Starting A New Ant Colony

wen it come to starting a new ant colony you need a queen ant that is fertile and then you will need a test tube if you don't have any then you can use a snap cap and some cotton balls and clean purified water, first you get your clean test tube and pore your purified water into it 1/3rd of the way then you block it off with one of your cotton balls (make sure the cotton ball is moist) then you place your queen into the tube and then plug the hole off with another cotton ball (don't make it to tight so they can't get any air and don't make it to lose so it falls off) 

then you place her in a dark and safe place and leave her there so she can get comfy and familiar with her new setup then she will make / lay and take care of her eggs. within a day or a couple of weeks or even next year she will start to lay her eggs (take note that some ant species need some kind of sugar or protein intake while laying eggs)

WHEN YOUR QUEEN IS LAYING EGGS

when your queen starts to lay eggs she needs to be in a safe place because if she feels scared or like she is going to get harmed she will or can eat her eggs (and that would be bad because there goes all your time waiting and the start to your new colony) also make sure she dose not get to hot because she can die but some studies have shown that your eggs will and can develop faster with warmth but BE CAREFUL I would keep her and the eggs between (16°C and 24°C.) (60.8°F and 75.2°F) and within a month (Depending on there growth rate) you should see your first set of workers hatch and be ready to serve and protect there new queen (they will take care of her and aid her on her egg making and taking care of the eggs and larvae) at this point you have a new "HEALTHY" ant colony.

WHAT TO FEED THEM

At this point once you have 5-10 workers it is time to feed your new colony and give your queen a rest (Queen ants feed there eggs and fist workers off of all the nutrients they have left over from there nuptial flights) it is most common to feed them a little drop of RAW HONEY at this point and keep replacing the honey as they eat it ALL GONE (make sure they eat all there honey first before adding more to limit the risk of your ants getting stuck and killed in it) stay away from any Artificial honey, as FRESH RAW HONEY is the best.

You Must Know

Your queen ant might DIE and if she dose its ok not all survive and its called "natural selection" don't get discouraged and just try next season or with a new queen ant.