21 replies to this topic

[Kalidas]

As some of you know I am a preschool teacher. Well this year I was transfered to a new center to be the teacher in a new classroom. This is actually going to be an age group this center has never had(toddlers). Currently I am the only teacher in the class(they are still looking for a second one) and thus have full say over what goes in the classroom.

So I talked to the director about adding an Ant Colony as a classroom pet/educational experience. Been working with Drew on getting a colony set up. I am thinking a myrmecocystus mexicanus. I think their repletes would be a great leaning experience for the kids and in general just fun to look at. Also they are native to the area and thus would be great for the kids to know what's around them. Besides the standard Argentine ants or the large red harvester ants we see everywhere.

So I was looking at tarheel formicariums. They're are some great ones, but there is a problem, glass. The director said we can't use glass because of the potential of it falling and breaking. Any ideas for an alternative? Maybe I should also get a dirtbox formicarium from Drew along with the ants as well.

Either way pretty excited for the new year

[TechAnt]

I think drew's dirtbox would basically be the best option without TarHeel Ants in the picture. As somebody who has read through drew's honeypot journals, it seems that most of all his colonies that were successful were in dirt boxes.

Drew is selling mexicanus queens so you'd have to get quite a few for higher chances of getting workers, let alone a good sized colony.

On drew's page he is out of stock on dirt boxes from when I last checked. 

But honeypots are REALLY hard to keep alive and are very sensitive, even if the toddlers tap on their set up they could get stressed. You could try it but another species may be better.

Edited by TechAnt, August 25 2020 - 8:52 AM.

[zantezaint]

I would think M.m. would be difficult to keep in terms of survival rate. I would think seed harvesters would be more ideal since they can rely on seeds for nourishment that do not rot/spoil, making maintenance easier in a class setting, and in addition, pogonomyrmex cannot climb on sides of smooth surfaces, making containment an ease. If you do go with M.m. with tarheel ants formicarium, it is possible they can replace the glass with acrylic screen if you ask them, or replace the glass on your own by taking off the magnets, and gluing them onto an acrylic sheet you cut out.

Edited by zantezaint, August 25 2020 - 8:48 AM.

[Kalidas]

I would think M.m. would be difficult to keep in terms of survival rate. I would think seed harvesters would be more ideal since they can rely on seeds for nourishment that do not rot/spoil, making maintenance easier in a class setting, and in addition, pogonomyrmex cannot climb on sides of smooth surfaces, making containment an ease. If you do go with M.m. with tarheel ants formicarium, it is possible they can replace the glass with acrylic screen if you ask them, or replace the glass on your own by taking off the magnets, and gluing them onto an acrylic sheet you cut out.

Yeah I was wondering if they could do acrylic sides

And yeah I've been talking with Drew. He seems to think M.m can do fine in a class setting assuming they get past that intitial founding stage, that's the hard part.

Harvester ants are a no go, they sting. Can't risk a possible escape and then have them sting the kids.

I may email that heel and see if they can do an acrylic side.

Edited by Kalidas, August 25 2020 - 9:04 AM.

[TechAnt]

 

I would think M.m. would be difficult to keep in terms of survival rate. I would think seed harvesters would be more ideal since they can rely on seeds for nourishment that do not rot/spoil, making maintenance easier in a class setting, and in addition, pogonomyrmex cannot climb on sides of smooth surfaces, making containment an ease. If you do go with M.m. with tarheel ants formicarium, it is possible they can replace the glass with acrylic screen if you ask them, or replace the glass on your own by taking off the magnets, and gluing them onto an acrylic sheet you cut out.

Yeah I was wondering if they could do acrylic sides

And yeah I've been talking with Drew. He seems to think M.m can do fine in a class setting assuming they get past that intitial found stage, that's the hard part.

Harvester ants are a no go, they sting. Can't risk a possible escape and then have them sting the kids.

I may email that heel and see if they can do an acrylic side.

 

Sounds like a good idea, I was just about to say harvesters sting.

 

Well Veromessor pergandei (a harvester ant, but not pogomyrmex) does not sting so that could work.

[NickAnter]

Despite their slow growth, I think something like Camponotus laevigatus could be cool. They are active all day long, and are extremely large.

[ANTdrew]

I still vote for Veromessor, too. You could easily switch an acrylic piece for the glass, or do a don’t ask, don’t tell and just leave it. That’s what I would do.

[Kalidas]

I still vote for Veromessor, too. You could easily switch an acrylic piece for the glass, or do a don’t ask, don’t tell and just leave it. That’s what I would do.

Lol ANTdrew are you telling me to break the rules?! Lol

You sure do love your Veromessors

[TechAnt]

Maybe veromessor andrei could be a option too.

[Kalidas]

I will definitely consider all the options. M.m was just kind of that "dream colony" for the class. And when I let Drew know that and he said they should be fine I felt it was a decent idea then. It's that intitial founding stages that seem to give people the most trouble.

[Nogbert]

frankly i think ants are a bad fit for toddlers. Way too small/non-interactive. I almost guarantee that the kids would destroy the nest unless you keep it locked up or out of reach. have you thought of something more traditional e.g. hamsters, mice, something they can hold and/or touch? not trying to be a naysayer, but even kids much older than that can struggle to rear a successful colony from bothering the ants too much/not having any patience.

[TechAnt]

frankly i think ants are a bad fit for toddlers. Way too small/non-interactive. I almost guarantee that the kids would destroy the nest unless you keep it locked up or out of reach. have you thought of something more traditional e.g. hamsters, mice, something they can hold and/or touch? not trying to be a naysayer, but even kids much older than that can struggle to rear a successful colony from bothering the ants too much/not having any patience.

