Launch special: Get the complete handbook for A$27.Regular price A$57. Save A$30 (53% off).
From Ants Online, helping Australian ant keepers since 2019

Give your ants a better start, without all the guesswork.

Whether you're preparing for your first queen or caring for a growing colony, The Australian Ant Keeper's Handbook gives you one clear place to work out what to do next.

Inside the 171-page illustrated guide you'll find practical Australian advice on choosing ants, founding queens, feeding, water, heating, housing, escapes, troubleshooting, mature colonies and bull ants.

Regular price A$57Launch special: A$27
Get instant access to the handbook for A$27

Instant PDF access. One payment. No subscription. Seven-day guarantee.

The Australian Ant Keeper's Handbook shown as a standing book mock-up
Launch special
A$27
171illustrated pages
47practical chapters
18species dossiers
15keeper tools

One Australian handbook to help you understand what to do next, and why.

A note from Damien

Why I started Ants Online

Hi, I'm Damien Elsing, the founder of Ants Online.

I started Ants Online in 2019 because useful ant listings were scattered across general classifieds and social groups. Australian keepers needed a proper place to find ants, equipment and each other.

Since then, more than 2,000 people have joined Ants Online and keepers have published more than 1,600 listings. As the community has grown, the same questions have kept coming up.

Is my queen okay? Is the tube too wet? Should I move the colony yet? How much should I feed? Do I need heat? Is that mould a real problem? Which nest should I buy? And when something changes, should I step in or leave the ants alone?

There are good answers out there, but they're spread across videos, forums, overseas care sheets and years of conversations between keepers. Finding an answer is one thing. Knowing whether it applies to your species, your climate and your setup is much harder.

That's why I wanted this handbook to exist.

I wanted Australian keepers to have one practical guide they could read at the beginning, then keep coming back to as their colony grew. Something clear enough for a young beginner to understand, but detailed enough to stay useful when the easy questions turn into harder ones.

This isn't a book about collecting as many ants as possible or buying the fanciest nest. It's about understanding the colony in front of you and making calm, sensible decisions.

I hope it saves you a lot of second-guessing, a few unnecessary purchases and, most importantly, some avoidable mistakes with the ants in your care.

Damien Elsing
Founder, Ants Online

Clear advice for real decisions

You shouldn't need twelve browser tabs to work out whether your queen is okay.

Ant keeping looks simple from the outside. Put ants in a nest, add food and water, and watch the colony grow.

Then you bring a queen home and the questions start.

Is she stressed, or just settling in? Is the cotton too wet? Has she eaten enough? Should you check again tomorrow? Is the first worker late? Does that tiny patch of mould matter? Would a bigger nest help, or make things worse?

You'll find plenty of opinions online. One keeper says to intervene straight away. Another tells you never to interfere. A third insists their setup works for every species.

The problem usually isn't a complete lack of information. It's having too much disconnected information and no reliable way to judge it.

That's where this handbook can help.

It explains what the colony needs, what you can observe, which warning signs matter and when patience is genuinely the best action. Instead of memorising one person's routine, you'll learn how to make a sensible decision for the colony in front of you.

Build calm, practical judgement

You'll learn how to

The essentials are connected, so you can understand the whole setup rather than fixing one symptom at a time.

  • choose a species that fits your experience, climate, space and household
  • prepare a complete founding setup before a queen arrives
  • recognise normal founding behaviour without checking or moving her constantly
  • feed carbohydrates and protein as the colony's needs change
  • provide drinking water and nest moisture without chasing one perfect humidity number
  • use heat carefully and give the ants room to choose
  • select and maintain nests, outworlds, barriers and connections as one system
  • move a colony without shaking, dumping or forcing it
  • work through mould, mites, escapes, inactivity and unexplained decline calmly
  • plan for larger colonies before they outgrow your available space
  • decide honestly whether you're ready for bull ants
  • keep useful records without turning the hobby into homework
What you'll receive

A complete digital field guide, ready when you need it

  • the complete 171-page illustrated digital handbook
  • 47 practical chapters covering the full keeper journey
  • 18 detailed Australian species dossiers
  • 15 printable and reusable keeper tools
  • five dedicated bull-ant chapters and four Myrmecia dossiers
  • clear diagrams for founding, feeding, hydration, heating, housing and containment
  • a linked contents page that takes you straight to the section you need
Get the handbook for A$27

Download it once, keep it on your phone, tablet or computer, and print the practical pages you use most often.

