01
Founder
One piece with built-in water. Fill it, plug it, done.
- Size
- About 3¾ × 3⅛ × 1½ in
- Ports
- 3 × AA-01
- Lid
- Click Stop slide-in clear acrylic, exits right
Founder is a one-piece PETG nest, about 3¾ × 3⅛ × 1½ in, with a built-in reservoir beneath the humidity chamber. Fill through the hole on the front right with a syringe or squeeze bottle, stop when water runs back out, and fit the included Fill Plug.
Moisture rises through the printed mesh floor. There are no cotton cups, removable water floors or top-and-base halves to service. The reservoir supplies nest humidity, not drinking water: provide a separate drinking source, such as a test tube in a connected outworld or a Dew Tube when available.
Two port foyers lead into a central chamber, a warm brood chamber, a back vent chamber, a mid-humidity chamber and the humidity chamber. A deep Queen Pocket sits beneath a rock-textured roof with its own tunnel door. The colony can choose between the humid right side and the drier, warmer left side.
The Click Stop acrylic lid slides out the right end, clear of the ports. A straight heat channel runs front to back beneath the brood chamber; use a thermostat whenever you heat. Fill the reservoir and check for leaks before introducing ants.
Three AA-01 ports connect to the next space with a Link. Founder ships with its body, lid and Fill Plug; choose connection Links and port closures separately.
Fill it, plug it, done
Humidity comes from a reservoir built into the base. There's nothing inside to swap or re-wet.
Step 1: Fill
Fill the hole on the front right with a syringe or squeeze bottle. The reservoir sits under the humidity chamber, printed into the base.
Step 2: Stop when it comes back
Stop when water runs back out of the hole. That hole is the full line, so the chamber can't flood.
Step 3: Plug it
Push in the Fill Plug, which comes in the box. Top up the same way when the level drops.
Drinking water is separate
The reservoir makes humidity. Ants still need water they can drink.
A Dew Tube in any port, planned
A small cotton water tube that will plug into any AA-01 port. Coming soon, not orderable yet.
Today: a linked outworld with a test tube
Link a Frontier S or a Trailhead and keep a water tube there.
Wet on the right, warm on the left
Seven rooms set out as a humidity gradient, so the colony chooses where to sit.
HumidWarm and dry
- Humidity chamberOver the reservoir, with the mesh floor.
- Mid-humidity chamberA step drier.
- Hidden queen chamberDeep, under a rock-textured roof. Dark and private, open only at its tunnel door.
- Central chamberJoins the rooms together.
- Warm brood chamberRight over the heat channel.
- Vent chamberAt the back port.
- Two port foyersEntry halls at the front and left-end ports.
Heat that never touches the ants
A straight channel runs front to back under the warm brood chamber.
Push a standard reptile heat cable in the front and out the back, with a thermostat probe beside it. The cable sits just under the brood chamber floor and stays completely separate from the colony.
A lid that clicks shut
Click Stop: one clear acrylic lid that slides open and clicks shut.
- Lift the lid edge at the fingernail notch.
- Slide it out the right end a little to feed. That end has no port, so a Link never blocks it.
- Slide it back until it clicks.
Three ports, three jobs
Front, left end and back, all AA-01 at standard link height.
Colony in
From a Scout: set it on a Scout Riser ($4.00 with a Founder
$10.00) and Link it, or come through a Trailhead.Outworld out
A Frontier S or Trailhead for foraging and feeding, joined with a Link.
Air and spares
The back port is the vent: fit a Vent Plug. Close a spare port with a Port Plug.
- One port, every modelEvery port is the same AA-01 socket, so one Link joins any two models.
- Printed in the USAOne-piece PETG bodies. No glue.
Build your setup
Tick what you need. Prices update as you go, and pairing prices apply automatically.
- FounderIn the box: the Founder body, its acrylic lid and one Fill Plug.$42.00
- Coming Soon
- Coming Soon
- $28.00
- $3.00
$7.00 - $4.00
$10.00 - $4.00
$9.00 - $4.00
$6.00per pack - $10.00
Your setup · 1 item
$42.00
Pre-orders open November 24 for the December 1 launch.
