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Pictures of Formicariums and Outworlds
Started By
Crystals
, Sep 26 2013 9:06 AM
photo pictures formicarium outworld
920 replies to this topic
#661 Offline - Posted January 21 2021 - 1:47 PM
Wow. It’s almost like a wooden THA Nucleus.
- Swirlysnowflake likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#662 Offline - Posted January 21 2021 - 3:56 PM
Go get some rufa group Formica to put in there(if they aren't protected in UK, I'm not sure).
- Ants_Dakota likes this
Hi there! I went on a 6 month or so hiatus, in part due, and in part cause of the death of my colonies.
However, I went back to the Sierras, and restarted my collection, which is now as follows:
Aphaenogaster uinta, Camponotus vicinus, Camponotus modoc, Formica cf. aserva, Formica cf. micropthalma, Formica cf. manni, Formica subpolita, Formica cf. subaenescens, Lasius americanus, Manica invidia, Pogonomyrmex salinus, Pogonomyrmex sp. 1, Solenopsis validiuscula, & Solenopsis sp. 3 (new Sierra variant).
#663 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 12:49 PM
Hi,
Just looking for some feedback on my recent DIY attempt. I used a deep petri dish as a mould, and poured hydrostone that I dyed with pigments. I used sand to form the chamber. The part I'm unhappy with is the rim along the edges - it's irregular so I'm worried there are small gaps ant could climb through. It's a bit of an eye sore too. Does anyone have any advice on how I can make that edge smooth and flush with the lid? I made the hydrostone very thick - maybe if it were more liquid it would flow more evenly and create a smoother edge? Any other thoughts?
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#664 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 1:39 PM
I love the naturalistic look. What pigment did you use? I think a thinner pour could be the answer to your question.
- Torqui likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#665 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 1:46 PM
Thanks! I used a combination of a brown pigment (burnt sienna) and a red iron oxide pigment.
#666 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 3:05 PM
A thinner pour would help, whenever I use gypsum cement (hydrostone) I try to get around the consistency of maple syrup. You could also try sanding it flat and setting the magnets a bit deeper.
Co-owner and founder of Mountain Myrmeculture and The Menagerie Discord Server.
Ants I have:
1 Formica fusca group- 0 workers
1 Tetramorium immigrans colony-20 workers
1 Dorymyrmex insanus- 1 queen, used to have workers
1 large P. occidentalis colony- around 50 workers, plenty of brood
#667 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 4:09 PM
I'll aim for maple syrup next time.
In terms of the magnet position, I'm guessing you mean for the next try? Because those magnets aren't going anywhere now...
#668 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 4:14 PM
I'll aim for maple syrup next time.
In terms of the magnet position, I'm guessing you mean for the next try? Because those magnets aren't going anywhere now...
Sorry, I didn't look closely enough. If the edge turns out uneven next time sanding it should fix it, yeah. My thinking was that once it's sanded flat the magnets would stick up a little bit and would no longer be flush with the rim, so they'd need to be set deeper.
Co-owner and founder of Mountain Myrmeculture and The Menagerie Discord Server.
Ants I have:
1 Formica fusca group- 0 workers
1 Tetramorium immigrans colony-20 workers
1 Dorymyrmex insanus- 1 queen, used to have workers
1 large P. occidentalis colony- around 50 workers, plenty of brood
#669 Offline - Posted January 31 2021 - 4:16 PM
Gotcha, thanks for your input.
#670 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 6:19 AM
Sand casting technique:
I'm really stoked about this technique for creating decorations for outworlds. I make the shape I want in my kids' sandbox, and pour in Perfect Cast. An hour later, you can remove a perfectly sand coated casting. Yesterday, I made this natural bridge shape and a little ant-temple for my Crematogasters' new outworld. The debris in the sandbox helps give everything an aged, natural look.
- jgoogz, TennesseeAnts, ConcordAntman and 3 others like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#671 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 7:55 AM
i love that, ANTdrew! i really need to look into that perfect cast sometime!!! you said it was absorbent?
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8
My Nationwide Ant Shop Here I have PPQ-526 permits to ship ants nationwide
Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)
#672 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 7:57 AM
Yes, highly absorbent.
- Ants_Dakota likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#673 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 7:58 AM
Yes, highly absorbent.
and no mold?
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8
My Nationwide Ant Shop Here I have PPQ-526 permits to ship ants nationwide
Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)
#674 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 8:09 AM
It is mold resistant. The nest I made for my Nylanderia has no visible mold after four months of them living in it.
Edited by ANTdrew, March 8 2021 - 8:09 AM.
- jgoogz, Boog, CANant and 1 other like this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#675 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 8:37 AM
It is mold resistant. The nest I made for my Nylanderia has no visible mold after four months of them living in it.
What container is that? How did you make those canyons?
