Formicariums are becoming more and more popular. In several cases people will purchase an 'ant farm' set up from a hobby store, and then get a package of ants shipped to them to watch them build tunnels and see how some of the daily life is like for that ant species.

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I however am not talking about this instance or type of formicarium. The type I am talking about includes the most fundamental component to any ant colony. A queen ant. When you buy from the store you will never receive a queen ant, due to how invasive ant species can be to an area it's actually against federal law here in the USA to ship queen ants. That is why for those who want to have a thriving colony it is encouraged to find local ant species in you're area and look for queen ants during Nuptial flights.