15 replies to this topic

[BugFinder]

I recenlty picked up the hybrid nest designed for the large camponotous ants.  In one of his videos, AC suggests filling part of the nest with soil.  That gave me an idea:

 

what if I fill the entire nest, except for a small portion right in the front, with soil, so that the nest essentially becomes correctly sized for a founding colony, and as they grow, they can excavate soil as they like and dig their own nest.  

 

Would that be a bad idea?

[NickAnter]

You would probably sacrifice some visibility there--ants love hiding under things, so they would probably completely cover themselves, and make complete chambers out of the dirt, covering the glass with it. In terms of functionality, I imagine it would work great, but as mentioned above, not great for observational purposes.

[gs5248]

Honestly, I think that would be better than a bare nests for the ants.

[ANTdrew]

Depending on the species, dry sawdust might be best. Pouring an absorbent layer of grout or hydrostone to cover the floor of the chambers would make it even better.

[ConcordAntman]

It sounds interesting. Post some pictures of your results!

[AleeGuy]

Depending on the species, dry sawdust might be best. Pouring an absorbent layer of grout or hydrostone to cover the floor of the chambers would make it even better.

^^^^^
It would be so great. You can pour it on the hydration holes in the nest and let some of it go through the holes so when it dries it will touch the water under it and bring it to the ants by capillary action. I would get a perfect plaster(the one ANTdrew uses) that is sold in hobby lobby if you don't want to spend too much money on hydrostone and it costs a bit more than grout, but absorbs water really well.

[Ants_Dakota]

 

Depending on the species, dry sawdust might be best. Pouring an absorbent layer of grout or hydrostone to cover the floor of the chambers would make it even better.

^^^^^
It would be so great. You can pour it on the hydration holes in the nest and let some of it go through the holes so when it dries it will touch the water under it and bring it to the ants by capillary action. I would get a perfect plaster(the one ANTdrew uses) that is sold in hobby lobby if you don't want to spend too much money on hydrostone and it costs a bit more than grout, but absorbs water really well.

 

that is an ingenious idea, antdrew. grout would hold the water, and keep it moist for long periods of time, and not mold(if you get the polyblend kind). i might actually try this sometime if i ever get a hybrid nest. 

[BugFinder]

Depending on the species, dry sawdust might be best. Pouring an absorbent layer of grout or hydrostone to cover the floor of the chambers would make it even better.

what about a desert sand type substrate, or maybe pumice?

[BugFinder]

 

 

Depending on the species, dry sawdust might be best. Pouring an absorbent layer of grout or hydrostone to cover the floor of the chambers would make it even better.

^^^^^
It would be so great. You can pour it on the hydration holes in the nest and let some of it go through the holes so when it dries it will touch the water under it and bring it to the ants by capillary action. I would get a perfect plaster(the one ANTdrew uses) that is sold in hobby lobby if you don't want to spend too much money on hydrostone and it costs a bit more than grout, but absorbs water really well.

 

that is an ingenious idea, antdrew. grout would hold the water, and keep it moist for long periods of time, and not mold(if you get the polyblend kind). i might actually try this sometime if i ever get a hybrid nest. 

 

 

Maybe it's because I'm ignorant of the products having never used them, but I envision that stuff hardening after it gets wet.  Are you saying it would remain granular, and act like sand?

The species is C. Vicinus.

[Kaelwizard]

Are you asking about grout and plaster?

[MinigunL5]

You could do it but you'd likely never see the ants because they'd cover the glass in dirt.

[gs5248]

You could do it but you'd likely never see the ants because they'd cover the glass in dirt.

Well, yeah. That is kind of the point. It makes it more naturalistic for the ants.

[AleeGuy]

 

You could do it but you'd likely never see the ants because they'd cover the glass in dirt.

Well, yeah. That is kind of the point. It makes it more naturalistic for the ants.

 

I'm sure C. Vicinus won't mind the plaster/plastic hybrid setup too . Plus the visibility.

[MinigunL5]

 

You could do it but you'd likely never see the ants because they'd cover the glass in dirt.

Well, yeah. That is kind of the point. It makes it more naturalistic for the ants.

 

At that point it's not really worth the money versus a simple naturalistic set-up in my opinion. Plus if it's for a hill making species you won't be able to see that behavior.

[gs5248]

 

 

You could do it but you'd likely never see the ants because they'd cover the glass in dirt.

Well, yeah. That is kind of the point. It makes it more naturalistic for the ants.

 

At that point it's not really worth the money versus a simple naturalistic set-up in my opinion. Plus if it's for a hill making species you won't be able to see that behavior.

 

That is a good point. 

[Chickalo]

I might try some of these ideas with my current AC Camponotus nest, seems neat.  I planned on buying Hydrostone for minihearths, anyways.