Greetings Ant Lovers,
With over 16,000 species of ants, you better believe that queen ants come in a many different shapes, sizes, colours, and lifestyles. This is a full list of my top 20 favourite queen ants on the planet! Do you agree with my picks?
What the Queens of Different Ant Species Look Like
Guys, tomorrow’s Mother’s Day and so today I thought I’d create a video to honour the awesome mothers of the ant world, by showing you my Top 20 favourite queen ants on the planet!
With over 16 and a half thousand species of ants worldwide, you better believe Mother Nature has crafted some of the most incredible and mind-blowing queen ants, with diverse body shapes, colours, spines, and abilities—some with strange lifestyles, and some that are just drop-dead gorgeous. Well, for ant lovers like me!
Some of these queen ants I’ll be showing you today are queens belonging to colonies I own, others may be living in your own backyard, which means you may be able to catch them to start your own pet ant colonies, while others featured in this episode live in remote, exotic habitats in far-off countries.
So, without further ado, AC Family, for our Mother’s Day episode, here are my Top 20 favourite queen ants in the entire world, here on the AntsCanada Ant Channel.
Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the BELL icon.
Welcome to the AC Family. Enjoy!
Why Do Queen Ants Have Wings?
Now before we get started, I must clarify that if you’re new to ants and are wondering why some of the queen ants you see today in this video have wings, it’s because all queen ants are born with wings.
They need them to fly during their breeding flights that happen once in their lives, where they leave their nest to mate with males, also with wings, before dropping to the ground to break off their wings to start ant colonies of their own.
It’s why queen ants are characterized by wing scars on their thorax, and it’s how ant keepers like myself identify them for catching to start pet ant colonies in ant farms.
It’s actually ant breeding season right now, so if you’ve always wanted to keep a pet ant colony, I’ll be talking a bit more about how to obtain a queen ant of your own later in the video, so stay tuned for that.
Perhaps you’ll be able to catch one or more of the awesome queen ants mentioned in this video.
Lasius Neoniger Ant
But let’s start with my top 20th favourite ant, the Lasius ant queen.
As far as ants go, these are pretty much the standard, super common black, brown, or golden ants you see outside, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t beautiful!
I’ve owned a Lasius neoniger ant colony in the past, and they are to this day one of the most beautiful and rewarding ants I’ve ever owned.
If you’re in North America, look out for Lasius neoniger queen ants having their nuptial flights around the first or second week of September. And if you live in Europe, you guys know July and August are the season for Lasius queen clouds so thick they can be seen by weather satellites.
Harvester Ant
Number 19 on my list of favourite queen ants are Harvester Ant queens of the genus Pogonomyrmex.
If you’ve ever owned any of the famous Uncle Milton ant farms or the dreaded gel ant farms, you’ll know these ants because they’re mailed to you for stocking into the ant farms in exchange for a coupon that comes with the package.
The vial of harvester ants, however, doesn’t come with a queen harvester ant—only workers—so many people don’t know what the queens look like.
They look like this!
So gorgeous, right?
They’re built like tanks, and I just love their rich shade of crimson red, unmatched by any other red ant I know.
I admit to have never seen harvester ant queens in real life, as they were never native to where I’ve lived, but perhaps those of you lucky AC Family from Southwestern USA may have seen these queens crawling around between the months of June and September.
Myrmica Queen
Moving on to #18, meet another of my favourites, a reddish ant that is also common throughout North America and Europe—this here is a Myrmica queen!
I love this queen ant because of the spikes on their thorax, their sting which truly hurts, and the fact that these ants were one of my first ant colonies on the channel.
What’s cool about these ants is that they live in what are called polygynous colonies, meaning colonies with multiple queens all living together peacefully, all laying eggs and growing the colony.
I find the easiest way to keep a colony of these ants is to collect them from the wild, although if you try this there is no guarantee they will adapt well to captivity.
The good thing about this, though, is they make shallow nests, usually under some wood or within the first two inches of soil somewhere moist, so scooping up the colony along with the queens is pretty easy.
Pavement Ant
#17—Pavement Ants of the genus Tetramorium.
I love these queens!
To some, they may look like your average boring brownish queen ant, but I think they look pretty sleek with their elongated body shape, rusty brown colour, and oh yeah—not to mention these queens establish one of the fastest growing colonies I know!
You’ll often see pavement ant colonies going to war over territory on the sidewalks in the summer.
