13 replies to this topic

[AndersT]

Hello!

 

About a week ago, I was out splitting logs for the fireplace. I managed to split a piece with a completely flat face and I instantly saw potential in it. I shortened it down with a saw, ran some sandpaper over the face to make it even more flat and brought it inside.

At first I had planned to use a square acrylic box that I've used a couple times in the past. This idea was later scrapped, as I figured it was a bit too small. It was also at this point that I decided that the log should be a free-standing nest, with a seperate piece of glass covering it, so that I could move it easily and swap it out, once it got to be too small for the colony. Luckily I had a pane of picture-frame glass lying around, so I cut that up and sanded the sides.

 

I then purchased a dremel multitool so I could carve out some tunnels. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, as it is a wonderful tool to work with. I also bought some magnets to hold the pane of glass in place on top of the nest.

 

After receiving the tool, I started carving tunnels in the log. I also made indentations in each corner. 

1mm thick plastic corners will be glued in the indentations and the magnets will be glued on top of that, so that they are secure.

 

I also managed to pick up a dirt cheap 54 liter aquarium, which I think will be the outworld for the finished product. 

 

That's pretty much where I am at now. On the to-do list is "cooking" the nest, once I am sure the tunnels are deep enough, so that any harmful stuff is killed off. Then I'll need to glue on the plastic and the magnets so the pane of glass can be fixed - and lastly I will need to make the outworld. I'll be posting updates once that happens.

[Crystals]

What are your plans to hydrate the nest and control mold growth?  I know some have had success using springtails to control the mold growth.

What type of wood is it?

 

The large piece will likely not warp, but the smaller might. 

 

I tried a couple of times to make a formicarium wood and gave up on the idea after various problems like warping, mold, hydration, low visibility when ants piled sawdust on the glass, etc.

[AndersT]

Drew mentioned springtails as well. They're easy to get a hold of here it seems like, so I'll most likely introduce a culture of those to rid of any mold problems.

 

It's European Hornbeam. Very dense, hard and heavy. I'm using one solid piece. The front face is about 15x9 cm with a good bit of backend - it is by no means a plank. The piece has been drying all winter, so the worst warping should be over. 

 

There are two holes on the back that I'm planning on adding water to, so that the nest is hydrated - hopefully the wood will soak it up. I think it's likely that there will be some warping happening. I think I'll see if it'll be enough to lightly hydrate the nest and have plenty of water available just outside of it. If not, I'll figure out another solution.

 

Do you have any of your failed attempts still that you could show me? I'd love to hear more in detail about what happened to them. I might be able to use some of that info and prevent making similar mistakes. 

[AndersT]

After actually testing the hydration system, I quickly came to the realization that dense wood doesn't soak water very well.. whoops.

 

I've instead added two hydration chambers. Water can be added outside via holes I've drilled. I might need to cover these up with some mesh. Inside the chambers I'll likely put cotton, to prevent water flooding directly into the tunnels. This will definitely cause mold problems, so I'm hoping that springtails will take care of that. We'll see. I'm also looking forward to seeing whether or not warping will be a problem.

[Barristan]

That looks good.

 

If you keep Camponotus in their which live in wood you won't need any moisture in that nest at all. The problem is that wood will distort if you moisturize parts of the nest.

Edited by Barristan, March 29 2016 - 11:06 AM.

[AndersT]

I've heard someone else say that about Camponotus, Barristan. Why is it that they can live with such dry nests? And does that work for all species of Camponotus? I've never kept them before so this is all new to me.

[Barristan]

I've heard someone else say that about Camponotus, Barristan. Why is it that they can live with such dry nests? And does that work for all species of Camponotus? I've never kept them before so this is all new to me.

 

Because in the outdoors their nests can dry out too. During summer you can have longer periods without any rain or only few rain so the dead wood in which the ants live will dry out. In that case they have to collect water from outside to not die of thirst.

 

Camponotus are also quite resistent to hot and cold temperatures. Their nests aren't deep in the ground so they have to resist both hot and cold temperatures a lot better than ant species which live.

 

But that doesn't only apply to Camponotus. In my experience all ant species, which build their nest in wood in nature can be kept in dry nests. My Crematogster scutellaris colony for example lives in a completely dry wooden nest too. I have never moisturized that nest.

[dspdrew]

I'm cutting down a lot on the hydration of the nests I design too. Most ants just don't seem to like a soggy nest.

[Subverted]

Hard to find that happy medium between dry but not too dry that things dehydrate

[Crystals]

These are very interesting observation.  I think it may depend on where the Camponotus were originally from.  I have never seen Camponotus in my area in dry wood, only damp wood. Keeping in mind I am in the boreal forest, we get winter instead of a dry season.

I know the once or twice my formicarium dried out a bit too much while I was away that several pupae developed deformities.

 

I am curious to see how it turns out.

 

Sorry AndersT, I never took pictures of my attempts with wood.  Most were less than 2" thick and warped easily.  I stuck with grout, firebrick, and other methods.

[AndersT]

I've seen some Camponotus in my area living in dry wood in the summer. Different species than I'm keeping though, so whether or not it will work here only time will tell. I'm currently waiting for the ants and since I'm not sure the rooms in the founding nest are deep enough, I won't be finishing it up just yet. I have however fixed up an old ytong nest I had never used, so that it can work as an alternative if the wood nest fails. 

That's the one. It's been dyed with tea to look more natural. As you can see, it's a bit bigger than the wooden nest, so this won't be used right now for the time being. I'll be putting some acrylic glass on top so that it's also moveable.

Edited by AndersT, April 1 2016 - 8:15 AM.

[Barristan]

Looks good. What species do you get?

[AndersT]

Looks good. What species do you get?

Camponotus ligniperdus.

[Loops117]

Sorry to revive an old thread.

 

Looking to build some small starting nests for T.caespitum and currently working with wood. Do you think they'll chew through the wood? Should i keep them completely dry? I'll post a picture in here tonight of were I'm at so far.

 

Edit: Thought this was posting to the thread "What can ants chew through". My bad

Edited by Loops117, July 19 2016 - 7:23 AM.