293 replies to this topic

[UtahAnts]

Here is a two leveled nest with an acrylic outworld. This outworld turned out very nice with the pebble mound in resemblance of a honeypot colony's natural entrance. I think I found the two wood pieces in the desert, and their unique bark is interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

[100lols]

As always, feeling so inspired by these beautiful creations. I have to try your tutorial for making the multilayered nests.

Love the outworlds btw. I think I’m also going to try recreating an actual Myrmecocystus nest entrance, one of these days.

[Ernteameise]

Looking good!

[UtahAnts]

This may be the last update for a while, here are some dual view formicariums made for some unique shots and viewing angles. I used clay to mold the chambers and then coated with adobe. In one of the formicariums I embeded cork to give it an earthy feel.

 

 

 

 

Design 1 - Camponotus sansabeanus

 

 

 

 

 

Design 2 - Camponotus sp.

 

 

 

 

Design 3 - Pogonomyrmex sp.

 

 

 

 

 

Design 4 - Camponotus sp.

 

 

 

 

[100lols]

I really want to buy some of your work

Good luck with the move.

[UtahAnts]

I've had a bit of spare time over the last month and I've been able to work on some more glass dome formicaria. I am currently making 5, 2 of which have been reserved. If you would be interested in customizing your own, feel free to PM me! I'd also be happy to change the layout to suit your needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by UtahAnts, May 15 2024 - 4:24 PM.

[cocdeshijie]

really cool formicariums

[The_Gaming-gate]

Here is a two leveled nest with an acrylic outworld. This outworld turned out very nice with the pebble mound in resemblance of a honeypot colony's natural entrance. I think I found the two wood pieces in the desert, and their unique bark is interesting.

Wait- I thought that was a TarHeelAnts nest-

[UtahAnts]

Here are two of the aforementioned dome formicariums. Each was made for Myrmecocystus spp. I used this method to create these nests. A lighter shade of adobe was used than before, although these nests were bone dry when I took pictures. When housing a colony, any water will darken the coating slightly. Both feature central ventilation shafts for air circulation. Glossing and holes for heating cables were also added to the bases courtesy of ben.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossed vs. unglossed bases.

 

 

[UtahAnts]

Here is the third custom Dome Formicarium. It features a slender but strong central rock column with four adobe-coated tiers. I embedded natural sandstone into each level such that the larvae can use it to pupate and the honeypot repletes can grip it from below. I've found repletes often like hanging from rocks, as pictured below.

 

Slight variations in the distance between tiers will allow the repletes to find ideal locations. The base of the dome has a large outworld entrance, two ventilation tubes, and an embedded water tower. The printed base has two indentations for heating cables, and will support the glass dome with no glue necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repletes hanging from sandstone in a previous nest.

 

Edited by UtahAnts, July 14 2024 - 11:09 AM.

[UtahAnts]

Full setup images with newly minted outworlds for the previous post. I have a 2 more bases I can use for custom orders, if you're interested feel free to shoot me a DM.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ernteameise]

True work of art.

Seriously, this would be my absolute dream- having a honey pot colony on display in one of these nests.

Sadly, right now even buying a honey-pot queen is above my pay grade (they are horrendously expensive in Europe, and then it is not even guaranteed that the one queen you buy will make it).

[UtahAnts]

More dual-view formicariums. These feature glass slides, which are great for lighting and photography, but which do not fare well when it comes time to cut down to size. The larger dual view has a glass pane embedded in the top, similar to the THA fortress style nest shown previously. All of these were coated in an adobe mix, with embedded cork for texture and a little added humidity retention.

 

Dual view 1 - adobe coating

 

 

Dual view 2 - embedded cork

 

 

 

 

 

This small nest features packed cork and an internal sand-filled water tower for humidity.

 

 

 

 

 

Dual view 3 - larger formicarium

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

Here is a Tar Heel Ants "inception chamber" style nest for a Temnothorax colony. The water tower is filled externally, and the chambers are coated in fine sand. The outworld container is around 8.5 by 4.5 by 5 inches. The nest, small agate pebbles, stick, plant and stone are all embedded.

 

 

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

Here is a dual-view formicarium for Myrmecocystus colonies. In this case Myrmecocystus navajo. It features two nest sections that can be joined or separated by inserting a vinyl tube. Each side has an adobe coating and a water tower. I made sure to have a few defined ledges to help the repletes hold. Having two nests joined together helps with humidity and heat retention, not to mention ease of expanding as the colony grows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

Here is a sand formicarium designed for a small colony of harvester ants. I used white fine grain sand on the interior and red desert sand and agate pebbles in the outworld. Roughly 3.5 by 2.7 inches.

 

 

 

[bmb1bee]

Very nice design for the harvester formicarium. I really like how instead of tunnels, the chambers are separated by a dipped "wall" of sorts.

[UtahAnts]

@bmb1bee I hope the ants do well in it. The dips also serve to contain the seed stores, not that it really affects the colony but it might look nicer aesthetically.

 

 

Dome V4 prototype

Here's the newest dome formicarium. However this version is not only smaller but it's completely different from previous designs. The largest difference here is the vertical hoodoo columns. These were inspired by Utah's Bryce Canyon NP and Goblin Valley SP - look up images of these places if you're not familiar, you will not regret it. I tried to design the columns with slight overhangs for repletes in the case of housing a honeypot colony. I'm not sure how that would turn out but I plan to move a colony over eventually to see. In the meantime, I am testing the design with a Camponotus vicinus colony.

 

The other major difference is that I cast the base myself. Due to the smaller size of the dome (I believe it has a 2.5 inch diameter), I didn't have pre-made bases to support the setup. Similar to my previous dome designs, the water tower is embedded with an outworld entrance hole running through the base. This base will presumably dry out, limiting any excess humidity. Which is great in reducing condensation (an issue I have had in the past) given the colony has a water source in the outworld to drink from instead. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[UtahAnts]

I made some simple cup formicariums to house all the honeypot colonies from this season. Conceptually, these cup formicariums have been around for a while, but I never got the chance to make them until recently. Considering the cost and how quickly these can be made, I would say these are some of the best designs you can make for young colonies of not only Myrmecocystus, but also other fast growing medium-large sized desert ants.

 

I'm sure there are many guides online, but I used large cups (around 5 inches high), rounded lids with hole cut into the tops, fine grain desert sand, and perfect cast. I started with less than one inch of sand for a water reservoir, but a piece of mesh on top, poured the perfect cast around the mesh - embedding it, layered sand on top and repeated; all the while making a column for the repletes/queen to climb along with entrance holes between each level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

------------------------------------------

Bonus size comparison of some of the honeypot nests featured on this thread. Generally I'll move a colony into something on the left, and as they grow move them into larger setups to the right.

 

 

 

------------------------------------------

This is another dual-view setup I recently made for a colony. It features a covered water tower, where water is injected into a sand reservoir beneath for humidity. The central chamber is extra small, allowing for a queen to be founded directly in the setup!

 

[AntsGodzilla]

Your foricariums are crazy good!