7 replies to this topic

[AntsLA-1]

I have been in desperate need of some sort of founding formicariums for Pogonomyrmex because I have never been able to successfully raise Pogonomyrmex in test-tubes, and since Pogonomyrmex are almost flying, I really needed some sort of design. I have seen Dspdrews dirt shack formicariums but have never been able to get my hands on some of them, so I have been experimenting with some different designs and I think I found the perfect one:

 

 

 

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Edited by AntsLA-1, April 21 2021 - 6:07 PM.

[ZTYguy]

Awesome!!! You gonna sell them. Me want

[AntsLA-1]

These Formicariums are fairly simple and requires not that much work. The colony will not be interrupted when hydrating the nest by the way the hydration system works. I made a prototype of one and heres how.

 

 

 

 

I found these acrylic boxes at The Container Store and got 7 of that size.

 

 

 

Then I found some square 2" plastic pots (you can get these with those small cacti at Home Depot) and cut about 3 quarters off the pot so only about 2cm were left on the pot. I added notches to the bottoms so that the water could hydrate the plaster and soil.

 

 

 

I taped of the other holes on the pot and drilled one single hole in the middle for the hydration tubing.

 

 

 

Then I poured about 1cm of plaster into the box .

 

 

 

I then pushed the hydration tubing into the hole in the pot.

 

 

 

Once I did that I put the pot into the plaster and let it cure.

 

 

 

I did the same with 2 other boxes.

 

 

 

I really like the outcome of this formicarium.

 

 

 

 

[AntsLA-1]

Awesome!!! You gonna sell them. Me want

Haha, maybe! I've thought about it...

[ANTdrew]

I would recommend extending the center box a lot higher, so the ants need to dig on the sides. That will improve your observation a lot. I Dspdrew’s design, the center box goes up more than half way up the outer box.

[AntsLA-1]

Does anyone else have thoughts or ideas?

[ANTdrew]

Also, you don't want the gap there at the bottom of the pot. The ants will get up under there, and you'll risk flooding them every time you water. Water will seep fine into the hydrostone, even if the inner box is fully immersed in it. Check out how I made my FormicaFarm here in my journal:

https://www.formicul...-setup/?hl=yrse

[PetsNotPests]

Really cool idea there. I would like to see how the ants do in it. Consider ventilation holes...

Edited by PetsNotPests, September 3 2021 - 4:15 PM.