My Queen Arrived Without Brood or With Dead Workers It's natural to feel concerned if your queen arrives without brood or if there are deceased workers. However, it's important to stay calm. Despite our best efforts to ship queens and colonies in safe boxes using speedy services, they can sometimes become stressed during transit. In such cases, queens may consume their brood or workers may perish. This is a natural behavior; in the wild, queens or colonies may consume their brood and relocate to establish a new founding chamber in response to stress. For Queens Without Brood: Settle your queen in her habitat, ensure she is kept at the correct temperature, and offer her a protein meal. This could be mealworm, roach or cricket, cut up. Its important to remove anything not eaten after 24 to 36 hours. She should start laying brood again within a few weeks. To reduce the likelihood of this happening, consider purchasing a colony that includes workers when possible. If You Used TRACKED Service with LIVE ARRIVAL: You're covered under our 180-day fertility guarantee for your queen. This should reassure you that she is likely fine. Note that this guarantee does not apply to orders shipped via standard shipping. For Colonies with Deceased Workers: If you used the tracked shipping option and your colony arrives with a number of deceased workers that reduces the worker count below what you purchased, please take clear photos from multiple angles and send them to us. We need to see that the security seal is still intact to process an adjustment for the worker count to the appropriate tier. No refund or adjustment will be made if the security seal is not clearly visible or has been removed.

We’re sorry to hear about this unfortunate situation. To help prevent this kind of risk in the future, we recommend using our TRACKED LIVE ARRIVAL service when shipping queens. This option offers greater protection for both the colony and you as the customer. Benefits of TRACKED LIVE ARRIVAL SHIPPING: Next Day Service: In most cases, your queen or colony will arrive the next day, reducing stress during transit. Delivery Notifications: Receive a text and/or email with your delivery time, allowing you to track your shipment every step of the way. Live Arrival Guarantee: This service includes our live arrival guarantee, providing you with extra peace of mind. 12-Hour Guarantee: You also benefit from our 12-hour guarantee for additional assurance. Better Arrival Condition: The faster shipping service helps ensure your queen arrives more rested and in better overall condition.

My Queen/Colony Has Been Delivered Within 12 Hours Using TRACKED LIVE ARRIVAL GUARANTEE Service Queens, as live animals, are excluded from the Distance Selling Regulations rights of return. However, we offer our Happy Queen Guarantee for added protection if you've used our tracked service. If you have any concerns about your queen or colony: Important: There is a security seal on the end of the test tube. Do not break this seal as doing so indicates your acceptance of the colony in its current condition. This seal allows us to verify that your colony is as it left us and matches our records and your certificate. Please Note: Only the queen's life is covered by this warranty. Worker count is an approximation and used to indicate the colony's developmental stage. Workers who do not survive the journey are not covered by the warranty although we will offer store credit against the bracket the delivered colony falls into. If there is a miscount in workers, we will provide store credit for the difference in value once you provide a clear video showing the workers and the intact security seal. Your Guarantee is Valid If: You selected the LIVE ARRIVAL TRACKED service for shipping. The security seal is intact. You did not miss the delivery. If delivery is missed, the queen must be picked up on the same day delivery was attempted. The queen was delivered to a physical address (not a virtual address). The guarantee ends once the queen reaches the first destination in the case of virtual addresses. You contacted us within 12 hours of delivery if you have concerns about the queen's condition. You have checked carefully (e.g., zoomed in on her to ensure she's not just cold from the journey). If her antennae are moving, she is fine. What You Need to Do: Send us a clear video of your queen via email, messenger, or Instagram. Include a clear picture of the queen's tube and the security seal at the end. If the queen did not survive, we will ask you to return her to us (at our cost). We will then send you a replacement. If we have no more of the species available, we will issue store credit to be used for a new queen of your choice. Note: The warranty is valid for 12 hours after delivery. After this period, we no longer offer a warranty on the queen or worker count differences. We may extend this warranty up to 7 days if concerns about the queen (not the worker count) are reported within the 12-hour window. We reserve the right to determine if an extension is warranted.

Orders can be returned to us for various reasons, such as delivery refusal, an incorrect address, or issues with the delivery driver locating the address. In these cases, we have policies in place to handle returned ants: Returned Ants Policy Store Credit Option: If your colony is returned to us at any point during its journey to you and the ants are still alive, we will issue store credit for the colony. This credit will be reduced by a £15 restocking fee, 2.5% transaction costs, and the cost of the original shipping. These fees cover the return charges set by the courier, transaction processing costs, and the extra care needed to settle the colony for resale. Reshipping Option: Alternatively, if you prefer to have the colony reshipped, we can do so if you repurchase the shipping. Please contact us to arrange this. No Store Credit for Deceased Colonies: If your colony is not alive upon return, no store credit will be issued. Low-Value Orders: If the value of your colony is less than £15 (including deceased colonies valued at £0), we will absorb the fee, as there is no store credit to be made.

