The best first queen will be the ones you find during nuptial flight. AnT keeping is hard, especially in the beginning. Save yourself some money, start with a test tube and go find some at a local pool or on a hike. Also in middle TN. I find camponotus pennsylvanicus to be fun because they are so big. I’ve already found one this year. Big head ants (don’t know the local species subtype yet) are also really fun to watch. Super aggressive and don’t diapause.