Make the next decision with context

A few mistakes can cost more than the whole handbook.

Most early ant-keeping mistakes don't begin with recklessness. They begin with a small decision made without enough context.

You buy a nest that's far too large for the colony. You choose a fast-growing species before thinking about where it will live in two years. You move a queen because the test tube looks untidy. You add more heat, more moisture and more food at the same time, then can't tell which change helped.

The cost isn't only money. It can be weeks of uncertainty, a stressed queen, a preventable escape or a colony you no longer feel equipped to keep.

Before you bring ants home

The handbook helps you compare species, growth, climate, space, equipment, sting risk and household expectations before you commit.

When founding feels painfully slow

You'll learn what the first 90 days may look like, which signs are normal and when a queen genuinely needs help.

When moisture doesn't make sense

You'll stop judging hydration from one patch of condensation and start reading the reservoir, cotton, brood position, drinking water and the ants' behaviour together.

When feeding becomes guesswork

You'll have a simple way to adjust carbohydrates, protein, prey size and cleanup as brood, worker numbers, temperature and season change.

When something looks wrong

You'll use a calm process: check the urgent risks, write down what you can actually see, choose the most likely cause, change one thing and watch the result.

When containment really matters

You'll plan around layers rather than trusting a single barrier: the enclosure, connections, lid, work area, tools and escape response.

You don't need perfect knowledge before you start. You need a dependable way to make the next decision.
That's what this handbook is built to give you.

The complete handbook and toolkit

Here's everything included in your A$27 copy

If you bought comparable guides and tools separately, here's what their combined value could look like.

  1. The complete 47-chapter Australian ant-keeping handbook

    Choosing ants, founding queens, feeding, water, housing, troubleshooting, mature colonies and advanced care.

    Reference value: A$79

  2. The 18-species Australian dossier library

    Recognition, natural history, colony character, setup, feeding, founding, seasonal rhythm, difficulty and warning signs.

    Reference value: A$49

  3. Before-you-acquire checklist

    Make sure the species, space, equipment and household are ready before ants come home.

    Reference value: A$9

  4. Founding-queen intake record

    Capture the queen's source, condition, setup and first observations while the details are fresh.

    Reference value: A$12

  5. Weekly colony observation sheet

    Track brood, workers, food, moisture and meaningful changes without relying on memory.

    Reference value: A$12

  6. Feeding planner and log

    Record what you offered, what the colony took and what you may need to change next time.

    Reference value: A$12

  7. Water and moisture check

    Run through drinking water, nest moisture and the warning signs that matter most.

    Reference value: A$9

  8. Temperature and season record

    Connect colony behaviour with room temperature, heating and the time of year.

    Reference value: A$12

  9. Enclosure readiness test

    Check access, hydration, ventilation, barriers and maintenance before ants move in.

    Reference value: A$15

  10. Troubleshooting worksheet

    Separate what you've observed from what you're guessing, then choose one careful next step.

    Reference value: A$19

  11. Escape response card

    Follow a calm, practical sequence when containment fails.

    Reference value: A$9

  12. Bull-ant maintenance checklist

    Prepare the room, barriers, tools and emergency plan before opening a bull-ant enclosure.

    Reference value: A$19

  13. Colony transfer plan

    Plan the destination, route, equipment and stopping conditions before you begin a move.

    Reference value: A$15

  14. Rehoming and care handover

    Pass on the colony's history, feeding, setup and current condition clearly.

    Reference value: A$9

  15. Identification photo checklist

    Capture the angles and details that make identification easier and more reliable.

    Reference value: A$9

  16. Monthly colony review

    Step back from daily observations and notice the patterns that matter over time.

    Reference value: A$12

  17. Plain-English ant-keeping glossary

    Understand common hobby terms without having to open another tab.

    Reference value: A$12
Combined reference valueA$313
Regular priceA$57
Launch specialA$27

You save A$30 (53% off) during launch.

Every resource above is already inside the handbook. There aren't seventeen extra downloads to organise and there isn't another bundle to buy.

Get everything for A$27 Secure checkout. Instant access. Pay once. Keep it forever.
Inside the handbook

Take a look through all ten parts

The handbook follows a colony from the decisions you make before acquiring ants through founding, growth, mature care and more advanced keeping. You can follow it in order or jump straight to the problem in front of you.

