I made this "all in one" several months ago with Plaster of Paris, I like to call it "The Arch":
How hard was this to make?
I made this "all in one" several months ago with Plaster of Paris, I like to call it "The Arch":
How hard was this to make?
And many Carnivorous plants such as: Dionea muscipula (fly trap), Sarracenia x 'Fiona' ( American Pitcher plant), Nepenthese ventrata (Tropical Pitcher plant), and Pinguicula agnata x emarginata (Butterwort) (show off your plants here)
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores it's provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6: 6-8
Not too hard, just used clay and poured the plaster over while holding the container at a 45 degree angle to get each hill. Then I went back and created the false bottom to secure everything.
Leave the Road, take the Trails - Pythagoras
Utah Ant Keeping --- Here
DIY Formicariums and Outworlds --- Here
Honeypot Ant Journal --- Here
Photo Album --- Here
Videos --- Here
Here's a custom formicarium based on a Tar Heels Ants Mini hearth for a Myrmecocystus mexicanus colony. This nest has an uneven floor to help the larvae spin their cocoons. 2 exit ports, and a rear water/air port allows this to be expandable. The outworld has small agate pebbles near the nest entrance as they would have in the wild.
Leave the Road, take the Trails - Pythagoras
Utah Ant Keeping --- Here
DIY Formicariums and Outworlds --- Here
Honeypot Ant Journal --- Here
Photo Album --- Here
Videos --- Here
Here's a smaller 3 tiered formicarium based on the original for a customer's growing Tetramorium colony.
I haven't been pointing it out on the past few formicariums, but I've started implementing sunken water towers. The ants and larvae seem to appreciate it when the water tower is partially covered, especially around the edges. This does limit the effectiveness of the old "light under the water tower trick", but I think the tradeoff is worth it, espcially in horizontal formicariums where there isn't really a need for an external light source.
Did you do multiple pours for this nest, or is it just one pour? If you did multiple pours, what's the trick to making the layers look like they're one pour?
Here's a smaller 3 tiered formicarium based on the original for a customer's growing Tetramorium colony.
I haven't been pointing it out on the past few formicariums, but I've started implementing sunken water towers. The ants and larvae seem to appreciate it when the water tower is partially covered, especially around the edges. This does limit the effectiveness of the old "light under the water tower trick", but I think the tradeoff is worth it, espcially in horizontal formicariums where there isn't really a need for an external light source.
Did you do multiple pours for this nest, or is it just one pour? If you did multiple pours, what's the trick to making the layers look like they're one pour?
You can clearly see the line for 2 pours.
誰でも大好き!well.....except a few
cocdeshijie’s Formicarium Guides: https://cocdeshijie....cfe2df393b517f7
Ants API: https://ants-api.qwq.xyz/
Yes 2 pours. Just pour the second layer soon after the first to get the best adhesion to the base layer. I also added a little wet sand to get the uneven texture.
Leave the Road, take the Trails - Pythagoras
Utah Ant Keeping --- Here
DIY Formicariums and Outworlds --- Here
Honeypot Ant Journal --- Here
Photo Album --- Here
Videos --- Here
POPULAR
Here's a Harvester ant nest, similar to the previous red sand/clay horizontal nests on this thread. It features two water towers, 2 exit ports, one temperature probe port, 2 heating cable indents on the underside, a 4x4 inch nest space, and a large outworld with an insert to replicate the mound the ants would build naturally.
The outworld can be finished by using sand, rocks and other decor. I've noticed that Pogonomyrmex occidentalis colonies I've kept in the past chew or defecate on the decor, so covering the floor of the outworld with loose sand that can be cleaned, and if need be replaced entirely, is useful. Not to mention natural behaviors like this one may be more noticeable.
Leave the Road, take the Trails - Pythagoras
Utah Ant Keeping --- Here
DIY Formicariums and Outworlds --- Here
Honeypot Ant Journal --- Here
Photo Album --- Here
Videos --- Here
Here are some 4x4 inch nests, although the mold was about 5x4 inches, leading to thicker walls. Going from left to right below, the first nest was made for Camponotus vicinus, second is a harvester nest for P. rugosus. Third nest was meant for Tetramorium. And the fourth was designed with Pheidole in mind. Each nest features a water tower, light brown sand, and several tubing ports for nestmates and the outworld.
The larger nests are 5x7 inches. The adobe-chambered nest is for Pogonomyrmex rugosus. The chambers should create good humidity gradients for seed storage. The sand nest was designed for Camponotus vicinus, with large wide chambers. Each of these has two waters towers along with the outworld and nestmate tubing ports.
Edited by UtahAnts, November 5 2024 - 9:21 AM.
Leave the Road, take the Trails - Pythagoras
Utah Ant Keeping --- Here
DIY Formicariums and Outworlds --- Here
Honeypot Ant Journal --- Here
Photo Album --- Here
Videos --- Here
Are these for sale?
@1tsm3jack These were made to order, so they've already been sold.
I've been in the middle of a move and so this will likely be my last post for a while. For a bit of fun I decided to list some of my favorite builds over the years.
Grout Nest
These were more of a prototype but they actually worked. I housed harvests and Crematogaster in each of these. Were I to do it again, I'd definitely add a dedicated humidity system.
Mini-wood nests.
Tiered Formicariums
Here's a few of my favorites. These were all inspired by THA. Unfortunately I was never able to use one myself, but I hope they functioned well.
Split wood nest.
I liked making wood nests, but this was the first that had a modular basing and connection system.
LED formicarium
I've done LEDs a few times, but this one just worked out nicely.
The Dome V3
One of my favorites, the 360 view of the repletes was pretty amazing. I still wish I had this colony, hope they are doing well.
Multi-view honeypot nest
This idea turned out way better than it should have. The lighting was amazing for contrast with the repletes and white sand.
Thanks for all your support over the years! I had some good fun and I learned a bunch along the way. I genuinely hope to see this forum thrive for many years to come! Until next time,
UA
Edited by UtahAnts, November 5 2024 - 10:01 AM.
Leave the Road, take the Trails - Pythagoras
Utah Ant Keeping --- Here
DIY Formicariums and Outworlds --- Here
Honeypot Ant Journal --- Here
Photo Album --- Here
Videos --- Here
Edited by ANTdrew, November 5 2024 - 10:18 AM.
Glad to have one of the Dome formicarium as well! Such an iconic piece. Hopefully I'll have a big enough Myrmecocystus mimicus colony to move into it in the future.
Thanks for all the knowledge you've shared through the years regarding the ants in Utah and formicarium builds. It's been incredibly helpful! I'll definitely be coming back to this post often!
Someone needs to pin this thread just because of how awesome it is!
And many Carnivorous plants such as: Dionea muscipula (fly trap), Sarracenia x 'Fiona' ( American Pitcher plant), Nepenthese ventrata (Tropical Pitcher plant), and Pinguicula agnata x emarginata (Butterwort) (show off your plants here)
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores it's provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6: 6-8
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