Queens with Concerns: If you have accepted delivery of your queen and it has been more than 12 hours since your LIVE ARRIVAL SERVICE delivery without notifying us of any concerns, we are unable to cover the worker count outside of this initial 12-hour window. However, if you have any concerns about your colony after this period, the best course of action is to complete our help form, which you can find here. This form allows you to provide us with all the necessary details and to upload pictures and videos, helping us understand and address your concerns effectively. Queens Who Have Died: If your queen dies within 3 days of delivery and you used the tracked shipping service, we offer partial compensation. Provided you have maintained the correct environment for her: You may return the queen to us at your expense. We will issue store credit for 50% of her value. This applies only to queens kept in sealed test tubes. Please note that workers are not covered by this guarantee, and the compensation applies only to the queen's cost without workers.

If your colony is 4 days or more past delivery and you need advice, we're here to help. To make the process quicker and more efficient, please complete our help form. This allows us to gather all the necessary information upfront so we can assist you more effectively. Returns Policy for Colonies 4 Days or More Past Delivery: We do not accept returns on colonies that have been with the customer for 4 days or more, as we are no longer able to control their conditions, food, quality, or habitat. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, queens may not survive. Remember, keeping these delicate species can be a learning process. If this happens, try not to feel discouraged. We're here to help you identify potential causes and provide guidance to improve your success in the future.

Fertility Guarantee FERTILITY GUARANTEE ONLY APPLIES TO CUSTOMERS WHO USED THE LIVE ARRIVAL SERVICE We offer a 180-day fertility guarantee for fresh queens who have never had workers. If you suspect your queen is not fertile, we have a structured process to address this, provided the following conditions are met: Eligibility Criteria: The queen must have been shipped using the tracked service, not standard shipping. It must be within 180 days since the purchase date. The queen must be alive. She was purchased as a fresh queen with brood (or marked as *SC, indicating a split from an inbreeding colony done in-house). She has never had workers or developed brood while in your care. You are the original purchaser of the colony directly from us. Please note, if your queen was provided as part of a colony or has had workers, she was initially fertile. Environmental conditions outside of our control may have affected her fertility, which is not covered by our guarantee. If Eligible, Follow These Steps: Contact us at husbandry@antantics,wales with your order number and queen ID number. We will send you a link to a form where you can provide details about how you have been keeping her. Return your queen to us using a tracked shipping method. We will keep your queen in our incubator for a minimum of 4 weeks. We will maintain our feeding cycle and take pictures on the first and last day to monitor brood development. If Your Queen Is Considered Infertile: If no brood develops during the incubation period, we will conclude she is not fertile. We will then replace your queen. If we have the same species in stock, we will provide a replacement (note that the worker count may vary from your original purchase). If no stock is available, we will issue store credit which can be used to purchase another species from our store. If Your Queen Is Considered Fertile: If brood develops, we will send you an invoice for the return shipping so she can come back to you. We will provide details on the feeding routines, humidity, and temperatures we used so you can replicate these conditions at home and continue her progress.

Sadly these items are perishable and also not covered under the Distance Selling Regulations. But do not worry, your items will be sent quickly and fresh.

You can return any unused, new, non-perishable, and non-living items to us within 28 days of receipt for store credit or an exchange. Items must be returned at the buyer's expense to the following address: Ant Antics Ltd | Morgrug Cymru, Priory Street, Carmarthen, SA31 1LS Return Conditions: Items must be in a new, unused condition, with all relevant components intact. They should be in a sealed state, suitable for resale. Items purchased as part of a bundle must be returned as the entire bundle. We cannot accept partial bundle returns. We can not accept bundle returns that contain live animals. Important Notes: If items are returned in a used or not-as-new condition, we reserve the right to retain the item until the return shipping is paid by the customer for us to send it back. Store credit or exchanges will be processed within 3 to 5 days of receiving the return. Please note that store credit will exclude the original shipping cost, as the shipping service was utilised and charged even if you have changed your mind about the items.

If your non-perishable and non-living item develops a fault we would not expect within usual and careful use then please contact us ASAP where we can arrange a return for you. Faulty items will be repaired or replaced at our cost. Return shipping of faulty products is covered by Ant Antics Limited. Typically we can accept returns for repair on a fault within 90 days of purchase.

