306 replies to this topic

[CrazyLegs]

It's about an inch at the thinnest part there. I did go a bit thinner than last time to try and cut down on as much weight as possible.

My dream is for the moss to spread across the surface of the hebel, which will add another half inch or so.

The tunnels are going to be on the far sides.

Being for smaller ants there should be plenty of room for some twisty bits.

Here it is with some finishing touches. I added an extra little reservoir up on the far side to help moisten the corner.

Put a terracotta seal on it to give it that Uluru look.

 

[antgenius123]

 Looks great!

[CrazyLegs]

Still a bit going on inside the Crocodilian, the pupae are moved back and forth between the two chambers furthest from the reservoir.

I think this worker in particular looks to have aspirations of one day becoming a gamergate, spending most of the time just standing over the pupae.

She is the second largest ant in the group with my original test ant being the biggest.

That's a big sausage. Maybe it's a queen.

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 31 2017 - 6:48 PM.

[Leo]

is chooky that hen? (correct me if i am wrong)

[Miles]

I'm loving this journal! Keep it up!

 

I visited Australia in 2010, including Uluru. Very cool to see that represented here. I can't wait to go back.

Edited by Miles, January 29 2017 - 9:01 AM.

[CrazyLegs]

Thanks Miles. Yeah, Chooky is the hen.

 

Here is "The Ridge" with some tunnels carved in.

Sculpting the tunnels isn't really something I can teach, but a few pointers I can give are,

* Try to Imagine your ants walking around in there, and how you want to view them.

* Carve out your chambers at different depths to create some dimension and realism.

* Make the chambers go off in different directions.

* Make chambers inside chambers.

* Use up as much available space as possible, If you think you can squeeze another chamber in, go for it.

* Don't settle after your first attempt. At the end of the day take it inside and look at it for a while, I'm sure you'll come up with ways to make it even better.

Then go out the next day and make some more modifications.

I am still not finished with these tunnels yet.

I've actually made a silly error here but it's fixable.
100 points if you can point it out.

 

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 31 2017 - 3:35 AM.

[dspdrew]

You do some nice carving.

[T.C.]

Nice Carving drew? C,mon that's A+ Grade, amazing carving! Seriously, that is a very nice job. Anyways, I searched for that error you spoke of. I am not sure, from what I can see though, the tunnels I have circled in the picture are not connected with the rest! Am I right? If so, what do I get?

 

[CrazyLegs]

Thanks drew, apparently I have a mental illness. Obsessive and that.

Keen observation there T.C. I wish that was my error.

What you have circled in the pic is no mistake.

I ended up joining them up with a 10mm hole through the ceiling of the lower chamber on the right, which I will plug at first with a piece of sponge, like so.

This will initially be a founding stage formicarium for my Myrmecia chrysogaster queen and her first nanitics.

Once it starts to look crowded in there, I'll just pull the sponge out with some tweezers and turn that single entrance founding formicarium into a twin entrance beast.

I may need some long tweezers. I formed a little area for them to station a contingent of their best guards.

 

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 29 2017 - 11:23 PM.

[T.C.]

Darn, it looked like there was no holes there. It's your fault for not giving more angles. Looking good, keep it up.

[CrazyLegs]

Your right, there was no hole there before. I decided I still wasn't finished and made some more mods.

I can certainly give you some more angles.

Tunnel porn.

I was beside myself when I found out what I did, or more so what I didn't do.

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 30 2017 - 12:38 AM.

[sgheaton]

Excellent carvings. It's nice to see what an expert can do for once. 

[CrazyLegs]

Cheers sgheaton, I don't consider myself an expert though by any stretch.

Anybody should be able to achieve what I have accomplished here with a little care and effort.

Mistakes will be made and my latest was a classic.

 

I was all excited about being finished with the tunnels and thought I would see how it looked in the tank for the first time.

It was an eyebrow raiser that's for sure, as I placed the hebel block over the tank and realized that I hadn't cut the width yet.

The part inside the square all has to go, and now I will have to make tunnels on three sides.

