Setting up

Check each box against the contents listed on its product page. The main ones:

• Both Scouts: nest, Click Stop lid and 16 mm water tube; check the model page for additional confirmed accessories
• Founder: one-piece body, Click Stop lid and Fill Plug
• Homestead: one-piece body, two slide-in lids and Fill Plug
• Four Corners: one-piece body, four slide-in lids and four Fill Plugs
• Trailhead and Frontiers: body and slide-in lid; check each current box list for connection and closure parts

The Scout Riser is sold separately. Trailhead's low Scout port needs no Riser.

Every American Ant piece has the same AA-01 port, and a Link joins any two of them. Push one end of the Link firmly into a port until it stops, then push the second piece onto the other end. The collar in the middle stops each side at the right depth, so the two pieces end up about ⅛ in apart.

Founder, Homestead, Four Corners and both Frontiers have standard-height ports. Scouts sit lower. Set either on a Scout Riser, or Link directly to Trailhead's low port with no Riser.

Trailhead has four standard-height ports beyond its low port. Choose Links separately when they are not on the box list; Link sells in 3-packs.

Four Corners holds four separate colonies, so each quadrant gets its own outworld or tube.

Close every port you aren't using before the colony moves in. A Port Plug seals a port. A Vent Plug closes it but lets air through.

Homestead and Four Corners also have vent sockets: one on the Homestead's back wall, in the dry half, and one for each Four Corners quadrant. Fit a Vent Plug there for airflow, or a Port Plug to close it.

Push each plug in until it stops. Crush ribs on the plug hold it snug.

Before first use, apply a Fluon (PTFE) barrier to the upper inner wall and let it dry. Check and renew the barrier as needed; tall walls are not a substitute for closing ports.

The snap-in lid feeding port lets you drop food in without sliding the lid. Close it with a Port Plug or Vent Plug. To open the lid, lift at its fingernail notch and slide it from the port-free right end; close until it clicks.

Add a thin layer of sand to the sand pit if you like. Food and drink trays are molded into the floor, not separate dishes. Both Frontier sizes come January 1.

Prepare water before introducing ants. Founder, Homestead and Four Corners have built-in reservoirs under printed mesh humidity floors. There are no removable water inserts or cotton cups.

• Scouts: prepare the included 16 mm tube with water and cotton
• Founder: fill at the front-right hole
• Homestead: fill at the right-end hole
• Four Corners: fill each quadrant separately at its own side hole
• Outworlds: provide a separate drinking source; the Dew Tube is planned but not yet available

Use a syringe or squeeze bottle, stop when water comes back out of the fill hole, and fit the Fill Plug. Test for leaks before adding ants. Keep drinking water separate from these humidity reservoirs.

The watering guide has model-by-model details.