Frequently asked Questions
Are all ant shops the same?
Sadly no. If ants are not well cared for or correctly sourced before being sent out they will arrive at your door weak or infertile and a greatly reduced chance of being successful and you waisted your money. Buy right the first time so you don't have to buy twice.
What makes AntsRus different?
Most of the colonies of ants we sell we raise from single queens and the ones we don't we quarantine and inspect over the course of weeks before we send them out, each colony sent out is inspected for their health. All our colonies are fed organic food from our feed we sell or from the organic fed insects we feed our ants this ensures no pesticides affecting the ants.
Where do you ship to?
We ship to both the United kingdom standard 1st class shipping is free and European Union shipping is back with TNT express Monday to Wednesday dispatch live arrival of queen is insured for free 22.99GBP postage 1-3 working days at checkout.
If you are outside of this area and would like to buy ants email/contact us we have 3rd party relationships with other sellers particularly USA sellers.
What insurance policies do you offer?
We offer free insurance to our UK customers for every queen to arrive alive on arrival in this case we cover the postage cost we will issue a replacement free of charge or a refund.
For our European customers we offer live arrival on delivery (this offer is only valid for the first attempt of delivery) in unlikely event your queen is dead on arrival we will insure a replacement and we cover postage or we will give you a refund.
We also have a extra 14 day warranty of each Queen from the date of arrival for our European ant species if kept in the original test tube they arrived in during this period UK postage is free in this case but our EU customers will have to pay the cost of postage we supply the ants free.
We do not offer insurance on any worker ants or eggs and brood.
We will ask for photographic evidence and in rare cases ask for the package to be sent back and we will refund your postage costs on return of the item using our recommended couriers.
How long will my order take to be dispatched?
Our shipping dates are Monday-Thursday. We operate a 1 working day processing time.
Orders placed before 12PM during those days will be posted within the same day.
Express 24-48 hours UPS can only be sent Monday to Wednesday.
Should you require your delivery more urgently for example as a gift or present we can accommodate you can hit us an email and choose the fastest delivery method available at checkout.
What ants should I buy as or for a beginner?
Lasius niger, Lasius flavus, Messor barbarus, the more workers the better! 10 plus is ideal starting from a queen can also be fun, but it does take time to establish a colony in that case.
Anything with 5 plus workers apart from those species in the European ants section are also beginner friendly
I want to try exotic ants. what do you recommend?
We recommend Camponotus exotics such as parius or nicobarensis. The following species are also quiet enduring Diacamma rogosum, Polyrhachis dives and any Pheidole exotics.
What type of nest do you recommend?
Acrylic all in one ants nest with an outworld attached is a good starter nest. Y-tong nest are also good as well as natural based set up. Do your research before you buy a nest.
My ants won't move into their ant farm?
Ants will stay in a test tube if they prefer the conditions of the tube to a nest. Ants like it dark and humid make sure the nest area has moisture and is in darkness can use a cloth or red acetate sheet.
Ants can take up to 2 to 3 weeks to transfer to a nest.
What home will the ants be inside when they arrive?
The ants will arrive in a plastic test tube small colonies 100mmx12mm test tube or 100mmx16mm tube and bigger colonies 150mm by 16mm tube.
My ants have just arrived what should I do?
First open the package check if their alive the Queen and workers. The ants will need to settle down and adjust from outside temperature to room temperature place the test tube somewhere dark and quiet and leave them for 3-4 hours to settle down. After this time has passed the ants will need some energy. Feed them some antsrus protein shake a drop the size of the queens head (we recommend breaking a small piece of cotton wool and placing the shake on their into the test tube or feed honey or sugar water 1 part honey/sugar to 3 parts water.
I think my queen is dead. What do I do?
When the colony arrives the queen usually hides in the corner and plays dead as they are sensitive to light and movement. If the queen is not on her back she is most likely not dead in the rare event you think she is dead please send a picture of the queen in her test tube with your order number to antsrus1@gmail.com
When should we transfer the into there ant farm?
Please wait 72 hours before transferring into an ants nest and only transfer if the colony has 10 or more workers and make sure they have access to food and water and fresh air.
How should I transfer my ants to their nest?
We recommend transferring your ants by placing the test tube into the outworld and if it does not fit connect the test tube to the nest usually via a circular port on the nest you can close any gaps by using cotton wool around the nest and test tube connection. If this is not possible for you you can gentle tap them out of the test tube into their outworld space. Colonies and queens tend to not be very active in the first few days of arrival and tend to be sensitive to light and workers usually huddle around the queen.
Should I feed just my Queen?
Queen ants can be claustral or semi claustral, we recommend feeding Semi-claustral Queens at least once a week with protein and carbohydrates (insect protein, honey water, protein shake) and claustral Queens once every 4 weeks if they have brood honey water or protein shake should be enough.
Heating your ants?
We recommend using heating for exotic ant species that do not hibernate. We recommend a heat matt branded such as Komodo and Habistat thermostat as well as a aquarium thermometer placed inside the ant farm or nest to keep temperature regulated.
Make sure the temperature is controlled and the probe of the thermostat is fixed firmly with tape to the heat matt, check the temperature every 2-4 hours and make sure it stays in the range of 22-28 degrees Celsius for most species.
Please wait 72 hours before introducing the ants to heat from the time of arrival start at a temperature of 22 degrees then once a week increase the temperature by 1 degree. A happy medium is a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius.
Can you supply a specific colony size?
Email us if your require a specific colony size and we can try and meet your needs.
This my require some time and additional cost which we can discuss.
Do you provided ants for filming and research projects?
Yes we do we have supplied ants for companies such as National Geographic and other film studios and continue to do so.
We have also provided ants for art instillations as well as science research projects.
Email us with what you need and when and we can make the arrangements.
Do you attend any insect related shows?
We have attended The Great Ant Exhibition which we sponsor the first event and will continue to do so.
How often should I feed my ants?
Usually the bigger the colony and if they have brood they require more food. On average feed the colony 3-4 days a week with a balanced diet of honey water, protein (insects (mealworms fruit flies), cooked chicken, cooked ham) and you can also add our famous shakes for a protein boost.
Hibernating my ants?
If your ants are from the European union there is a very good chance these ants need to hibernate.
From late November or late December to the end of February we recommend you start hibernating your ants.
You do this by placing them in the coolest part of your house this could be the attic or a kitchen cupboard check on them once a week make sure they have access to water you can also give them honey water during this time for an energy boost.
When they are coming out of hibernation introduce the ants to room temperature and let them adjust for a week or two then you can introduce heat.
We recommend hibernating your ants for a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks, this process increases the queens life expectancy and egg laying yield.
If you have exotics this process is not needed but you can do a diapause in which you stop using the heat matt for 6 to 8 weeks then slowly raise their temperature through your heat matt.
What packaging do you use?
We try to streamline the packing process in order to reduce our carbon footprint. For UK customers we send them in jiffy bags most orders if its a big order we send them in a box.
All our packaging is discreet no ant labels outside the packaging or live insect indicators since we don't want to spoil any surprises or scare your friends and family!
We use biodegradable bubble (green tinted) wrap along with newspaper and boxes almost all of our packing can be recycled and should be!
For each international order sent we offset our carbon footprint to make sure the shipment is carbon neutral.
We have a duty to protect our environment and ants are a huge part of that and something we take seriously.
During hot periods we will usually add a cool pack when temperatures in your country are above 30 degrees Celsius (please let us know) and then a heat pack when temperatures are below 0 degrees Celsius for our international customers (please inform us so we can accommodate this).