Thanks for the compliments, everybody! Ant igloos, what a rad name!
Hi from another Coloradan!
I also like your 3D printed setups. 
They look really nice! How do you decide how to design their layout, chamber sizes and shapes etc?
Would it be possible to print one of those test tube boxes with four test tube connections?
I know some other Colorado newbies on here have been asking around: do you know any good reliable anting spots?
1.- As far as the layout, this one is for smaller species like Tetramorium, etc. I basically started by deciding on a width for the 'corridors' (6mm seems good for a Tetra queen), and then just fitting in as many chambers as I could like a puzzle. The overall height is determined by the test tube height, but the floor of changes height so that the chambers have differing depths. I really tried to keep the chambers small and cozy for this one, but I plan on trying different things for different species in the future.
2.- The test tube boxes can certainly have four connections, I would just need to move the air holes to the sides. These are for founding colonies, so that I don't have to keep feeding them in their test tubes. It also provides a way to introduce clean tubes so they can move. Also made these (pics below), which serve as just connectors. (These have been incredibly handy.)
3.- The best anting spots I have found have been on trails which run alongside rivers. Areas around waterways aren't normally sprayed with pesticides, so they are usually rich with diverse colonies. Open gravel areas in empty lots are usually full of Pogonomyrmex. I don't have much luck with Camponautus below 6000 ft. I've also never been able to find P. Imparis, but they are apparently connected to Gambel Oaks.
Edited by ACaseoftheMondays, May 10 2018 - 10:59 AM.
