Reddit reviews Delta Education 13 Dram Plastic Vial with Lid (Pack of 10)
We found 2 Reddit comments about Delta Education 13 Dram Plastic Vial with Lid (Pack of 10). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
13 dram, flat-bottom vial for holding samples and small partsMade of transparent plastic for a clear view of contentsLid keeps samples covered and containedSold in a pack of 10
Yes, you are correct that it still illegal to ship live ant queens through the mail, or at least it's a grey area.
I actually had the exact same problem when I started in the hobby. I learned that I would have to capture my own queen and quickly gave up on the idea. The next year I was swimming early in the morning and saw a bug land in the water, then another, then another. I then found the forum formiculture.com and asked for help with identification. Sure enough they were all queens that had just mated mid flight and flown down to find a suitable spot for a founding chamber.
Since then I have found more queens than I can handle and I realized it's way easier than I had previously thought. Most of the time I'm not even looking.
If you are anywhere in the northern hemisphere, right now is most likely a perfect time to find queens.
Ants Canada has a ton of videos that can help you get started like this one. As you can see, he just walks around his neighborhood in the summer and finds them fairly easily.
I recommend using plastic pill bottles to collect them.
With all that being said, you absolutely can buy queens, you just can't ship them. Check out http://www.antscanada.com/queen-ants-for-sale/ Also ant forums (I prefer formiculture.com) usually have plenty of people selling queens locally all the time, or even selling/donating full colonies.
If you (or anyone else) has any more questions about the hobby, feel free to ask.
I think what you're looking for is a "plastic vial"?
Maybe something like this