912 replies to this topic

[ANTdrew]

Wow. It’s almost like a wooden THA Nucleus.

[NickAnter]

Go get some rufa group Formica to put in there(if they aren't protected in UK, I'm not sure).

[antdoctor]

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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[ANTdrew]

I love the naturalistic look. What pigment did you use? I think a thinner pour could be the answer to your question.

[antdoctor]

Thanks! I used a combination of a brown pigment (burnt sienna) and a red iron oxide pigment.

[Spazmops]

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. 

[antdoctor]

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...

[Spazmops]

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.

[antdoctor]

Gotcha, thanks for your input.

[ANTdrew]

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.

 

 

[Ants_Dakota]

i love that, ANTdrew! i really need to look into that perfect cast sometime!!! you said it was absorbent? 

[ANTdrew]

Yes, highly absorbent.

[Ants_Dakota]

Yes, highly absorbent.

and no mold?

[ANTdrew]

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.

[aznphenom]

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? 

[Ants_Dakota]

It is mold resistant. The nest I made for my Nylanderia has no visible mold after four months of them living in it.

thanks!

[ANTdrew]

 

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.

[AleeGuy]

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.

Edited by AleeGuy, March 8 2021 - 10:40 AM.

[jgoogz]

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

Edited by jgoogz, March 8 2021 - 11:07 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Really nice work, Aleeguy! Keep us posted on how it works out.