I actually have an old playlist of a previous pavement ant colony I once owned, which follows the colony’s journey from just a queen in a test tube to a massive ant colony of hundreds of thousands of pavement ants!
Look out for queens of this species between May, June, and July!
Pseudomyrmex gracilis
OK AC Family, starting from #16 onwards, we start to get more exotic with the queen ants.
Meet Pseudomyrmex gracilis, native to Mexico and some parts of the US.
Check out the queen’s gorgeous black and red colours and super slender body!
You can see why they’re commonly called twig ants and often live in wood.
I wouldn’t touch them though, as they sting!
They feed on insects and honeydew from sap-sucking plant insects.
Again, I’ve never seen a queen of this species before, but I have seen workers of their Eastern counterpart Tetraponera in our yard of Antopia.
I’m hoping to catch a queen to start our own colony of twig ants!
Colobopsis Queens
Now check out this queen, guys!
#15 of my top favourite queen ants is Colobopsis queens!
These ants have a crazy unique-shaped head that kinda looks like a plug, and well, acts as exactly that.
Majors use their plug-shaped heads to block the entrances of their nests, which are made in wood.
Imagine having a door for a face?
Such cool-looking ants and a cool-looking queen to boot!
Turtle Ant Queens
#14 is just as cool.
The queens of Turtle Ants, of the genus Cephalotes.
These also have crazy-shaped heads, which are used as doors to block their entrances, but what makes these ants even cooler is some species have been observed to actually glide if they ever fall out of the trees they nest in.
Scientists have observed them seemingly controlling their fall when dropped from a tree, so they glide right back to the tree trunk where they can climb back up to their nests.
Crazy ants and again, crazy-looking queen!
Lasius Claviger Queens
#13 is another incredible queen ant!
She looks like a tank with those massive mandibles, but they have a very special function.
This is Lasius claviger, and she is known as a social parasite.
Check this out, guys!
These queens are crazy!
They need a host ant colony to start their own colonies, usually a specific species of Lasius.
Though exact details of how Lasius claviger queens integrate into their host colonies isn’t well known, it is suspected they enter the host nest, kill some workers, and rub their dead bodies onto themselves to steal the host colony’s scent, so they could move deeper into the nest undetected by the host ants, only to assassinate the host queen with her massive mandibles, and take over her spot as egg layer of the colony.
All offspring produced thereafter are biologically her own and are cared for by the host Lasius worker ants until soon, the entire host colony is replaced by the bright golden Lasius claviger workers.
Savage, right?
Random fact: They also smell like citronella, and I love smelling them for fun!
Polyrhachis Queens
#12 are some of my ultimate favourite ants!
Welcome to the crazy world of Polyrhachis queen ants!
There are nearly 800 different species belonging to this mind-blowing genus of ant, each with their own unique look and a bad-A set of spines!
They’re found throughout Asia and Australasia.
I’ve had a couple Polyrhachis colonies in the past but haven’t had any luck with growing their colonies in captivity.
We recently were the first to geographically document this crazy species of Polyrhachis in our yard in Antopia.
Polyrhachis queens come in a ton of amazing colours including gold, silver, and black.
But check out my ultimate favourite Polyrhachis queens: this blue species called Polyrhachis cyaniventris, and this drop-dead gorgeous species called Polyrhachis bihamata, also known as hook ants!
Aren’t they crazy?
Both these exotic species are native to where I live, so you better believe I’m trying to locate a queen of both to try and start ant colonies on the channel!
Bullet Ant Queen
#11 of my top favourite queen ants is probably the most famous—or rather infamous—ants in the world.
AC Family, behold the Bullet Ant queen, the species Paraponera clavata!
If there was an ant dinosaur, it would be this!
These ants are massive—the largest ants in the world, in fact—the queens measure just under three inches long and possess the most painful sting on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index.
I dream of seeing one in real life, but I would have to travel to South America for that.
Contrary to popular belief, these ants are generally non-aggressive… that is, until you mess with their nest!
I don’t plan on ever feeling what their sting feels like.
I think I’ll leave that to Coyote Peterson!
Army Ant Queen
#10 is another notorious South American ant.
Meet the Army Ant queen!
Unlike most ants, army ant queens are actually born without wings, so they don’t have traditional nuptial flights like most regular ants.
Only the males have wings, and these males fly to the virgin queens to mate.
Then the newly mated queens simply branch off from their birth colonies along with some workers, and this is how new army ant colonies are formed.
