Click Here To Order Ants

 

 (WE NOW BUY ANTS ON A VERY LIMITED BASIS.  WE DO NOT BUY SMALL ANT SPECIES WITH ONLY A FEW EXCEPTIONS.  IF YOU KNOW YOU CAN COLLECT SPECIES IN 2023 IN THE U.S. CONTACT US TO DISCUSS VIA EMAIL AT tarheelants@gmail.com). WE WILL  NEED TIME TO AQUIRE PERMITS SO ADVANCE NOTICE OF INTEREST IN COLLECTING ANTS FOR US IS HELPFUL. We are willing to pay cash or give a store credit for ants.

 ***LIVE DELIVERY OF ANTS IS GUARANTEED.  FOR US TO HONOR THIS PROMISE, YOU MUST CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY NO MORE THAN 2 HOURS AFTER DELIVERY IN THE EVENT OF A PROBLEM WITH YOUR DELIVERY OF LIVE ANTS!***

Available Species For 2023

 

(Updated 8/23)

Formica subsericea (Fall 2023)

Formica subsericea is our largest and oldest colony of 11 years, and we have learned a lot from these ladies over the years caring for them.  They have a wide range of appetites for feeder insects, fruits, and sweet liquids and are very forgiving on limited choices compared to other ants we have kept.  The colonies can get into tens of thousands over time, and heating beyond room temperature is not required (but still helpful) .

Camponotus chromaiodes(Ready)

Camponotus chromaiodes are a black carpenter ant with red highlights in varying proportions of red highlights from colony to colony.  Some of them like our 6 year old colony have entirely red thorax and legs, while others have red mainly under the body and legs.  They can grow into the many thousands over time, and do extremely well on a diet of fruit flies, apple slices, and honey-water.  We also feed them generous portions of our ant juice to round out their diet.  Many other foods will do just as well, but do not leave out the fruit flies (or find an equivalent)!

Camponotus castaneus(Ready)

 

Camponotus pennsylvanicus (email us for options at tarheelants@gmail.com)

 

Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Fall 2023)

Notes: Range from 5-10 workers with healthy brood piles as of early November 2022.  Shipping only to native range, email us for more information about our permits. 

Packages Available Now, (Click Here To Browse Packages)

.

Pogonomyrmex occidentalis (Coming Soon)

Shipping Available to all lower 48 states except Florida.  Colony sizes range from 20-40.  Inquire with us via email for larger colony sizes above the packages on our Ants For Sale Pages.  California residents must fill out small questionnaire with the California Department of Agriculture.

 (Click Here To Browse Packages).

Camponotus discolor (Ready)

*Above, Camponotus discolor (ID confirmed by Florida Department of Agriculture in April 2022).  These will be available in the summer of 2023.

***Pricing Notes: We price our ants based on the care we provide them, and the quality of health.  A healthy colony requires routinely cleaned habitat, a steady diet, and heat in some cases.  Brood piles are the most important feature during the growth season to determine the health of a colony!  We ship ants based on the ones with the most works and the largest brood piles, choosing the best ones each time we ship.

What is the goal of our pricing?  The main goal obviously is to ensure we are here the next year, as you will need more habitats and ants throughout your ant keeping journey!  We have a storefront and manufacturing facility located at 3209 Gresham Lake Rd., Unit 125, in Raleigh, North Carolina (call to stop by for an appointment).  Having this location separate from our home ensures we have adequate space to expand and work on larger projects. It does mean our prices are higher as a result and for this we hope our customers understand.  We do keep them as low as possible!

Pricing for ants:  First year colonies, especially of our local species such as Formica susbericea, Camponotus chromaiodes, Camponotus pennsylvanicus are generally priced around $60-$65.  These have around 5-15 workers in the first summer after queens are caught.  The difficulty of these colonies lies getting them through to the Spring of the following year and ready for a new growth cycle for their first full year of growth (2nd year of the queens life).  At the beginning of Spring, once brood piles reach healthy levels of growth, we begin to sell them again to the public.  At this time our prices increase $5-$15 per colony.  While it would be perfectly understandable to wait until that colony size doubles in the first 4-6 weeks of Spring when new workers eclose, this is also some of the most exciting times of an ant colony.  We do hold back some of the colonies as they continue to grow, so larger colonies will be available later in the Spring for the same cost.  We do not make an additional price increase of colonies after the first workers arrive, so they will stay the same!  Remember, this is in reference to colonies coming out of diapause only.  These are currently Formica subsericea, Camponotus castaneus, Camponotus chromaidoes, Camponotus pennsylvanicus.

