Have you ever watched the life of ants? This is an extraordinary world with its own rules, laws, relationships. In order not to go to the forest to the anthill, we suggest you create your own ant farm. Having settled small inhabitants in it, you will be able to observe how paths and tunnels are built, and how important these small hardworking creatures scurry back and forth, as if they are carrying out someone else's task. How to make an ant farm with your own hands, we will tell you in this article.
What do you need for the farm?
You need two jars with lids - one larger, the other smaller (so that the second can fit inside the first). Ants and earth will be placed in the space between small and large capacity. A smaller can is needed to leave space in the center.
Ants will be able to lay eggs at the top edge and build tunnels, and you can observe this process. For "construction" tight containers are perfectly suitable. You can use them to create the desired farm size. Note that the jars should not have drawings, cracks, scratches, etc. If you want your ant farm (with ants) to be flat, buy a small narrow aquarium in the nearest pet store.
What are ant farms?
An ant farm can be of several types. The differences are in the composition of the filler. The most common are:
- soil and sand;
- gypsum;
- gel.
Consider each of these types in more detail.
Soil and sand farm
First, prepare a mixture of sand and soil. Ants need a humidified environment. This will allow small residents to dig tunnels and paths. If you will be collecting ants in your country house or in the yard, use the same land so that they, having moved to a new house, find themselves in their usual habitat. Earth will need so much that it fills the space in the bank. Loosen it well.
Mix two parts of soil with one part of sand. You can buy fertilized soil and sand in the gardening department and mix them well. If you buy special ants from a farm in a pet store, then the necessary mixture is attached to them.
We are looking for an anthill
Now you need to find "tenants" for your farm. The easiest way to find ants on the street. You will have no difficulties with this, especially if you connect your child to this process. Small anthills are often found in yards. You can find them if you trace where the little workers are so in a hurry with their finds. Going to the ants gathering, bring gloves, a jar with a tight lid and a scoop.
In the lid, make several holes with a needle (for air access). They must be very small so that the insects are not able to get out. Put honey or jam on the bottom of the jar. In this case, the ants will gather around the sweet treats and will not try to get out. Dig out the anthill inhabitants very carefully and transfer them to a jar.
Try to find the uterus. You will immediately recognize her - she is much larger than the other inhabitants of the anthill. The ant farm, which is inhabited only by working insects that live on the surface, will last no more than four weeks. That is how many of these insects live in natural conditions. The ant uterus, which is ready to lay eggs, can be found near the anthills in early autumn, immediately after mating between males and females. In addition, the uterus can be purchased from professional breeders. Your ant farm can take 30–40 insects to begin with.
Building a farm
Now you can start the construction of the farm. Close the smaller jar with a lid and place it in a large one. To make it stand in the center, you can glue it to the bottom with glue. Sprinkle the earth. Make sure that the cover is closed tightly. Cover the space between banks with a soil-sand mixture. This composition should not be tamped tightly - ants will not be able to move inside.
The soil should not reach about 1.5 cm to the top of the can. This is necessary so that the insects cannot get out when you open the lid. Put the ants in a jar and close it. Do it very carefully. Make holes for air in the cover with a needle.
Farm care
We figured out how to make an ant farm. Now you need to learn how to care for her.
- You need to regularly moisten the soil and feed the inhabitants of the farm. Every 3-4 days, throw small pieces of fresh fruit into the jar, a few drops of jam or honey - the ants have a sweet tooth, they really like sugar.
- Ants should not be given meat and any other cooked foods. Otherwise, your ant farm will attract unwanted insects.
- When you are not observing insects, cover the jar with a light, dark cloth. The fact is that ants dig their tunnels at night, in complete darkness. If this is not done, the insects will be in a state of constant stress and may lose activity.
- Ants are fragile creatures, rough handling can destroy them due to the collapse of the tunnels. Therefore, the bank should not be shaken.
- The ant farm (the photo you see in this article) should be in a warm room (at a constant temperature.
- Do not allow direct sunlight to enter the farm. The walls of the can may heat up and the ants will die.
Gel Filled Farm
The gel ant farm is now fully sold in stores. Of course, such a farm does not include its inhabitants. They must be bought separately or collected in the yard or in the forest. You can make such a house for ants with your own hands. We assure you that it will be interesting not only for children, but also for adult naturalists to observe how insects dig tunnels, pulling pieces of gel to the surface.
For this you will need:
- flat container with a lid and transparent walls;
- gelatin.
Cooking gel
Three bags of gelatin (15 g each) pour 0.5 l of hot water, mix well to completely dissolve the gelatin. Then add another 0.5 liters of water. Pour the finished composition into the container and put it in the refrigerator. When it freezes, remove it and wait until the gel mass reaches room temperature.
Gel for an aquarium can be bought at the store ready-made, but it’s more interesting to do it yourself. You should know that such a filler for an ant house is not only a habitat, but also a food. As soon as you make a small depression in the gel and put the ants into it, they will immediately begin to “eat up” their own passages and build tunnels. Let us recall once again that ants living on a gel farm do not need to drink and feed. The gel is a source of moisture and food for them.
Gypsum ant farm
Such a formicaria (also called an ant farm) is attractive because it is completely open for observing insects.
To create it, you need a transparent container. We grow gypsum to the consistency of sour cream. The resulting composition is poured into the container, after having previously placed in it (at the side) an ordinary plastic tube. It should reach the bottom of the tank. This is necessary in order to later pour water into the formicaria, which will help maintain the level of humidity.
After pouring the composition, the workpiece sets very quickly, but finally dries out after about a week. On the third or fourth day, remove it from the form. If it will not come out easily, dip it in hot (but not boiling water) water for thirty seconds. After that, the workpiece will easily come out of the mold.
Now it’s time to show your design abilities, that is, to draw “rooms and corridors” on the blank. At this time, the composition is still raw, so any tunnels can be easily scratched on it - it depends on your imagination. Although lovers who already have an ant farm, they recommend studying the structure of a real ant hill so that the moves are as close as possible to natural ones.
Two entrances for residents of formicaria can be drilled with a drill. Now take any convenient tool (clerical knife, screwdriver, etc.) and begin to make tunnels according to your drawing applied to the workpiece, choosing gypsum from them. Do this carefully so that the composition that has not yet fully dried does not crumble.
At the bottom of the workpiece, several recesses should be made to better distribute water and moisturize formicaria. They must be connected in a small channel with a cocktail tube. Such recesses significantly reduce the weight of formicaria. Remember to make vents in the top cover and sides. To do this, you can use a drill of 0.5 mm.
Your farm is almost ready. It remains to dry it well and place it in a container. Here again you may encounter a problem - the dried-up workpiece will not want to go back into the mold. Do not be discouraged, but again place it in hot water for 30 seconds, and it will easily enter the container.
It remains to find ants for formicaria. There are many types of them, so before purchasing it is advisable to look through the special literature in order to choose the most unpretentious of them. After settling the farm, you can study the life of these insects.
Advice
As you can see, an ant farm with your own hands is made quite simply from any material. In conclusion, I would like to give some tips that will be useful to you.
- Ants can be fed with dead insects, but only if you are sure that they are not poisonous.
- Plant one species of insect in the farm. Two colonies do not get along, they can fight to the death. Therefore, even if you yourself catch ants, try to collect them from one ant hill.
- All ants bite. Some are less common, others more often. For example, red ants bite and sting very painfully. Therefore, use gloves.