Ant-keeping

A formicarium, which is a housing for an ant colony. Note the talcum powder/rubbing alcohol lubricant mixture applied around the top perimeter of the enclosure, to prevent ants from escaping.

Ant-keeping (or ant keeping) is a hobby involving the capture, care, and observation of ants and ant colonies.[1] It is a form of lay myrmecology. The trend toward keeping ants as pets has increased exponentially over the past decade.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Ants as pets". Keeping Insects. 16 December 2012.
  2. ^ Wang, Zhengyang; Zeng, Jimmy; Ran, Hao; Meng, Weilin; Zhou, Shanyi; Davies, Andrew B.; Liu, Cong (2023-06-01). "Monitoring the online ant trade reveals high biological invasion risk". Biological Conservation. 282: 110038. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110038. ISSN 0006-3207.
  3. ^ Gippet, Jérôme M. W.; Bertelsmeier, Cleo (2021-04-06). "Invasiveness is linked to greater commercial success in the global pet trade". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (14). doi:10.1073/pnas.2016337118. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 8040636. PMID 33753557.