# Ants
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [December 16, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325 "2003-12-16T16:14:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@smootman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smootman)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325/1 "2003-12-16T16:14:25Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlostants.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlostants.html)
So in order to have an effective ant farm, do you need to have a queen ant? How do you go about finding her? I have a crapload of fire ants in my yard… and I’d love to strangle her…
There’s no succession when the queen gets whacked? There are TOO many ant questions…
how about a link to the greatest Ant pages online? Anyone?
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### Author:  [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325/2 "2003-12-16T17:22:01Z")
Ant / ant farm FAQ:
[http://www.antcam.com/info/faq/AntsFAQ.txt](http://www.antcam.com/info/faq/AntsFAQ.txt)
Depends what you mean by “effective”. If you just want the entertainment value of watching a few ants for a while, you don’t need a queen, but they’ll eventually all die. That FAQ indicates says “a few months”. Note that you may not mail live queen ants in the US - ant farms stocked with ants mailed to you don’t have a queen.
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### Author:  [@smootman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smootman)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325/3 "2003-12-16T18:18:16Z")
So the next question is WHY can’t live queens be mailed in the US…
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325/4 "2003-12-16T19:00:37Z")
Great article, but **Doug** completely failed to mention that the orphaned insect can seek the mystical Rubber Tree Plant for salvation.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ants/219325/5 "2003-12-17T02:10:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Cervaise \*
> \*\*Great article, but **Doug** completely failed to mention that the orphaned insect can seek the mystical Rubber Tree Plant for salvation. \*\*
Yeah, but then they get drowned when aggresive male sheep damage local hydrological infrastructure.