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Monday 7am - 6:30pm Tuesday 7am - 6:30pm Wednesday 7am - 6:30pm Thursday 7am - 6:30pm Friday 7am - 6:30pm Saturday 7am - 1pm

ANTS HQ

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Ants HQ - specialist supplier for all things concerning ants. Live ants, formicariums, accessories & more!

31/10/2026

A garden, a queen and thousands of lives connected by a fungus.

These are Atta cephalotes, leafcutter ants. The leaves they collect feed the fungus they grow, which in turn nourishes their empire.

Look closely and you’ll spot workers of very different sizes. Smaller workers tend the garden and care for the brood, while the big-headed soldiers help defend the home they share. Somewhere beneath that gathering of workers is the queen herself.

And those jaws deserve a closer look. Their cutting edges are reinforced with zinc, helping them stay hard and sharp. The largest soldiers can cut through human skin and draw blood.

For keepers, caring for these ants also means caring for their garden. Stable warmth (23-27C) and humidity (95+%) are essential to the living partnership at the heart of their home.

Species: Atta cephalotes

30/10/2026

Even meat ants have a sweet tooth 💜🐜

Here’s one of our purple meat ant queens, Iridomyrmex purpureus, enjoying a tiny drop of nectar.

These queens are fully claustral, meaning they can raise their first workers using their own stored reserves, without needing to leave the nest to feed. But a little sugary goodness can provide an extra energy boost during the founding stage.

When raising them as pets, there’s no need for a regular feeding routine before those first workers arrive. A tiny, carefully offered drop is an optional extra, with plenty of peace and quiet afterwards.

One queen, the beginnings of an empire. 💜

29/10/2026

Thank you for everything you do Will. From 6am shoots to travelling down the country filming ants at our events. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Let us know in the comments what Will should film next! 🐜👇

28/10/2026

Raising a honeypot ant colony into an empire 🍯🐜

Today, we’re giving them a cockroach, which will provide protein for the developing brood while also giving the repletes an opportunity to fill up and store food for the colony’s future needs.

One of the most fascinating things about honeypot ants is their repletes. These specialised workers act as living food-storage tanks, eating and storing liquid nutrients in their hugely distended gasters (abdomens) which look a bit like Christmas baubles. When food becomes scarce, they can regurgitate some of those stored nutrients to feed other members of the colony. 🍯

The cockroach won’t just help feed the young directly. Some of its nutrients will also make their way through the colony as workers process and share food. Eventually, those nutrients can reach the queen through trophallaxis, the remarkable mouth-to-mouth transfer of liquid food between ants. It’s a constant cycle of feeding, storing and sharing that helps keep the entire colony going.

It’s amazing to think that a single meal can help support the next generation while also building up the colony’s reserves for later. Every worker has a role, and the repletes are essentially the colony’s living pantry. 🥰🐜

Species: Honeypot ants (Myrmecocystus placodops)

24/10/2026

Raising a pet bulldog ant queen into an empire 🐜

Hydrating the nest is one of those small things that ends up being a really big thing. It creates the ambient humidity the colony needs, especially for developing brood. Tiny changes in conditions can make a huge difference when you’re raising the next generation.

Sometimes after watering there’ll be a very shallow film of water left behind, which is completely fine as the nest will absorb it. But what gets me every time is how fast the queens react. Instantly they’re moving brood, moving water droplets themselves and picking up each egg and larva and tucking them somewhere a little drier.

It’s kind of amazing. Before anything looks different to us, they’ve already sensed the change through their antennae, picking up shifts in humidity and temperature and responding straight away.

In the next few weeks this queen will have her first workers 🥰🐜

Species: Myrmecia simillima
Nest: Myrmeco nano

24/10/2026

Meet the new Ants HQ. Follow the trail 🐜

24/10/2026

You’ve helped shape this next chapter 💚🐜

24/10/2026

A new look. The same fascination.

24/10/2026

They farm. They build. They engineer.

24/10/2026

For the curious. Always.

Address

Bishop Creighton House (Unit 36), 378-380 Lillie Road, Hammersmith
London
SW67PH

Opening Hours

Monday	7am - 6:30pm
Tuesday	7am - 6:30pm
Wednesday	7am - 6:30pm
Thursday	7am - 6:30pm
Friday	7am - 6:30pm
Saturday	7am - 1pm

Website

https://www.antshq.co.uk/

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