As live animals are excluded from the distance selling regulations, we do not accept returns on queens or colonies. This policy is in place because their welfare and conditions are beyond our control once they leave us.

We are more than just an ant pet store; we’re a dedicated and passionate team committed to providing the best for ant keepers. At Ant Antics, you’ll find transparency and quality—our address, email, and information are all readily available. No shady practices, no mystery offerings, and certainly no low-quality "cheap" queens here. We pride ourselves on being a premium brand, offering the healthiest and most legitimate queens. All our queens are legally imported, ensuring their health and quality. While this may come at a slightly higher cost, we believe the peace of mind is worth it. But beyond all the boasting, we do this because we love ants. We believe every ant keeper deserves a brand they can trust. We’re a small team of three, working around the clock to answer your inquiries and carefully prepare your queens. No complaints here—we love what we do!

At Ant Antics, we are committed to ethical practices in all aspects of our business. As a responsible seller and buyer, we take a strict stance against unethical ant capture methods. Dug-Up Colonies & Brood Boosting We do not condone or purchase any colony or queen that has been taken from an already established colony. This practice, often referred to as colony theft, is something we consider to be one of the most harmful actions you can take against a colony. Removing a queen from her colony leaves the workers without a leader, leading to their eventual demise. Additionally, capturing a queen from an established colony raises questions about her age and health, risking the life of an aging queen. At Ant Antics, we only sell fresh queens or colonies that have been raised in-house from a single, fresh queen. We do not purchase colonies from suppliers unless they can provide evidence of them being raised to ensure they are not subjected to brood boosting before arrival. As such, we do not participate in or support brood boosting. Our One Exception There is one exception to our rule: Formica Sanguinea (The Slave Maker). This species requires a few pupae from an established colony to begin her own. After this initial phase, she will lay eggs and build her colony independently. In this case, adding Formica brood is a necessary part of the natural process. By adhering to these principles, we ensure that all our ants are sourced and raised ethically, providing you with healthy queens and colonies you can feel good about supporting.

Simply put, we love ants—all ants! However, we understand that some members of the community are cautious about companies selling exotic species. It's worth noting that people have responsibly kept exotic pets like fish, guinea pigs, hamsters, lizards, and snakes for decades. We believe that, with proper care and adherence to legal requirements, we can responsibly enjoy the diversity of ant species. At Ant Antics, we are committed to importing exotic ants in compliance with the law and ensuring their well-being throughout the process. In the UK, our cold winters and freezing ground mean that non-hibernating exotic ants would not survive if released into the wild, reducing the risk of these species becoming invasive. Our Advice Remains the Same: Never release your ants into the wild. It's not only illegal but also cruel to the ants and the environment. If you can no longer care for your exotic ants, send them back to us, and we will ensure they find a loving and suitable home.

We strongly advise against placing an ant colony in a gel ant farm. There are several reasons for this, all focused on the welfare of the ants: Light Exposure: Gel farms are too bright. Ants, especially the queen and brood, need darkness to feel safe and secure. The constant exposure to light can cause stress, particularly for the queen. Excessive Moisture: Gel farms are too moist. Ants regulate humidity and moisture by moving around the nest, which is especially important for brood at various stages of development. The high moisture levels in gel farms prevent this necessary behavior. Mould Growth: The wet environment in gel nests promotes rapid mould growth, which can quickly lead to the death of an entire colony. Gel Is Not Food: Despite marketing claims of "no need to add food," the gel is not a suitable food source for ants. If ants consume it out of desperation, it doesn't meet their nutritional needs. Can You Breed Ants in a Gel Farm? No, a gel farm is not suitable for breeding ants. These farms are often marketed for observing ants, suggesting that you purchase some workers to watch them dig tunnels. However, we believe this practice is also cruel. Removing ants from their colony and placing them in a gel farm without their queen causes significant distress. The ants will instinctively start digging, trying to find the queen's scent. Most of these ants will survive only 3 to 6 months before they all die, leaving you to start over. What Are Gel Farms For? Gel farms are designed for short-term observation of worker ants, but this is not a humane practice. Without their queen, the workers become highly stressed and agitated, leading to a shortened lifespan. Our Recommendation Please, for the love and welfare of your ants, avoid using gel farms. If you already own a gel farm, consider removing the gel and replacing it with a suitable substrate like sand-loam or earth. It's a simple change that can significantly improve the environment for your ants. Or better yet, purchase an Ant antics setup for complete peace of mind.

