Begin your Ant-keeping journey
Experience Nature's Tiniest Engineers
Explore the fascinating world of eusocial insects with expert guidance: from beginner-friendly colonies to industry-leading nests, we'll kickstart your ant-keeping experience!
Beyond the catalog
From the field to the lab
Ant hunts, museum exhibits, school visits and free tools for keepers. Here is what the lab has been up to.
When will queens fly near you?
The Flight Predictor · coming soon
Myrmeculture
Colony diaries from real keepers. Follow colonies as they grow.
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Our Best Sellers
The most loved by our community.
Beginner
Live Colony
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Beginner
Rated 5.0 out of 5 from 3 reviewsPogonomyrmex occidentalis
Western Harvester Ants Pogonomyrmex occidentalis is an iconic mound-building harvester of the Great Plains and Intermountain West, ranging from the western…
🪹 Mound-Builder🌗 Diurnal🍽 Granivore+8
$34.99
Queen + workers included
habitats
Rated 5.0 out of 5 from 1 reviewForaging Area
TrapJaw’s Foraging Areas Everything your colony does outside the nest happens here. Made in-house from premium acrylic, each foraging area attaches to a TJL…
$29.99
habitats
Rated 5.0 out of 5 from 1 reviewThe Canopy
TrapJaw’s Canopy Arboreal Ant Nest Provides a unique opportunity to display cavity-nesting and arboreal ants, including many Carpenter Ants. Designed for…
$29.99
habitats
The Substratum
TrapJaw's Substratum™ Sand Ant Nest Natural excavation. Engineered control. Most formicaria offer either a natural digging environment or a clear, manageable…
$119.99
What customers say about ordering from us
Packing, shipping and how everything arrived, in our customers’ own words.
5.0Average order rating
“I cannot recall a better experience with any retailer. The website is clear and helpful, the ordering experience itself was smooth and crystal clear, the packaging was perfect (and charming!), and the personal support was very reassuring, appreciated, and stunning. Thank you.”
Mark · November 2026
“Ordered was shipped in a timely manner, and arrived very well packaged!”
Patrick · September 2026
“Arrived on time!”
James · August 2026
Also rated
- TomNovember 2026
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From the Colony Lab Notebook
Latest care tips, species spotlights, research, and community updates.
Community
The 2025 US Nuptial Flight Season In Review
More than 21,000 US nuptial flight records from 10,600+ people: when ants flew in 2025, which species flew, and the busiest days of the year.
Research
A New Frontier in Ant-Keeping: Pheidole littoralis
How we reared Pheidole littoralis in captivity, something that's never been done before.
Care Tips
How To Diapause (Hibernate) Your Ants
Which of the species we stock actually need a winter, what we keep them at, and why the colony decides when it starts rather than the calendar.
Learn About Ant-Keeping
Become an expert ant-keeper with our hand-crafted guides and educational articles.
Trying to care for your colony?
Our Care Advisor will walk you through everything you need to know.