #camponotus #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #aenopilosus

Camponotus c.f humilior queen checking out the lens at the end of her tube. These girls are a fast growing species of Australian camponotus with beautiful colouring. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #camponotus #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #humilior

Rhytidoponera punctiventris colony, rescued from a farm where they were going to exterminated. These girls are massive, approximately the size of C. consobrinus! Housed in one of my hand-made nests. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #punctiventris #colony #antcolony #insects #insect #invertebrates #rhytidoponera

Camponotus suffusus bendigensis, a beautifully coloured ant, with red legs and gold gasters reaching sizes of some myrmecia workers! #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #camponotus #suffusus #bendigensis #colony #antcolony #sugarant #carpenterant

Zasphinctus sp. raiding party with nearby colony. These raiders ants are rare to find and limited study has been done on them. Here they attack and eat a Rhytidoponera metallica worker. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #ergatoids #colony #antcolony #zasphinctus #raiderant

Dolichoderus doriae, another uncommon ergatoid on my property. A particular large colony with beautiful golds and reds. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #ergatoids #colony #antcolony #dolichoderus #doriae #spikes

Leptomyrmex erthyrocephalus worker investigating me, have a few colonies of these on my property and hoping for a queen when they have their nuptial 'walks'. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #ergatoids #colony #antcolony #leptomyrmex #spiderant

Nylanderia sp. queen becoming dinner for a colony of Crematogaster sp. #antkeepinghobby #ants #antcolony #australianants #crematogaster #colony #antcolony #nylanderia

Iridomyrmex c.f. pallidus evacuating brood from the outworld when I dropped some cricket in, they love to store their late stage larvae and pupae in the corner where the heat cable comes closest. #antkeepinghobby #antkeeping #iridomyrmex #ants #antsofinstagram #australianants #larva #larvae #pupae #brood #nest #colony #antcolony

This is one of my favourite photos to show people who ask " Why ants?" The love and care given to each new ant and the fact all stages of an ants development are present is really cool! #antkeeping #antkeepinghobby #ants #antsofinstagram #rhytidoponerametallica #rhytidoponera #australianants #callow #cocoon #colony #antcolony

Myrmecia piliventris queen hanging out in her nest, with a worker close by.