17 replies to this topic

[Subverted]

I am still in the very beginning of testing this idea but so far ants seem to have figured out how to feed from it just fine. I don't know if it will continue to work once the level of food gets below a certain point...I will update the thread when I find out

 

Overall shot:

 

 

Feeding port:

 

 

The Camponotus and Liometopum occidentale I'm testing this with both seemed to figure out how to get to the food pretty quickly and I have a bunch of stuffed workers.

[dspdrew]

Nice. I've been working on the same thing. Is that an actual capillary tube? If so, what is the ID and OD of it? I've tested some but found I couldn't get the water based liquids to travel up at all as high as they should according to the formula. I'm starting to abandon the idea of using a capillary tube, and just go with a wick. I'll most likely use kevlar since it's very strong, and also fairly hydrophilic, unlike some of the other popular kevlar-like materials that are intentionally designed to be hydrophobic, and therefor useless in capillary action. For this use, a capillary tube is probably not necessary, and might also be too easily clogged.

[ctantkeeper]

i have two questions:

 

1. what is the orange liquid inside the feeder?

2. how does this feeder work exactly? do the ants have to go into the tube, and if so, what prevents them from drowning???

[Subverted]

Since this is just a test I used the tip of a pasteur pipette. I was thinking about buying some capillary tubes to test this out with.

 

In these tubes water travels about 3/4" from the surface on its own, I am hoping the surface tension holds it in the feeding tube when the level of liquid drops...will have to wait and see.

[Crystals]

i have two questions:

 

1. what is the orange liquid inside the feeder?

2. how does this feeder work exactly? do the ants have to go into the tube, and if so, what prevents them from drowning???

2. It is a very thin tube, the ants cannot get into it - the opening is likely less than 1mm.  They just drink from the opening.  The tube is so small that water travels up it via capillary action.

[ctantkeeper]

how thin must the tube be? just curious

[drtrmiller]

You can test to determine whether it will continue to flow by taking a paper towel and carefully touching a corner to the tube so the liquid is absorbed into the paper towel. This is how I test to make sure my feeders continue to flow.

Neat idea, though. Similar to something I've been working on.

[ctantkeeper]

and can i use a metal tip from a syringe?

[ctantkeeper]

btw terry, when will the simplifeed liquid feeders be released? and what will they cost? will those who bought glassboxes receive them?

[dspdrew]

and can i use a metal tip from a syringe?

 

Probably not. The stainless steel is hydrophobic, and will not form a bond with water, therefor capillary action will be very weak and the water will probably not move up the tube much at all.

[Foogoo]

What about using a thin wick, sold for Zippo lighters and now for vaping? Either with the wick inside tube or just the wick by itself. 

 

Edit: Silica wick may work better and less fiberous than cotton. Available all over ebay and amazon. 

Edited by Foogoo, September 26 2015 - 9:18 PM.

[Crystals]

What about using a thin wick, sold for Zippo lighters and now for vaping? Either with the wick inside tube or just the wick by itself. 

 

Edit: Silica wick may work better and less fiberous than cotton. Available all over ebay and amazon. 

I tried once with chamois cloth as a wick, and it worked.  But I still tend to use my gravity feeders most of the time, less evaporation.

[dspdrew]

What about using a thin wick, sold for Zippo lighters and now for vaping? Either with the wick inside tube or just the wick by itself. 

 

Edit: Silica wick may work better and less fiberous than cotton. Available all over ebay and amazon. 

 

A thin wick is exactly what I'm planning on using. I chose to use kevlar so that the ants won't chew it up over time. Kevlar is also hydrophilic, so it works well in capillary action.

 

 

 

What about using a thin wick, sold for Zippo lighters and now for vaping? Either with the wick inside tube or just the wick by itself. 

 

Edit: Silica wick may work better and less fiberous than cotton. Available all over ebay and amazon. 

I tried once with chamois cloth as a wick, and it worked.  But I still tend to use my gravity feeders most of the time, less evaporation.

 

 

I'm actually designing mine to have a very tiny area where liquid is dispensed to stop exactly that. The other reason I'm making these is to stop the ants from burying them and subsequently draining them.

 

 

Here's the little proof of concept feeder I made three weeks ago, that has been working great since. I only had kevlar belt at the time, so I just had to pull off some strands.

 

 

[drtrmiller]

Sexy.  Put oil on top and you'll have a lava lamp.

[Huch]

Cool. Keep up the good work.

[Foogoo]

Whoa nice, the idea I had in mind is exactly what you made. Careful they don't take the kevlar to weave vests and start ant wars... 

[William. T]

Whoa nice, the idea I had in mind is exactly what you made. Careful they don't take the kevlar to weave vests and start ant wars... 

 

Interesting. I just came home after being bitten by a horde of angry Solenopis. I will need kevlar gloves soon. 

 

Subverted, I'm interested in seeing his project! Keep it up!

[dspdrew]

If you really want to go the capillary tube route, you need something like this (http://www.paradigmo...S19holecap.html).

 

Not sure how well that would work, being that it's plastic.