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ByFormica GlassBox Foraging Area and GrowTube - Initial Thoughts/Review


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#1 Offline Tspivey16 - Posted September 28 2015 - 4:52 PM

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Today I received the new glassbox foraging area and growtube and just wanted to give my initial thoughts. A real review would require much longer observation with my colony.

 

This is my first purchase of a ByFormica formicarium. I was drawn by the mix of the modern look with a naturalistic setup. 

 

First- Overall I would say a very nice product. Seems to be well constructed and thought out. But to give some more detail:

 

Packaging- This was excellent. The product was shipped inside a foam that seemed to form around the product. This also removed very nicely and neatly when unpacking. Smaller items such as the GrowTube were shrink wrapped providing additional stability.

 

Nice touch - The product also came with a small paint brush. I presume this was to swipe away the bits of substrate that are on the walls of the outworld that happen during shipping. This was a nice anticipation. Also the blacksplash- being able to color this to the decor of your home is a nice touch.

 

Setup- this was very intuitive; the only bit of struggle that I had was getting a corner started to peel the protective layer from the acrylic lid.

 

Any Concerns? - Without longer observation, the only thing I could put in this category is that I am very glad that I purchased the long version. The overall size of the formicarium seems adequate for small to medium ants, but I may have concerns with larger species such as Formica or Camponotus. But, I am sure it would be adequate for a 1 to 2 year colony of these species.

 

I decided to place my 2 year old colony of Aphaenogaster tennesseenis. Initially, they all hid under a stump. It was fun to see them explore and find the Growtube and recruit the colony for the move.

 

Below are some pics. As I observe how my colony reacts to the new home and I will place more observations. This species is known to be a little messy with bring food in, so they should be good test subjects.

 

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  • ctantkeeper, AntsTexas and BrittonLS like this

Current Colonies:

                               Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (50 Workers)

                               Formica subsericea (5+ Workers)

                               Tetramorium caespitum (50+ Workers)

                               Parastic Lasius (15 Accepted Host Workers)

                               Crematogaster cerasi (10 + Workers)

                               Temnothorax sp. (70 + workers)

 


#2 Offline ctantkeeper - Posted September 28 2015 - 5:34 PM

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can't wait to get mine!!! awesome unboxing btw  :)



#3 Offline drtrmiller - Posted September 28 2015 - 6:20 PM

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Keep in mind this is just a first attempt to make a complete product like this. I look forward to your sharing your thoughts over time so I may have an opportunity to make future versions even better.

Thank you for your unboxing photos and first impressions.
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byFormica® is the manufacturer of the iconic nectar feeders and Sunburst Ant Nectar.
byFormica ant products always deliver consistent performance, convenience,
and reliability, making them among the most beloved ant foods and kit enjoyed by
ant keeping enthusiasts worldwide. For more information, visit www.byFormica.com.

#4 Offline Tspivey16 - Posted October 2 2015 - 5:32 AM

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Updated pics of colony moved in and the queen:

 

20151002 093100446
20151002 093142749

  • ctantkeeper likes this

Current Colonies:

                               Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (50 Workers)

                               Formica subsericea (5+ Workers)

                               Tetramorium caespitum (50+ Workers)

                               Parastic Lasius (15 Accepted Host Workers)

                               Crematogaster cerasi (10 + Workers)

                               Temnothorax sp. (70 + workers)

 


#5 Offline ctantkeeper - Posted October 2 2015 - 9:36 AM

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very cool!!! love how colorful they are :)



#6 Offline Tspivey16 - Posted October 16 2015 - 11:54 AM

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This setup continues to perform well for me. 

 

Here is a pic of the queen:

 

20151016 154740126

 

Here, you can see developing larvae

 

20151016 154748852

 

And here, a worker carries a huge batch of new eggs and small larvae

 

20151016 154820652

 


  • drtrmiller likes this

Current Colonies:

                               Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (50 Workers)

                               Formica subsericea (5+ Workers)

                               Tetramorium caespitum (50+ Workers)

                               Parastic Lasius (15 Accepted Host Workers)

                               Crematogaster cerasi (10 + Workers)

                               Temnothorax sp. (70 + workers)

 


#7 Offline brian - Posted April 15 2017 - 2:09 AM

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I love the pictures on this post.






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