Army ant queens have abdomens that expand to a massive size during egg production, amassing 3–4 million eggs every month.
They are completely nomadic and are always on the move, sweeping the floor of all insects and small animals unfortunate enough to befall their path of carnage!
When in South America, beware of the army ant raids, and you better believe if I ever get to visit the South American jungles one day, I will surely film these savage ants for you!
Bull Ant Queen
Getting closer, at Top 9 of my favourite queen ants in the world, I present to you the Bull Ant Queen, belonging to the genus Myrmecia!
All you AC Family from Australia—represent your ant fauna in the comments!
I know you know these ants.
They possess a notoriously painful sting, but look at them!
They look absolutely stunning.
Elongated mandibles, eyes with very good vision, and a thin, elongated body—they are a true Aussie ant masterpiece!
I believe I was 9 years old when I read an article in an old National Geographic magazine on these bull ants, and from then on, knew exactly what animals I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to!
Discothyrea mixta
Now AC Family, prepare to have your heart stolen by #8.
Meet the ever adorable Discothyrea mixta.
Aren’t they the cutest ants you ever did see?
They legit look like cute Pokémon or anime critters!
They are absolutely tiny ants with queens just a couple millimetres in length.
They’re native to tropical Africa and are suspected to feed on baby spiders and spider eggs!
How I wish I was small enough to cuddle with them.
OK, I’ll stop gushing now, but they’re truly the cutest little ants I know.
Trap-Jaw Queen
#7 are ants we are familiar with here on the channel!
I love me some Trap-Jaw queen ants!
Trap-Jaw ants are savage and their queens are no exception.
Of all the ants I’ve ever been stung by, the sting from a Trap-Jaw queen was the worst!
These ants are characterized by a menacing pair of mandibles that open over 180 degrees and snap shut with tremendous force once trigger hairs between the mandibles are touched.
I miss my past Trap-Jaw ant colony, the Jawbreakers, and plan on getting some Trap-Jaw ants once again in the future!
Diacamma Ants (Asian Bullet Ants)
#6 are also ants we are familiar with on this channel: Diacamma ants, also known as Asian Bullet Ants.
Check out the crazy colours and venation patterns on the armour of these ants that are also known for their intense sting!
They are easily my Top 6 favourite ant!
But here’s the thing about these ants: they actually don’t have a proper queen in the colony, but instead establish what is called a Gamergate—a dominant worker ant who fights for the right to mate and lay all the eggs.
Pretty savage how that all works, and we do have several videos on these ants on the channel!
Just look up the Black Panthers.
Fire Ant Queen
#5, of course, are perhaps the most favourite ants on this channel and of course belonged on this list for sure:
Behold the Fire Ant Queen!
This here is the Ember Empress, the name we gave to the queen that went on to birth a massive fire ant colony of millions, now living in the Ember Islands.
If you haven’t yet, you must watch their full playlist on this channel.
Fire Ant queens are probably some of the most gorgeous queens I’ve ever seen and owned, though they are hated by most of the world as agricultural and destructive pests that have invaded nearly all subtropical and tropical parts of the world, and originally came from South America.
Carpenter Ant Queen
#4 may not be so exotic, but they definitely have earned one of the top spots on my list of favourite queen ants in the world—and they are Carpenter Ant queens of the genus Camponotus!
These ants, found worldwide, have some of the most gorgeous queens I’ve ever seen.
They are such a diverse genus with over a thousand species and are known for living in wood, though some species nest in soil.
They come in amazing colours including jet black, red, orange, yellow, brown, and even green!
On this channel, we currently own a young Carpenter Ant colony known as the Woodland Warriors.
But I think my favourite queen Carpenter Ant has to be a species I kept in Canada known as Camponotus novaeboracensis.
Is that not one of the most beautiful queens you’ve ever seen?
Stunning colour! Carpenter Ants are an easy species to keep, so look out for queens flying right now all the way into August.
Leafcutter Ant Queen
I think many ant enthusiasts will agree with my Top 3 favourite queen ant, and that, of course, is the gorgeous Leafcutter Ant queens belonging to the genera Atta and Acromyrmex.
Personally, I think Atta queens are truly some of the coolest-looking queen ants in the entire world!
They are massive compared to their workers, with velvety-looking exoskeletons and a huge thorax and abdomen.
These ants feed on fungus, which they grow in huge subterranean gardens nourished by chewed-up leaves collected from the South American jungles in which they live.