The handbook shown at an angle on a timber desk
Part I: Learning to think like an ant keeperStart by understanding the colony before trying to control it.
  • the biology that changes how ants should be kept
  • queens, workers, males, brood and the colony life cycle
  • Australian habitats, climates and seasons
  • identification without pretending to be more certain than the evidence allows
  • how to compare advice and learn from your own observations
Part II: Choosing well and preparing properlyWork out which ants genuinely suit you and your home.
  • questions to answer before acquiring a queen or colony
  • choosing for climate, space, experience and colony growth
  • equipment that matters now and equipment that can wait
  • realistic budgets and sensible preparation
  • bites, stings, allergy and emergency readiness
  • welfare, biosecurity and the never-release rule
Part III: Queens, founding and first workersGive a founding queen what she needs without hovering over her.
  • finding or collecting a queen responsibly
  • buying, receiving and assessing a queen or colony
  • building and managing a reliable test-tube setup
  • matching the founding method to the ant
  • what the first 90 days may look like
  • founding problems and careful interventions
  • feeding and housing the first workers
Part IV: Feeding, water and seasonal careBuild a routine that changes as the colony changes.
  • carbohydrates, protein and prey across colony stages
  • safe feeders and prey preparation
  • drinking water, nest hydration and humidity
  • heating, temperature choice, light and seasonality
  • cleaning, quarantine and routine care
  • reading behaviour without over-interpreting every movement
Part V: Housing colonies as living systemsCreate a setup that's secure, maintainable and ready to grow.
  • choosing nest materials and designs
  • building a practical outworld
  • ventilation, access and everyday maintenance
  • layered escape prevention
  • moving colonies without forcing them
  • DIY builds and safer fabrication
Part VI: Mature colonies and problem-solvingKnow where to look when something changes.
  • managing larger and more active colonies
  • a disciplined troubleshooting method
  • heat, cold, dryness, flooding and ventilation failures
  • mould, mites, pests and unexplained decline
  • escapes and containment failures
  • travel, relocation, rehoming and colony end-of-life
Part VII: Bull antsBuild readiness before ambition.
  • understanding Myrmecia
  • the bull-ant readiness test
  • founding bull-ant queens
  • housing and maintaining a bull-ant colony
  • double containment
  • sting, escape and emergency response
  • the bull-ant maintenance checklist
  • four illustrated Myrmecia dossiers
Part VIII: Advanced practice and deeper observationGo further once the basics are solid.
  • naturalistic and bioactive systems
  • deeper colony biology for keepers
  • better transfers and care handovers
  • observation and useful photography
  • recording what you see and contributing careful observations
Part IX: Australian species dossiersLearn the character of the ant before choosing its setup.
  • recognition and natural history
  • colony character and setup
  • feeding and founding
  • seasonal rhythm and difficulty
  • warning signs and why keepers choose it
Part X: The Keeper's ToolkitTurn good intentions into a routine you can actually follow.
  • all 15 checklists, records, planners and reference tools
  • pages to print, copy into a notebook or recreate in a spreadsheet
  • a practical system you'll actually keep using
Part IX: Australian species dossiers

Learn the character of the ant before choosing its setup.

Each illustrated dossier follows the same practical format: recognition, natural history, colony character, setup, feeding, founding, seasonal rhythm, difficulty, warning signs and why keepers choose it.

  • Camponotus consobrinus
  • Iridomyrmex bicknelli sensu lato
  • Camponotus aeneopilosus
  • native Pheidole species
  • Aphaenogaster longiceps
  • Rhytidoponera metallica species group
  • Polyrhachis ammon
  • Notoncus species
  • Opisthopsis rufithorax
  • Iridomyrmex purpureus species group
  • Camponotus nigriceps species group
  • Crematogaster species
  • Oecophylla smaragdina
  • Myrmecia pyriformis
  • Myrmecia nigriceps
  • Myrmecia forficata
  • Myrmecia pilosula complex
  • Melophorus species
A bull ant identified by the source as Myrmecia pyriformis standing on a green leaf
Myrmecia pyriformisby Graham Wise, CC BY 2.0. Resized for web.
Dedicated bull-ant guidance

Yes, it covers bull ants. No, it doesn't pretend they're beginner ants.

Bull ants are one of the great attractions of Australian ant keeping. They're large, alert and fascinating to observe.

They can also sting, move quickly, see you coming and punish a casual approach to containment.

That's why they have their own section rather than being squeezed into a few general pages. The handbook covers readiness, founding, housing, maintenance, double containment, escapes, sting response and four Myrmecia dossiers.

It won't tell you that bull ants are right for everyone. It will help you understand the extra work and risk before you decide whether you're ready.