Keeps: Camponotus, Tetra
Wants (Please reach out if you have them for sale if you’re in the US): Acromyrmex Sp., Atta Sp., Cephalotes Sp., Myrmecocystus Sp (Prefer Mexicanus), Odontomachus Sp. (Prefer Desertorum), Pachycondyla Sp., Pheidole Sp (Prefer Rhea. The bigger the better. Not the tiny bicarinata), Pogonomyrmex Sp (Prefer Badius)., Pseudomyrmex Sp. (Prefer the cute yellow ones)
#676 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 8:59 AM
It is mold resistant. The nest I made for my Nylanderia has no visible mold after four months of them living in it.
thanks!
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. -Proverbs 6: 6-8
My Nationwide Ant Shop Here I have PPQ-526 permits to ship ants nationwide
Attention Ant-Keepers in South Dakota! Join the SoDak(Society Of Dakotan Ant Keepers)
#677 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 9:26 AM
It is mold resistant. The nest I made for my Nylanderia has no visible mold after four months of them living in it.
What container is that? How did you make those canyons?
They are from the Dollar Tree:
Essentials Clear Plastic 3-Compartment Storage Trays with Lids, 8x3x2 in. The canyons were formed with clay.
Edited by ANTdrew, March 8 2021 - 9:27 AM.
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
#678 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 9:59 AM
Process of making a formicarium for camponotus chromaiodes:
casted the chambers using wet sand and poured it into the mold container that I made out of acrylic sheets, and tooked the hydrostone out around 1 hour after pouring it
The next day cleaned out the sand leftovers.
Few days later, bought a display case for the outworld from hobby lobby
Here is how it looked after pouring the hydrostone and adding decor on it(some were covered in sand a little), made the entrance coming out of undergroundm, that looks cool in my opinion, tried not to make it too fancy and add too much decor, but still added like 6 decorations and one of which took too much space(white twig).
did not liked nesting area's design so changed it a bit using clay, then coating it with a weather proof acrylic paint and stickingsome sand on it. The part in blue circle is the part that I already changed, and it ended up looking just like the rest and held on tight. After that great results I made the same thing with a part that has a red line on.
How it looked after I finished(the bright spot is a light reflection).
Now it was finally done so I put the test tube in the outworld for the night to let the workers wander around and see where they can nest in.
The next morning I dumped the queen and almost all the workers and brood in, the whole colony immediately rushed to the nest's entrance and in the nest they nested on the water tower. 30 minutes later the oldest generation workers(I think that because of the small size, active, did not care for the brood, anf and forage) went to the outworld and yeeted the what I assume the younger generation workers(larger size, acted unsure, stayed near the cotton and brood, refused to leave the test tube) into the nest by pulling them by their mandibles what genuinely looked funny . After I moved them, they stayed in one big bunch probably because of stress
Edit: it has 3 nestmate holes by the way(really important information ikr, haha), and has a plug in the middle that doesn't let the ants go to another half of the nest.
casted the chambers using wet sand and poured it into the mold container that I made out of acrylic sheets, and tooked the hydrostone out around 1 hour after pouring it
The next day cleaned out the sand leftovers.
Few days later, bought a display case for the outworld from hobby lobby
Here is how it looked after pouring the hydrostone and adding decor on it(some were covered in sand a little), made the entrance coming out of undergroundm, that looks cool in my opinion, tried not to make it too fancy and add too much decor, but still added like 6 decorations and one of which took too much space(white twig).
did not liked nesting area's design so changed it a bit using clay, then coating it with a weather proof acrylic paint and stickingsome sand on it. The part in blue circle is the part that I already changed, and it ended up looking just like the rest and held on tight. After that great results I made the same thing with a part that has a red line on.
How it looked after I finished(the bright spot is a light reflection).
Now it was finally done so I put the test tube in the outworld for the night to let the workers wander around and see where they can nest in.
The next morning I dumped the queen and almost all the workers and brood in, the whole colony immediately rushed to the nest's entrance and in the nest they nested on the water tower. 30 minutes later the oldest generation workers(I think that because of the small size, active, did not care for the brood, anf and forage) went to the outworld and yeeted the what I assume the younger generation workers(larger size, acted unsure, stayed near the cotton and brood, refused to leave the test tube) into the nest by pulling them by their mandibles what genuinely looked funny . After I moved them, they stayed in one big bunch probably because of stress
Edit: it has 3 nestmate holes by the way(really important information ikr, haha), and has a plug in the middle that doesn't let the ants go to another half of the nest.
Edited by AleeGuy, March 8 2021 - 10:40 AM.
- jgoogz, ANTdrew, Boog and 4 others like this
#679 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 10:58 AM
Great looking set up! Love the species! Clearly a true ant lover, nice dedication to the process
Mind me asking what that container is in the bottom right? I’ve seen lots of people have them. It’s a heater or a water source with a screen over the top?
Whatever it is, they love it, so I need to know about it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mind me asking what that container is in the bottom right? I’ve seen lots of people have them. It’s a heater or a water source with a screen over the top?
Whatever it is, they love it, so I need to know about it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Edited by jgoogz, March 8 2021 - 11:07 AM.
- Antkeeper01 likes this
Whatever you are, be a good one.
#680 Offline - Posted March 8 2021 - 12:52 PM
Really nice work, Aleeguy! Keep us posted on how it works out.
- AleeGuy likes this
"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.
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