What’s cool about queen Leafcutter Ants is when they leave their nest for nuptial flight, they take with them some fungus spores in a special pocket under their heads, which they eject once settled into their founding chambers—these are the seeds to the future fungus garden of the colony.
Isn’t that amazing?
Marauder Ant Queen
#2 are also a familiar queen ant and a favourite on this channel!
Meet the Marauder Ant Queen, Carebara diversa!
This is one massive tank of a queen ant, and also much bigger than her workers.
Here on the channel, I owned the Titans—a huge multi-queen Marauder Ant colony which I released back into the wild during lockdown last year.
They are crazy egg-layers, and there is no other reason they are in my top two other than the fact that they look just crazy!
Oh, and they’re about an inch long, so they’re huge—and so are their supermajors!
I hope to try starting a colony again once we move to the new Ant House, which reaches full completion this year.
Weaver Ant Queen
And finally, AC Family, my top favourite queen ants of all time—which in my opinion are the most beautiful and interesting queens of the ant world:
Behold the gorgeous Weaver Ant queens of the species Oecophylla smaragdina, native to Southeast Asia and Australia.
Hands down, these queens are the most beautiful queen ants I have ever seen in my entire life!
I mean—have a look at them!
They are massive ants, reaching just under an inch in body length, and come in the most amazing colours!
Can you imagine that in a single mature Weaver Ant nest, one can find queens of different colours: bright lime green, forest green, blue green, yellow, gold, brown, rust colour, and any combination of the above?
Usually in ants, queens of a single species come in just one colour type—not these Weaver Ant queens.
They come in a variety of colours.
Their darkened wing venation is truly a marvel, as well!
Here on the channel, we used to own the Emerald Empire, which I plan on starting up again once we move to the Ant House, as colonies of Weaver Ants are literally everywhere in the area.
They live in huge basket leaf nests in the trees, which they construct using their larvae’s silk as glue.
Super unique, right?
These Weaver Ant queens will always truly be my ultimate favourite queen ants in the entire world… for now anyways!
Outro
So, AC Family, what did you guys think of these queen ants?
Do you agree with my list?
Did any queen ant mentioned stand out as your favourite?
Is there a queen ant species you feel deserved to be on this list but was left out?
Let me know in the comments and I’ll HEART my favourites.
This was truly a lot of fun, and if there’s one thing that going over this list with you has reminded me of, it’s that the world of ants is truly vast, diverse, and utterly beautiful.
I do highly invite you guys to try catching a queen ant of your own outside, and enjoy growing and keeping a pet ant colony!
Queen ants are literally flying outside right now, as it’s nuptial flight season in the Northern Hemisphere, and I see a lot of you tagging me on social media with your awesome queen catches!
Believe me, you won’t regret getting into this fun, rewarding, and of course educational hobby!
For you beginners, we have a very helpful ant keeping guide on our website AntsCanada.com, as well as a variety of easy-to-use ant keeping products, ant farm starter kits, and equipment to get you started and properly set up for ant colony success!
We also have an ant trading marketplace on the site in case you prefer to purchase already established ant colonies with a queen, from a fellow ant keeper in your area—so go check out AntsCanada.com now to jump into all the ant love with us here on the channel!
I wanted to wish you all out there a very Happy Mother’s Day, and send a big, warm hug to all the mothers and queen ants of the world!
Thank you for watching and supporting the ants.
It’s ant love forever!
AC Family, did you enjoy today’s episode?
So much more is ahead for the ants of the Antiverse and Antopia, so if you haven’t yet, what are you waiting for?
SMASH that SUBSCRIBE button and BELL ICON now, and hit ALL so you get notified at every upload.
Also don’t forget to hit the LIKE button every single time—including now.
It would really mean a lot to me, guys. Thank you!
AC Inner Colony, I have left a hidden cookie for you here, if you would like to see who else became a new mother in our Ant Room!
You won’t believe it!
And now it’s time for the AC Question of the Week.
Last week, we asked:
What would you name this new species of klepto-feeding ant mite?
Congratulations to Yare Yare Daze who answered:
I would call it a Xenomite.
Congratulations Yare Yare Daze—you just won a free Ultimate Ant Keeping Handbook from our shop!
This week’s AC Question of the Week:
Which is your #1 favourite queen ant mentioned in today’s list?
Leave your answer in the comments section and you could also win a free Ultimate Ant Keeping Handbook from our shop!
Hope you could subscribe to the channel, as we upload every Saturday at 8AM EST.
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It’s ant love forever!