48 replies to this topic

[Anhzor]

they're like $1.89 at the local asian market.

[LAnt]

So what happened?

[drtrmiller]

Yeah, any update?

[Anhzor]

Hey folks sorry for the lack of update.  Agar held up pretty well but they had a problem of shriveling up... then it was impossible to remove them cause most of these guys do not want to leave.  The agar also don't re-moisturize itself,  you have to reheat the agar to seal the molecules it back together.  I don't think its completly useless tho, agar is a really good way to make some excellent artificial food.  This agar stuff is also great as a temporary moisture source in anting containers since they don't take up alot of space and stay in one place.

 

Overall it did work better then regular test tube for raising queens.... until it drys up.  After about 2 months you gotta change test tubes and its impossible to do so without stressing out the queen and destroying her eggs.

 

I ended up losing a lot of the young ants worker for the rugosus and the subdititus over the winter just hoping that they'll spring back.  They are in regular test tube now.

 

Gonna see if i can get this to work with some kind of clay & agar mixture on petri dish.

[Foogoo]

Agar can be found in most Asian supermarkets in the dessert/sweets aisle next to pudding and honey.

 

Has anyone had any experience with those "gel ant farms"? Is that gel agar or something different? I'm also curious what those "hydration gel" beads sold for plants are. They're beads that turn into gel when hydrated and IIRC, took a few months of neglect before finally drying up. My experimental agar on the other hand, begins shriveling within a few days.

[dspdrew]

I think they are the same thing, only there is sugar added so the ants eat it as food. The sugar is also what makes them mold.

[drtrmiller]

First, run a patent search on the gel farms. You may find more specific info there.

The hydration crystals are a type of polymer, one name of which is sodium polyacrylate.

As for the shriveling gel, sounds like you're using a cotton stopper that is letting air in and out. You must stop any air from entering if the agar is to remain hydrated.

I must admit I find it funny when people make something that's 95% water, and wonder why it dries out when exposed to air. I've had numerous customers tell me their Formula ant foods dried out in the fridge, only to explain later that they were storing them in an open container.

[dspdrew]

I've had numerous customers tell me their Formula ant foods dried out in the fridge, only to explain later that they were storing them in an open container.

 

[Foogoo]

Oh I expect it to dry out, just not as fast as mine does. Thanks for the sodium polyacrylate tip.

 

As for leaving the Formula uncovered,  .

 

Edit: 3lbs for $20 on Amazon, not bad. Maybe I'll experiment with this stuff if I get a ton more queens and the other ideas aren't working out. Or I was thinking what about putting agar/gel in front of the cotton and water in a test tube? That will give the queen something to dig and feel safe in and hopefully stop the cotton tugging but maintain the humidity source.

Edited by Foogoo, April 2 2015 - 12:08 PM.