The sight of ants in one’s home is usually a sign of an infestation, which not many will be enthused over.
One woman in Singapore, however, discovered that there was an upside to this scenario when she found and sold a queen ant.
As it turns out, certain breeds of fertile queen ants are actually sought after by ant collectors and breeders.
After making some enquiries, she eventually managed to sell the specimen to a buyer for S$20.
However, there are other species that can go for more, depending on whether it is fertile and has worker ants to mate with.
Lisa, 33, told MS News that she found a particularly large ant in her kitchen on 21 Apr 2022.
“We had some ants appear in our kitchen, and it’s the usual small kind whenever there might be some food traces,” Lisa explained.
But one of the ants looked larger than usual.
Image provided by Lisa
Intrigued by the size difference, Lisa tried identifying the ant and wondered if they had managed to flush out the queen.
Not an ant expert herself, Lisa then consulted the members of the Singapore Home DIY Facebook group.
“We are usually in there for home repairs stuff as we’ve seen some people post on pests before,” she explained.
Although the group doesn’t exactly advertise itself as an insect enthusiast haven, Lisa received some positive responses.
An interested buyer identified her specimen as a Weaver queen ant and offered S$10 for it in the process.
Source: Naturetalksback with Dr. Cyren Asteraceya on Facebook. Image for illustration purposes only.
Meanwhile, another comment directed them to the Singapore Ants Facebook group instead.
After posting in the Singapore Ants Facebook group, Lisa received several more offers for the queen ant.
Apparently, fertile queen ants are in demand, and suddenly they went from fighting an ant infestation to figuring out how to sell one.
But before they could sell the ant, Lisa had to keep it alive.
“We decided to keep it in a bowl with air holes, biscuits, and some water,” Lisa said.
Image provided by Lisa
One of the buyers told her to keep a ball of wet cotton inside a container and leave it alone, which they did. This was so that the ant wouldn’t die of thirst.
Luckily, following the advice helped the ant survive for at least two days.
According to Lisa, the queen ant was unable to fly — apparently indicating that it was fertile.
However, this is not always the case as they may have broken them off due to instinct.
One of the buyers eventually offered her S$20, which she accepted. The other buyers also offered similar amounts.
Eventually, Lisa sold the ant on 23 Apr last year.
“The buyer came to collect two days after [making their offer], so we were stressed about keeping our asset alive in the interim,” joked Lisa.
Checks by MS News on platforms such as Carousell revealed that a Weaver queen ant can be sold for around S$35 to S$50 depending on its condition.
However, based on a website selling “ants native to Singapore”, some types of ants like the Trap Jaw queen are listed for as much as S$120.
What began as an ant infestation problem had become a chance profit with the discovery of the queen ant.
However, the matter is not quite as simple as that, as the owner of Singapore’s first physical ant shop, John Ye, told MS News.
A Weaver queen ant, for instance, is notoriously difficult to keep in a home as they mainly live in the wild and not in captivity.
They are known for weaving leaves using larval silk for their nests.
They also have a greenish-brown appearance, which sets them apart from other ant species.
Ant-keeping in general, he says, is “not much different from keeping fish”.
Just Ants, which is nestled in a corner of Yishun, aims to serve both experienced ant collectors as well as newbies looking for their first colony.
All one needs to start their own colony is a queen ant, some worker ants, and an ant farm, also known as a formicarium.
While starter kits are cheaper at about S$12, rare ants fetch a handsome sum of S$50 to S$60, said Mr Ye to Channel NewsAsia in 2020.
As for trading, there are avenues and forums which are helpful.
They include the Singapore Ants Facebook group, which boasts more than 6,000 members as of the time of writing.
Yes, this is where Lisa managed to sell her ant, with many in the group offering helpful advice.
Like most collectors, ant enthusiasts are a passionate bunch — willing to pay good money for a specimen or even set up a whole museum.
Zat Low, the founder of the Singapore Ants Facebook group, opened a two-storey ant museum in Paya Lebar to bring his hobby to the masses.
Though the museum is now closed, the Facebook group still remains an active meeting point for the community.
What’s more, members of the public like Lisa can also benefit from their knowledge and expertise.
So the next time you come across an ant or two, especially ones that doesn’t look like the garden variety, look closely. Who knows, you might be able to make a quick buck.
Also watch: Ask Me Anything With Bjorn Alvarez The Hot Wheels Collector
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of iNaturalistNZ for illustration purposes only.
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