PLEASE NOTE:  All Colonies on our website come with a queen and workers, and any workers from this queen are her workers (non-boosted) unless specifically stated otherwise.  The queens and colonies sold are not boosted colonies.  

 

Click Here To Order Ants

 

More Information On Pogonomyrmex occidentalis:

 

                                            *Photo By Alex Wild

 

Click Here To Order

Other recommended products with Pogonomyrmex occidentalis...

Zoo Med Heating Cable 

Dandelion Seeds

Watch Our newest video on Pogonomyrmex occidentalis here:

                                                                                                                             

 

May 2022 Update:

We are updating all of the habitats and spaces in our front showroom.  We expect to have this space available to the public once again in mid-summer 2022.  Until that time, we are still doing appointment visits and curbside pickup as always.  Please call 919-348 -3642.

1. Online ordering - PLEASE READ THE PRODUCT PAGES FOR ANTS CAREFULLY FOR THE LIST OF STATES WE CAN SHIP THEM TO.  EACH SPECIES HAS A DIFFERENT RANGE OF LOCATIONS (U.S. States) WHERE WE CAN SHIP THEM.  WHERE NECESSARY WE PROVIDE PERMITS WITH EACH SHIPMENT.  Pogonomyrmex occidentalis does not require permits unless you live in California (Florida does not allow this species at all).

*For 2nd year colonies of Camponotus chromaiodes, we have obtained permits and have a very limited amount of these larger colonies are for sale.  We have permits for these ants to ship to any state they are native to according to Antwiki.com.  Contact us via email, supplies are very limited.

2. CURBSIDE PICKUP - We will take your order, move your ants into a habitat, pack them in a box along with any other accessories, and place them outside once you arrive for you to pickup outside the door.  Call us or email us to arrange this service: 919-348-3642 or tarheelants@gmail.com. 

 Federal and state laws prohibit the transport of reproductive queens outside the state without a permit (except Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, noted above).  We abide by all laws 100% and reserve the right to refuse this service to anyone should concerns arise.  Proof of residence may be required. ****

 

Spring 2022

Camponotus chromaiodes  

Camponotus castaneus 

Formica subsericea

 

Formica Pallidefulva - Available only for North Carolina residents - Email for prices and colony size.  (3 Available). 

 Please read the rules of sales regarding these colonies below before contacting us. 

 Tar Heel Ants owner, Mack Pridgen, as part of Tar Heel Ants founded in 2012, has been involved in raising queen ants and researching new methods and habitats for over 11 years. We follow all state and federal regulations for the collection and sale of the colonies listed on these pages.  Tar Heel Ants has also gone a step further to ensure that colonies and queens purchased are in the best condition possible and only sell thriving colonies and queens in good health.

Approval was received by the NC department of Agriculture for local sales and shipping (within North Carolina) in 2011.  We have been an approved seller of live ant colonies for 12 years! (as of 2023). Since then we have been researching queen ant care and have developed our care regiment from our experiences raising local species.  Our focus initially was on raising and caring for local species such, but has in the past several years expanded (with the changes from the USDA involving permits) to species across the U.S.  We will be provide a maintenance and care sheet with your purchase.

1. Buyers must be 18 or have a parent or guardian approve the transaction.

2. Ants are only shipped where legal to do so.   We will NOT ship ants if we suspect (due to weather forecasts or our own judgement) that the ants will not survive the transport!

3. NEW: You may pick ants up at our store in Raleigh, NC at 3209 Gresham Lake Rd. Unit 125 via curbside pickup.  Please call to make an appointment 919-348-3642.  Appointments only.

4. Buyers must follow all state and federal guidelines about transporting reproductive ants. This may vary from state to state.  Once purchased, it is up to you to follow federal guidelines about transporting ants.  In North Carolina it is not allowed to transport ants out of the state without a proper permit and it is also not allowed to bring ants into other states without permits as well.  We provide permits when shipping ants out of state!

5. Never release captive colonies back into the wild. The main reason for this suggestion is to protect the natural environment from the introduction of harmful pathogens or pests that joined the colony during captivity (your house).

6. Ants must be cared for to the best of your ability.  We are available for advice on care at tarheelants@gmail.com or by phone at 919-348-3642.   We also have a YouTube channel and FAQ section on our website with additional information on raising ants as pets.

7. Fees for adopting are to cover time spent raising, storage, collecting, and for food expense during their time with us.  In some cases the habitat of the colony will be included in the price.  This detail will be included with the listing under each colony.