In short, we do not believe it is. In the wild, a queen ant has only about a 5% to 8% chance of successfully founding her colony. Ants are aware of this challenge and release millions, even billions, of future queens annually to maintain their populations. This abundance of queens ensures that ant populations continue to thrive and evolve, allowing new generations to form super colonies and even cross oceans to inhabit new territories. At Ant Antics, we take a responsible approach to sourcing queens. We purchase within our forecasted needs and do not overstock. This means our impact on wild ant populations is minimal. In fact, the effect of our careful sourcing is so small that you could unintentionally cause more disruption simply by walking through a car park on nuptial day.

We understand how easy it is to get excited during nuptial flights and end up catching more queens than you planned. It's something many ant keepers have experienced! What You Can Do: If you have surplus queens and we have space available, we’d be happy to help. We can arrange for you to send them to us, and we’ll find them new homes. Alternatively, if you have native queens, you could wait for them to found a small colony and then release them into your garden. This helps support local ant populations. For species native to the UK, we can even purchase them off you for store credit at our trade prices. Important Note for Non-Native Species: If you have caught a non-native species, please do not release them into your garden. Instead, contact us for guidance on the best course of action. We can only purchase them off you if you have evidence that they are in the UK legally. Most stores smuggle their ants into the country and our due diligence requires us to validate imports were legal. Don't worry—it's a common situation, and we're here to assist you in ensuring the best care and placement for your queens.

This can be a tricky question to answer. While we would love to restock every queen, we cannot guarantee it. Queens have annual nuptial flights, and if our stock is sold out outside of this window, it could take up to 12 months to acquire more—if we can at all. Our Best Advice: If you see a queen you love, don’t wait—buy her while she’s available! To make sure you don’t miss out in the future, go to the product page and click "Notify Me." Enter your email address, and you’ll receive a notification as soon as the queen is back in stock.

Not a problem, drop us a message and we will guide you through our selection by asking you a few questions, we can help you narrow down your choice.

If you are finding it difficult to select a nest then please drop us a message and let us know what species you want to house, we can help you choose.

Concierge status is not something you can directly join—it's an exclusive membership we invite customers to after they reach a certain spending threshold with our store. This status is reserved for our most loyal and committed customers who play a crucial role in helping us continue our business. Once you reach this milestone, we automatically grant you Concierge membership. To retain this status, simply make a purchase on our website every 3 months.

Yes, you can reserve a queen if she is in stock or shortly coming into stock. To reserve a queen, we require a 50% non-refundable deposit. Reservation Terms: After placing the deposit, we will hold the queen for up to 4 weeks. (providing it is not a species on our exemption list. If the balance is not settled within this period, care charges of £4.75 per week will apply. If the colony or queen is not fully paid for within 6 weeks, she will be returned to sale and the deposit will be forfeited. This policy helps us ensure that all queens are cared for properly and fairly distributed among customers.

Paying is easy, we accept credit card and debit card payments through our payment partner SumUp. We also accept Cryptocurrency & pay weekly and monthly solutions like Laybuy and Klarna. We do not accept PayPal at this time

Of course, drop us an email and we can see what it is you offer. We work with a select group of other UK stores who may be interested too. We always ensure our trade partners are well rehursed in the Legal, Safe and Legitimate trade of species before we conduct any business.

For Queen Ants: Yes, we would love to work with you! We offer trade pricing to other retail stores. As a responsible seller, we only conduct trade with registered companies. To place an order with us, you will need to provide your company details, including your registration number and proof of address. Once we have these, we can share our available stock for wholesale. For Physical Items: We do offer wholesale for our physical products. If you're interested in an item we sell, whether it's a product we've developed or something from our range, please get in touch. While we cannot guarantee availability for all items, it's definitely worth asking, especially for products like nests, foods, and supplies. If you think the Ant Antics brand aligns with your store, we'd be proud to have you stock some of our items.

Yes, we do! A franchise with Ant Antics is an excellent opportunity for a startup store looking to establish a physical location that aligns with our brand and ethos. If you think you're "Ant Antics" enough, we want to hear from you. Franchise Opportunities: Our franchise program is designed for those interested in opening a physical store location. This does not apply to web-only stores within the UK. If you're based outside the UK, a website is included as part of your territory, allowing you to establish an online presence in your region. If you're overseas and wish to use our brand name and claim territory for your country, please get in touch with us. Franchise Packages: Our franchise packages are fair and reasonable. We don't charge a large upfront franchise fee; instead, you pay a percentage of your revenue, which depends on your turnover. This way, you can invest more in opening your Ant Antics shop. Franchise contracts are for a minimum of 3 years and include a commitment to exclusively purchase stock, including ants and products, from Ant Antics. If you're passionate about ants and think you have what it takes to bring the Ant Antics experience to your community, we’d love to discuss this exciting opportunity with you.