20 replies to this topic

[Foogoo]

It's intriguing how quick Chinese manufacturers are at churning out products for every market and niche...

 

I noticed a few different designs I'd be interested in giving a try, just to see how the quality and build is compared to the typical stateside retailers. Unfortunately, I don't have an excess of colonies to test with. If anyone decides to give any foreign formicariums a try, please post pictures and a review!

 

Here is a sample of some I found were interesting, this one particular seller has multiple other designs for sale:

 

1. http://www.aliexpres...1932416030.html
2. http://www.aliexpres...1932402310.html
3. http://www.aliexpres...2042611761.html
4. http://www.aliexpres...2042632682.html
5. http://www.aliexpres...1773187374.html
6. http://www.aliexpres...1773174081.html
7. http://www.dx.com/p/...86#.VF0xO8VdWSo

[dean_k]

Yeah, I've been looking through them. Few of them were over engineered and might break off (ones with small plastic parts) but the simpler design ones appear to be a good value for its price.

[drtrmiller]

I do imagine the quality to be poor across the board. I've got some coming in for research purposes, and I'll gladly post my findings.

 

In addition, you should be aware that I'm designing an acrylic formicarium that will be manufactured in China, so as to achieve a competitive cost model.  I intend to take the good attributes from the existing models, combine them with some truly unique features not found anywhere else in the market, and release a quality product that will be available for sale natively in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, with export options to anywhere else on the globe.

 

I'll be posting more details when things are further along and I have more to share, probably by next week.

Edited by drtrmiller, November 7 2014 - 1:49 PM.

[JimSRT]

Drtrmiller, did you ever receive any of them?  I'm thinking of ordering the: http://www.aliexpres...2047766551.html.  For $48 shipped its not bad as a starter.  I also found searching for "ant nest" provides a huge amount of results.

[Gregory2455]

Hello JimSRT, and welcome to the forum.

[JimSRT]

Thanks.

[drtrmiller]

Drtrmiller, did you ever receive any of them?

 

I received them about a month or longer after ordering. Both broke during the assembly process, although they are still usable.

 

China has a few good ideas for formicaries, but they are often poorly implemented, and the mechanical design leaves much to be desired, as evidenced by my breaking not one, but both of the ones I received while putting them together.  

 

The one you showed is actually made of plaster, and so it is only suitable for certain ants that will not tunnel through the plaster.  The foraging area appears very small.

 

I would encourage you to support ant product manufacturers in the US or Europe.  You will not receive a decent level of support for products purchased elsewhere, and the profits will not go back into ant development opportunities domestically, if people support Chinese manufacturers.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about what attracts you to this design, other than the price?

[Foogoo]

I would encourage you to support ant product manufacturers in the US or Europe.  You will not receive a decent level of support for products purchased elsewhere, and the profits will not go back into ant development opportunities domestically, if people support Chinese manufacturers.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about what attracts you to this design, other than the price?

 

 

I would agree with you on that. When it comes to household items where you can't even find made in the USA, might as well buy it direct from China for 1/4 the price since that's where the store gets it anyway. But seems like most formicarium makers are actual hobbyists who care and contribute to the hobby.

[JimSRT]

Realize, this would be used to start a colony, not house it permanently.

 

I'm interested in this particular unit as it has a somewhat natural design with an outworld.  I do like plaster/brick/ytong vs acrylic as it allows moisture to travel more naturally through the enclosure.  I also like the fact that lays down which means it won't be prone to falling over.  Being plaster, its probably not best for local capenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) but my False Honey Ants (Prenolepis imparis) should be fine.

[drtrmiller]

Realize, this would be used to start a colony, not house it permanently.

 

I'm interested in this particular unit as it has a somewhat natural design with an outworld.  I do like plaster/brick/ytong vs acrylic as it allows moisture to travel more naturally through the enclosure.  I also like the fact that lays down which means it won't be prone to falling over.  Being plaster, its probably not best for local capenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) but my False Honey Ants (Prenolepis imparis) should be fine.

 

I can think of two manufacturers in North America that use naturalistic nest materials: THA in NC, and AntsNational in Canada.

 

Again, I would encourage you to support one of the local vendors, as opposed to a Chinese one that will be unable to help you, should you need it.

 

Thanks for providing that explanation and offering insight into your decision-making process, however :~)

Edited by drtrmiller, December 25 2014 - 8:29 PM.

[JimSRT]

I do like THA enclosures but AntsNational I haven't seen before in my searches.  Checking them out now, thanks.

[JimSRT]

I was hoping their Website would be functional, but its not.  Seems I'll have to wait... 

[LAnt]

Try building your own? that's a pretty cheap option

[William. T]

Nice. The price is very good. Really. Just the other day, I saw something for  formicaries similar in design to the Antscanada acrylic nests. Just 25 dollars and about the same size! What a deal!

[JimSRT]

I have thought of building my own but I think I'll try a small AntsNational nest.  I have a small species that would fit well into a small nest.

[InsideAntz]

TarHeel ants or ants Tarheel has a few nice formicariums. My guess is that they are based in NC by their name (Tar Heel football).

[Crystals]

There are quite a few suppliers out there.  Although many do build their own nests.

 

For acrylic nests, antscanada, byformica, and a few others are out there (aliexpress.com or ebay.com).

 

For nests made out of ytong, tarheelants is the most known, there are a few other people who do it on a smaller scale.  People also use firebrick quite a bit as it is cheaper than ytong.

 

If you are interested in building your own, there are several links in the tutorial section of this link: http://www.formicult...of-handy-links/

[JimSRT]

byformica seems to be gone and replaced by

 

Is there a list of local formicarium builders/suppliers?  I've noticed it can be hard to find them via Google Search without scanning page after page of results.  Infact, the few European ones I found were way down on the list too.

[dean_k]

Tar heel ants come to my mind.

 

I've reviewed some previously. Here are the links.

 

http://www.formicult...s-the-pinnacle/

 

http://www.formicult...all-review-not/

 

http://www.formicult...ement-for-ants/

[dspdrew]

byformica seems to be gone and replaced by

 

Is there a list of local formicarium builders/suppliers?  I've noticed it can be hard to find them via Google Search without scanning page after page of results.  Infact, the few European ones I found were way down on the list too.

I'm not sure what happened to byformica.com, but I think he does most of his business on Amazon anyways.

http://www.amazon.co...words=byformica