How it all started
From one queen found in a park to a website read in 7 languages.
2020
My first queen
In the summer of 2020 I caught a Lasius niger queen in a park in northern Italy. She became my first colony, and I made all the classic beginner mistakes, like not giving the colony enough protein.
2020–2022
More species, more nests
Formica cinerea, Messor barbarus, Crematogaster scutellaris, Tetramorium caespitum and Pheidole pallidula soon followed, and I started building my own nests and setups, sometimes from an empty ice cream tub.
2021
The YouTube channel
In December 2021 I started the BRUMA Ants YouTube channel to share care guides, colony updates, DIY builds and honest reviews of the gear I test.
2022
The BRUMA Ants website
In 2022 the website followed, with care guides, tutorials and reviews in 7 languages. Since then it has grown with an ant keeping glossary and a species finder to help you choose your first ant.
Why you can trust these guides
Everything on BRUMA Ants comes from real colonies and is checked against reliable sources.
First-hand experience
Every care guide, tutorial and review is based on my own colonies and on the gear I actually use.
Checked facts
Species data is checked against scientific sources like AntWiki, AntWeb and published research.
Free for everyone
No paywall and no account needed: every guide is free and available in 7 languages.
A friendly community
Got a question? Join the Discord server and chat with ant keepers from all over the world.
Meet the ant keeper
The person behind the colonies, the videos and this website.
Ant keeper from Italy
Bruma
I'm Bruma, an Italian ant keeper. I caught my first queen in the summer of 2020 and I've been keeping ants ever since. Today I look after several colonies and share what I learn on YouTube and here on BRUMA Ants.
I love building my own nests and setups, testing gear from ant keeping shops and turning every mistake into a simple, practical guide. By day I'm a software developer, so I built this website myself too.