This is not an ideal situation for my design as I wanted to use hand tools for the whole build.

Having tunnels on three sides negates the benefits of using the two factory cut edges to get a good seal up against the glass.

If you don't have access to a tiler's bench saw it will be difficult to maintain that seal on three sides.

There's that familiar shape again. Looks more like an alligator than a crocodile.

I think I might try filling the nest with a fine sand when it's all sealed up to fill any gaps against the glass. I'm not sure yet.

I'll see how she fits.

 

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 31 2017 - 6:50 PM.

[CrazyLegs]

Meanwhile back in the Crocodilian............

 

"Everybody gather round, this ones ready"

"Yes, slightly larger and therefore superior ant, we will assist you."

It was a three ant job it seemed as they twisted around the pupae, each taking a turn at doing some of the snipping.

This is taking some time. Stay tuned for the new arrival.

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 31 2017 - 6:50 PM.

[CrazyLegs]

The final snip was complete and the cocoon was lifted upright and a new ant sprung forth with great speed.

It's a boy!

This new drone went straight for the ceiling where he was able to get cleaned up and have a look around at this strange new world he has entered.

This male being from a different nest, opens up the possibility of one of these girls becoming a gamergate and giving new life to this little colony.

It also tells me that the nests out in the wild are preparing for a glorious nuptial flight in the near future.

One of the pupae I acquired was significantly bigger than the others, could it be a queen?

Edited by CrazyLegs, February 4 2017 - 10:53 PM.

[sgheaton]

...so you saw a drone being released from an eclosed egg? 

that's barely short of amazing! Talk about crazy cool.. Throw in your excellent looking formicarium, those gnarly ants, and great pictures... I'm quite excited to see how your colony grows!

[T.C.]

...so you saw a drone being released from an eclosed egg? 

that's barely short of amazing! Talk about crazy cool.. Throw in your excellent looking formicarium, those gnarly ants, and great pictures... I'm quite excited to see how your colony grows!

Yeah, he was using that old camera at the perfect time. Great shots, and over all an amazing sight to see. Thanks for sharing with us. Unfortunate you don't have the queen.

[CrazyLegs]

This particular species of ant doesn't need a queen to survive, with gamergates often taking over the role of reproduction in colonies when the queen has perished.

As far as I know as long as these fertile workers get to mate with a male from another colony they can produce viable offspring.

Living for a year or more I imagine this would have to happen again each year with a new gamergate taking over.

I don't know if this has ever been achieved in captivity before but I'm in a pretty good position to find out.

[CrazyLegs]

Then there were two. One for me and one for you.

Some more grooming going on.

Shouldn't be long before I get to find out who is inside that large cocoon.

Grooming is a big part of an ants day.

 

 

Edited by CrazyLegs, February 4 2017 - 10:54 PM.

[CrazyLegs]

 

...so you saw a drone being released from an eclosed egg? 

that's barely short of amazing! Talk about crazy cool.. Throw in your excellent looking formicarium, those gnarly ants, and great pictures... I'm quite excited to see how your colony grows!

Yeah, he was using that old camera at the perfect time. Great shots, and over all an amazing sight to see. Thanks for sharing with us. Unfortunate you don't have the queen.

 

Thanks guys,

It is a great privilege to be able to see these things occurring right in front of you, especially when it's happening in your living room.

No point keeping it to myself, everything is more fun if you share it with somebody.

Like when you go fishing, It's great to catch a big fish but even greater if there is someone there to hold it up and show it to.

My phone is terrible at taking macro shots. All the crisp clear one's you see are taken with my partners HTC smartphone.

I miss some cool shots waiting for her to come home. Her phone seems to be able to focus at a closer distance.

Having a formicarium allows you to get your camera within inches of an otherwise dangerous animal.

Also, light is the key ingredient of a clear shot. It appears to me, plenty of artificial light with low natural light brings out this phones best shots.

 

Oh yeah, and clean glass.

Edited by CrazyLegs, January 31 2017 - 7:16 PM.