Is it for you?

This handbook will suit you if...

  • you're thinking about keeping ants and want to prepare properly
  • you've found or bought a queen and don't want to disturb her unnecessarily
  • your first workers have arrived and you're unsure what changes next
  • you already keep ants but want a better system for feeding, housing and troubleshooting
  • you're interested in Australian species rather than generic overseas advice
  • you'd like to keep bull ants one day and want an honest readiness check
  • you enjoy the hobby but don't want every unusual behaviour to become a crisis
A simple seven-day guarantee

Take seven days to see if it earns its place in your ant room.

Download the handbook, read the sections that matter to you and try the practical tools.

If you don't find it useful, email our support team within seven days and we'll refund the full A$27. No questions asked.

The handbook stays yours.

I don't want you stuck with a guide that doesn't help. That's why the guarantee is deliberately simple.

Damien

Support: info [at] antsonline [dot] com [dot] au

The Australian Ant Keeper's Handbook digital edition mock-up Seven-day guarantee
Instant digital access

Get the complete handbook for A$27

Read it on your phone, tablet or computer. Use the linked contents page to move between sections, and print the worksheets or checklists you want beside your colony.

The Australian Ant Keeper's Handbook

From first queen to thriving colony

  • complete 171-page illustrated PDF
  • 47 practical chapters
  • 18 Australian species dossiers
  • 15 printable and reusable keeper tools
  • five dedicated bull-ant chapters
  • four illustrated Myrmecia dossiers
  • instant access after purchase
  • one payment with no recurring subscription
  • seven-day, no-questions-asked guarantee
Regular price A$57Launch special: A$27
Get instant access for A$27

Secure checkout. Instant PDF access. Pay once. Yours to keep.

Frequently asked questions

A few questions you might still have

I'm a complete beginner. Is this too advanced?

No. The handbook starts at the beginning and explains unfamiliar terms as they appear. It'll walk you through choosing a species, preparing the setup, founding a queen, feeding, water, housing and caring for the first workers before moving into larger colonies and more advanced systems.

I already keep ants. Will I still get something from it?

Yes. You can jump straight to seasonal care, housing systems, troubleshooting, mature colonies, transfers, bioactive setups, bull ants, species dossiers and the Keeper's Toolkit.

Is the advice really specific to Australia?

Yes. The handbook was made for Australian keepers, species, seasons and conditions. Australia isn't one climate, so it shows you how to adjust care to the colony and the room rather than handing you one national temperature or feeding schedule.

Does it really cover bull ants?

Yes. There are five dedicated bull-ant chapters, a readiness test, founding guidance, housing and maintenance guidance, double-containment guidance, sting and escape response, four Myrmecia dossiers and a maintenance checklist. Bull ants aren't presented as beginner ants. The section helps you understand the extra responsibility before deciding whether you're ready.

Does it cover every Australian ant species?

No. Australia has far too many species for one practical handbook to profile them all. Instead, the book teaches care principles you can apply more broadly and includes 18 detailed dossiers covering popular or important Australian ants and species groups.

Can it guarantee my colony will thrive?

No honest guide can promise that. The handbook gives you better information, safer systems and a clear way to make decisions, but the ants, their condition and their environment still matter.

Is this a physical book?

The launch edition is a digital PDF. A printed edition isn't included. You can read it on your devices and print selected pages for your own use.

How do I receive it?

We'll email your secure handbook access link after checkout. The access page does not expire, and you can request the link again from the recovery page if you ever lose the email.

Can I print the worksheets and checklists?

Yes. They're included as pages inside the handbook. Print the ones you use most often or copy the fields into a notebook or spreadsheet.

Is this a subscription?

No. The launch-special price is a one-time A$27 payment for the current digital edition. There isn't a recurring fee.

What if it isn't right for me?

You're covered by the seven-day guarantee. Contact info [at] antsonline [dot] com [dot] au within seven days and we'll issue a full refund, no questions asked. The PDF stays yours.

The launch special

Spend less time second-guessing and more time enjoying your colony.

Get The Australian Ant Keeper's Handbook for A$27 during the launch special.

One Australian guide. Forty-seven practical chapters. Eighteen species dossiers. Fifteen keeper tools. Dedicated bull-ant guidance. Instant access and a seven-day guarantee.

Regular price A$57. Launch special A$27. Save A$30 (53% off).

Get the handbook for A$27

Read it on any device. Use the tools whenever you need them. Keep it as the colony and your experience grow.