Room to grow
Link the next piece on and let the colony walk over.
03Frontier S
$34.00Coming January 1, 2027
The outworld sized for the Founder: feed, water and watch without sliding the nest lid.
Foraging area sized to pair with the Founder. Feeding port in the lid.
See the Frontier S02Homestead
$64.00Coming January 1, 2027
The full-size colony home, with the same fill-and-plug water on a bigger scale.
The full-size colony home. One piece, two slide-in lids and built-in humidity.
See the Homestead
What's in the box?
Everything that ships with this item.
- 01Founder nest× 1
- Click Stop acrylic lidAlso sold separately× 1
- Fill PlugAlso sold separately× 1
How it connects
AA-01 ports join with a Link. Best matches first; check what you'll also need.
Ways to build
Real connection plans with the pieces to add together. Kits count as one priced item.
Scout → Trailhead → Founder
Best pairingGive one colony a founding space, feeding hub and its next nest.
Pieces to add
- Scout meets the low port; Founder meets a standard-height port. No Riser or adapter.
- Use two of the three Links in the pack. Five unused ports need closing; two 3-packs provide enough Port Plugs.
- Keep separate drinking water available. Founder's reservoir supplies humidity only.
Setup total: $105.00
Cannot add setup yet: Scout V1: Pre-orders open November 24 for the December 1 launch.
Founder + Frontier S
Best pairingA first nest with its matching small foraging area.
Pieces to add
- Frontier S opens January 1, 2027 and includes a Link. Founder connections and closures are chosen separately.
- Supply drinking water separately from the nest reservoir.
Setup total: $74.00
Cannot add setup yet: Founder: Pre-orders open November 24 for the December 1 launch.
Scout to Founder
Raise the Scout to Founder port height and let the colony move across.
Pieces to add
- The Scout Riser is $4 when bought with the Founder. Choose Links and unused-port closures separately.
- Keep Scout's tube connected as drinking water while the nest reservoir supplies humidity.
Setup total: $77.00
Cannot add setup yet: Scout V1: Pre-orders open November 24 for the December 1 launch.
Room to grow
Move from Founder into Homestead with a Frontier L outworld.
Pieces to add
- Homestead and Frontier L open January 1, 2027. Choose extra connection parts and close unused nest ports.
- Both nest reservoirs supply humidity, not drinking water.
Setup total: $161.00
Cannot add setup yet: Founder: Pre-orders open November 24 for the December 1 launch.
Fits its ports
Specifications
- Size
- About 3¾ × 3⅛ × 1½ in
- Body
- One-piece PETG, printed in the USA; no glue
- Ports
- 3 × AA-01
- Humidity
- Built-in reservoir beneath a printed mesh floor
- Fill
- Front-right fill/overflow hole; Fill Plug included
- Drinking water
- Separate source required; reservoir provides humidity
- Queen chamber
- Hidden Queen Pocket beneath a rock-textured roof
- Lid
- Click Stop slide-in clear acrylic, exits right
- Heating
- Straight front-to-back channel beneath the brood chamber
Related guides
- Setting upUnboxing, connecting with Links, Click Stop lids, separate drinking water and built-in reservoir humidity.
- Watering: humidity and drinking waterPrepare Scout water tubes, top up built-in humidity reservoirs and provide separate drinking water.
- HeatingWhen a colony needs warmth, how to heat each model safely, and when to turn the heat off for winter.
- CleaningEveryday tidying with the colony inside, full cleaning between colonies, and what's safe for PETG and acrylic.
- Moving a colony between nestsConnect the old home to the new one, make the new one more inviting, and let the colony move itself.
Upgrade path
ColonyLog · Free ant colony tracker
A nest for your ants. A record for their progress.
Keep feedings, eggs, first workers and photos together in ColonyLog. Scan an American Ant nest's QR label or enter its code to register it, then connect the nest with the colony living inside.
See how ColonyLog works