This Group Of Enthusiasts In Singapore Spends The Night Looking For Ants

While some people collect stamps. a collector in Singapore likes ants. So he has commissioned a group of youngsters to find an elusive winged insect.

With luck, they will find a queen ant to lay eggs and start a colony. Singapore, a tropical city-state home to more than 40 ant species, has a small but growing community of ant collectors.

1.?Denise Ong, 20, looks for ants at an underpass near the central business district in Singapore.

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Shining their flashlights into the darkest corners of Singapore, a small group of ant hunters searches for an elusive winged insect.

With luck, they will find a queen ant to lay eggs and start a colony under the watchful eye of a collector.

2.?Eric Tan lifts his son Leland, 14, as they try to catch queen ants at a public housing estate.

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"You can search for a few hours without finding anything at all. So, it's really luck," Leland Tan, 14, said after he hit the jackpot, and found two queen ants in one night.

3.?Dave Thong, 20, looks for ants attracted to the light near a vending machine in Singapore. The country now has a small but growing community of ant collectors.

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Ants Singapore, a Facebook group that has grown to 380 members since last December, aims to connect "ant lovers and even those who are interested in keeping ants." Followers share tips on catching and breeding ants, do-it-yourself ant farms and links to videos such as the giant killer ants in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."?

4.?A woman checks her test tube after catching a queen ant at a public housing estate.?

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5.?A curious resident looks at ants caught by a group of enthusiasts.

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6.?Chris Chan, an ant collector, holds up a queen ant at a house he rented to keep his ants in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

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While most ants in Singapore are harmless, the insects are often regarded as a nuisance. That is something Chris Chan is hoping to change.

7.?A view of a formicarium or ant farm, belonging to an enthusiast who rented a house to keep his ants.?

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8.?Ignatius Low, 13, and his mother Margaret Wong look for queen ants at a public housing estate.

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9.?Enthusiasts catch ants with a test tube in Singapore.

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10.?Denise Ong, checks her test tube after catching an ant near the central business district in Singapore.

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11.?Dave Thong, looks for ants that are attracted to lights at a park in Singapore.

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12.?People check walls for ants at a public housing estate in Singapore.

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13.?Dave Thongh looks at a trail of ants at a park.?

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14.?People shine torch lights to check wall surfaces for ants at a public housing estate.

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15.?Ignatius Low and his mother Margaret look for queen ants.?

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16.?Denise Ong, catches ants on a pedestrian bridge near the central business district in Singapore.?

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17.?Denise checks lamps for ants as joggers run past in Singapore.

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18.?Dave Thong looks for ants in a public toilet at a park.

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19.?A view of ant larvae and ants feeding on honey belonging to an ant collector.

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20.?An ant catcher shows the containers he uses for catching ants in Singapore.

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21.?A close up of a Carebara Diversa queen ant in Singapore.?

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