912 replies to this topic

[PogoQueen]

Beach themed nest made out of cork for my Formica colony I wouldn't reccomend cork though, it has been a week and there's already a little mold growing in the smaller nest that the ants are not occupying.

[dspdrew]

Nice. What is behind the cork?

[dspdrew]

Here's something I built this weekend that I plan to use for testing as my prototype for a whole series of completely customizable, interchangeable, and reusable, laboratory style formicaria I'm designing. I plan to make these as simple, compact, and uniform as possible, and with a hydration system that can last at least one month before needing to be refilled. I'm not going to explain much right now, but you can get the basic idea from these pictures. I will post more here and there as I go. Some of the design aspects shown in these pictures are not at all what the final design will be like, and even some that were meant to be in the final design, I have already changed my mind about. There will be Ytong, firebrick, or Hydrostone used, but the actual nest portion will mainly be made of acrylic, unlike this prototype. Also, unlike this one you see here, being that they are not designed for display, I am not planning to paint these either.
 

 

 

[Crystals]

I have started trying firebrick out - and it works very well.

Here are my 2 Formica Ulkei colonies, both queens started laying eggs shortly after being moved in.

 

 

I had a hard time observing the eggs and larvae with such a dappled surface so I "painted" the tunnels with a thin layer grout.  It worked wonderfully.  I then used a rubber spray on the back to cut down on evaporation.

 

 

I started a How-to video for how to build firebrick formicariums(2 parts):

 

 

 

Picture tutorial: http://forum.formicu...icture +journey

Edited by Crystals, December 28 2017 - 11:34 AM.

[dspdrew]

Very nice tutorial.

[LAnt]

Are you sure it's safe for ants. That skull and crossbones didn't seem too promising.

[Crystals]

Are you sure it's safe for ants. That skull and crossbones didn't seem too promising.

The epoxy is poisonous when it is in its two separate forms. Once mixed as per the instructions (half and half) a chemical reaction takes place which allows it to "cure" - this allows the epoxy to harden and also renders it inert. 

When un-cured, many glues are toxic.  Once cured many of them are safe for ants (some exceptions, such as ones with anti-mold properties).  Even when aquarium silicone is uncured it is toxic.  

Kind of like table salt (NaCl - sodium chloride)  Pure sodium is extremely explosive with any kind of moisture - yet I have never seen table salt explode when it comes into contact with water.  Chemical reactions can do some weird things.

 

I have used this epoxy in my marine aquarium and so have many other people - and saltwater setups are extremely sensitive.

[LAnt]

Gotcha, learnin all about that in science class right now.

[dspdrew]

[dspdrew]

Here is a little test tube transfer/out world container I just made.
 

 
The caps are made from acrylic and silicone tubing.
 

 

 
The test tubes fit inside the silicone tubing, and then they screw into the case.
 

 

 

 
It's nice because the test tubes don't have to be exactly 16mm, but just close enough. There also isn't a lot of obstacles the ants have to walk over between the tubes and the case, where sometimes they choose to hang out for days. It's simply glass tube all the way up to a flat acrylic wall with a smaller hole in the middle that goes through into the case.
 

[Servercheck]

Wow, I would like to buy one of that! I have lost track of the times when workers died or escaped while i was trying to get them into a new test tube!

[LAnt]

Is that algae growing? I thought algae only grows in the sun?

[dspdrew]

I don't know, it might be. These tubes are actually under grow lights 12 hours a day, so it is basically in the sun.

[dspdrew]

A few people wanted to know what the setup for all of my colonies looked like, so I figured this thread would be the best place to post the picture. This is what I have at the moment.

 

 

[LAnt]

Are any of them hibernating still?

[dspdrew]

I don't have any that require hibernating. If I get some species that live high up in the mountains, then they'll probably need it, but the ones I have right now don't.

[dspdrew]

Wow, I would like to buy one of that! I have lost track of the times when workers died or escaped while i was trying to get them into a new test tube!

I would sell them for 10 dollars.

[Servercheck]

Any estimate on the shipping costs? I live in Penang, Malaysia. I need some time to get my parents to buy it...

[dspdrew]

PM me your address and I can find out. It's looking like 15 dollars so far.

[Inlineants]

Pulled my ants in from the garage thinking of keeping them in the house for the rest of the winter. Utah is having shorter and shorter winters we have had rain or sunny days all this month i've even started seeing signs of ants moving outside. My garage is like a cinder block fridge so its freezing no matter what its like out side and I've got to say I've been getting antsy to get theses colonies back inside to watch them grow this summer anyways! Took a few pictures of them and got one hooked to a out world to get the fun started!