Nogbert does have a fair point, a higher age group, like 5th, 4th, 6th Grade+, would probably be a good time to have ants as the class pet, as they are sensitive animals.

Edited by TechAnt, August 25 2020 - 10:17 AM.

[B_rad0806]

How the heck are you supposed to keep ants without glass haha. Test tubes are made out of glass, feeders are mainly made out of glass, most formicariums have some sort of glass piece. I find that very funny.

[Spazmops]

How the heck are you supposed to keep ants without glass haha. Test tubes are made out of glass, feeders are mainly made out of glass, most formicariums have some sort of glass piece. I find that very funny.

I mean you could sell your car to afford an A.C. setup, but those don’t work very well anyway.

[OhNoNotAgain]

I have been pondering this question long and hard since last year, though I tend to agree preschool might be a bit young. I almost set up a classroom colony but instead did some guest lectures for grades 1-3 back in January.

 

That said, I think the perfect classroom colony would be Veromessor in a Labyrinth with a plexiglass cover.

 

Veromessor because

• you do not have to buy lots of insects or regularly cut up bugs - just once in a while.
• they don't sting and they don't spray.
• a queen can produce a huge 500+ colony within a year.
• No heat needed assuming the classroom is not too cool.
• No cool diapause needed assuming things get cooler in winter by a bit.
• Oh and diurnal.
• Oh and pupae without cocoons - you can see the larvae developing limbs and eyes.

Labyrinth because you can find the queen easily and it looks more like an ant nest. Also, no risk of tunnels collapsing as with dirt, AND much better visibility than dirt.

 

Yes, plastic would be okay. I had to replace a THA glass cover recently and I just ordered plastic off Amazon and it works well. It does NOT look nearly as nice but TRUST me, it's easy to break a big piece of glass and it makes a huge mess. A Labyrinth uses a convenient 5x7 sheet. You would have to glue the magnets on for safety reasons, though. Those are powerful magnets and could be deadly if a kid swallowed two or more.

 

I do have a problem where I am overrun in Veromessor, but it's better to have too many than not enough.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, August 25 2020 - 11:10 AM.

[Kalidas]

frankly i think ants are a bad fit for toddlers. Way too small/non-interactive. I almost guarantee that the kids would destroy the nest unless you keep it locked up or out of reach. have you thought of something more traditional e.g. hamsters, mice, something they can hold and/or touch? not trying to be a naysayer, but even kids much older than that can struggle to rear a successful colony from bothering the ants too much/not having any patience.

I'm actually going to disagree here. You'd be very surprised what toddlers can and can't handle especially when given very clear guidelines.

So the colony would be out of reach of course, viewed with adult supervision. This is the age when kids really begin to develop a curiosity for living creatures around them.

The down side to a more "traditional" pet is the potential for allergies. We don't even have kids signed up for my class yet(the class won't be opening up till kid October, so I can't even know what allergies I will have to worry about.

No one is allergic to ants.

I really do think they can handle it just fine, with adults helping them. Also the other plus side with younger kids is 1. They lose attention fast haha they won't stare at the ants long before wanting to do something else.

2. Due to laws the numbers are lower. State law says you can only have about 12 toddlers Max in a class while older classrooms can get to 20+ (with Covid these numbers get smaller, I think they're capping my class at 8 kids.

I actually have a toddler at home, my youngest. And he's already very curious about bugs(which funny because my oldest hated them). I really want to catch that curiosity at that young age and Foster it. Start developing the joy of learning and caring for nature when their young (especially since this also that age when kids begin to develop their first memories) this could be something they carry with them forever. It's a good age to help promote these ideals

I have been pondering this question long and hard since last year, though I tend to agree preschool might be a bit young. I almost set up a classroom colony but instead did some guest lectures for grades 1-3 back in January.
 
That said, I think the perfect classroom colony would be Veromessor in a Labyrinth with a plexiglass cover.
 
Veromessor because

• you do not have to buy lots of insects or regularly cut up bugs - just once in a while.
• they don't sting and they don't spray.
• a queen can produce a huge 500+ colony within a year.
• No heat needed assuming the classroom is not too cool.
• No cool diapause needed assuming things get cooler in winter by a bit.
• Oh and diurnal.
• Oh and pupae without cocoons - you can see the larvae developing limbs and eyes.

Labyrinth because you can find the queen easily and it looks more like an ant nest. Also, no risk of tunnels collapsing as with dirt, AND much better visibility than dirt.
 
Yes, plastic would be okay. I had to replace a THA glass cover recently and I just ordered plastic off Amazon and it works well. It does NOT look nearly as nice but TRUST me, it's easy to break a big piece of glass and it makes a huge mess. A Labyrinth uses a convenient 5x7 sheet. You would have to glue the magnets on for safety reasons, though. Those are powerful magnets and could be deadly if a kid swallowed two or more.
 
I do have a problem where I am overrun in Veromessor, but it's better to have too many than not enough.

A lot of people recommending vermessor... Might have to take all yours advices haha

Oh that's great to know, thanks

[zantezaint]

Out of curiosity, does the school pay for all of this or do you pay out of your own pocket Kalidas?

[Kalidas]

Out of curiosity, does the school pay for all of this or do you pay out of your own pocket Kalidas?

The school would be actually

[Spazmops]

You could go with an Ants Aus acrylic nest in that case, paired with an Ants Canada outworld.

[TechAnt]

You could go with an Ants Aus acrylic nest in that case, paired with an Ants Canada outworld.

Dude do you know how long shipping costs and time take because of COVID. It already takes long to ship overseas, I shipped a ytong starter during covid and it took over 2 months and shipping was 30$. Aus Ants does not seem like a option right now.

Edited by TechAnt, August 25 2020 - 12:37 PM.