69 replies to this topic

[WSantkeeper]

 

 

 

That paint will be fine.
Good luck with your blacklight. I bet you’ll gets lots of stuff after a rainy day.

Thanks for the answer!
Do you think it will attract any queens after a rain if I place it in my balcony?  the balcony is in the back of the building next to a garden with trees and its first floor, unfortunately I can't access the garden cause its private area (another persons home)

 

It could, though it really depends if the ants actually "want" to have a flight. Strangely enough, I catch most of my queens when I never expect it( i.e. just walking outside, with no intentions.)

 

I will mostly look outside, I will try to go to more parks and look around, lift rocks and search everywhere, I even carry testubes with me all the time, I just bought a black light cause I am afraid that I will not find any queens at all so I thought it was a good idea for a plan b if needed

 

lol, in my first year I looked every day 6 am in the morning for a month, but found no queens. Good luck anting! Its not that late in the nuptial season, so there should be lots of chances to find queens.

[GreekAnts]

 

 

 

 

That paint will be fine.
Good luck with your blacklight. I bet you’ll gets lots of stuff after a rainy day.

Thanks for the answer!
Do you think it will attract any queens after a rain if I place it in my balcony?  the balcony is in the back of the building next to a garden with trees and its first floor, unfortunately I can't access the garden cause its private area (another persons home)

 

It could, though it really depends if the ants actually "want" to have a flight. Strangely enough, I catch most of my queens when I never expect it( i.e. just walking outside, with no intentions.)

 

I will mostly look outside, I will try to go to more parks and look around, lift rocks and search everywhere, I even carry testubes with me all the time, I just bought a black light cause I am afraid that I will not find any queens at all so I thought it was a good idea for a plan b if needed

 

lol, in my first year I looked every day 6 am in the morning for a month, but found no queens. Good luck anting! Its not that late in the nuptial season, so there should be lots of chances to find queens.

 

Thanks!

[ANTdrew]

First floor is not too high up if there is good habitat around. If there is anywhere else you can set up with better habitat, it may be worth it. Do any of your relatives or friends have a good yard you could try?

[GreekAnts]

First floor is not too high up if there is good habitat around. If there is anywhere else you can set up with better habitat, it may be worth it. Do any of your relatives or friends have a good yard you could try?

unfortunately no
and I don't have a moveable power source for the lamp

[ANTdrew]

You will want a really bright light if you can to draw in the queens.

[GreekAnts]

The formicarium is done, I know its not great but I tried, I have no tools and I used a knife to cut the ytong (yes its too soft) so I couldn't make it look even, at least I think it will be functional so that matters to me.
I used a kitchen sponge (I know the color is meh but this is what I had) and I used blu tack to secure the glass, I know screws would be the best option but I couldn't make holes to the glass without ending up ruining it.




I have made two hydration systems, first a hole with a sponge and second in the other chamber I just made a really small hole that you put the syringe inside to water it.

[ANTdrew]

Don’t underestimate ants ability to chew through stuff. I’d recommend gluing that glass down with silicone.

[GreekAnts]

Don’t underestimate ants ability to chew through stuff. I’d recommend gluing that glass down with silicone.

I don't think ants can have access to the blue tac, unless they can chew the ytong
I mean the glass fits on top of the ytong with 1mm or less distance, I don't mind gluing the glass but I am thinking, what if I need to open the nest in some point for example to clean it?
so I guess the best choice is to screw the glass somehow

[ConcordAntman]

GreekAnts, it looks great! Perhaps a local hardware store could drill the holes for the glass or you could avoid drilling completely and use magnets?

https://www.formicul...orlds/?p=119563

[GreekAnts]

I am not sure about magnets because it doesnt look secure to me, I will try to find someone that can drill the glass or I will search for a plexiglass to replace the glass, I think its really easy to make holes in plexiglass.

[ANTdrew]

A tube of silicone is $4 here. That would be your easiest way to go. The whole removable glass thing is dumb, in my opinion, because if you had any kind of thriving colony inside, there is no way you could remove glass without all holy hell breaking loose.

[ConcordAntman]

A tube of silicone is $4 here. That would be your easiest way to go. The whole removable glass thing is dumb, in my opinion, because if you had any kind of thriving colony inside, there is no way you could remove glass without all holy hell breaking loose.

I agree on the potential for a massive escape but I have magnets on all my formicaria. There’s no question that they’re powerful enough to prevent any accidental escapes. I find them useful for cleaning. Of course it can be challenging! Check out the Tar Heel Ants designs. The outworlds and glass faces are attached to the nests by magnets.
https://tarheelants....-iii-formicaria

Edited by ConcordAntman, July 21 2021 - 5:02 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Wanted to add, your blu-tac could work, but put a much thicker bead of it, like 10mm. Monitor the ants vigilantly for any signs of mischief!

[GreekAnts]

A tube of silicone is $4 here. That would be your easiest way to go. The whole removable glass thing is dumb, in my opinion, because if you had any kind of thriving colony inside, there is no way you could remove glass without all holy hell breaking loose.

I know aquarium safe silicon is super cheap (4-5 euros) but I was thinking of a scenario that the formicarium get fungus growth or it gets super dirty, I know you can't just open the glass with ants inside, but what if the colony needs an upgrade anyway?
I would be able to just make them move and clean the nest and reuse it for a very long time (perhaps use it for multiple colonies in the future) but if I glue the glass I will not able to clean it unless I break the glass or damage the ytong,
so I would need to make another nest and this possible would go to waste, I know the ytong is cheap but it needed a lot of effort and I don't like to waste stuff.

If I glue the glass with silicon and I need to clean the nest in the future what options I have without removing the glass? (for example I mess up the watering and the nest gets fungus,then I force the ants to move (using light for example) and I have the nest empty and I need to clean it)

I know the nest isn't something special, I just want to make sure what is the best option so the next time I will make a better version of it.

[GreekAnts]

Wanted to add, your blu-tac could work, but put a much thicker bead of it, like 10mm. Monitor the ants vigilantly for any signs of mischief!

I used 3 pieces and now its 10-15mm but it looks super ugly cause its purple,blue,orange but its ok 

[ExponentMars]

Welcome back to antkeeping! 
So basically a good tip is to always carry a test tube or small container when you go outside, because you never know when you'll catch a queen ant. 

also look in places further away from big cities or towns because those places tend to have a lot of invasive species, or only a few species. 

[GreekAnts]

Welcome back to antkeeping! 
So basically a good tip is to always carry a test tube or small container when you go outside, because you never know when you'll catch a queen ant. 

also look in places further away from big cities or towns because those places tend to have a lot of invasive species, or only a few species. 

Thanks, I may go to my uncles house in the countryside but I have to be careful there cause there are a lot of poisonous snakes,
but if I manage to find a powersource to use my black light in the garden I may be lucky!

[GreekAnts]

I covered the mess with a paper tape and I then painted the tape with the same color, it still look kinda ugly through

[ConcordAntman]

 

A tube of silicone is $4 here. That would be your easiest way to go. The whole removable glass thing is dumb, in my opinion, because if you had any kind of thriving colony inside, there is no way you could remove glass without all holy hell breaking loose.

I know aquarium safe silicon is super cheap (4-5 euros) but I was thinking of a scenario that the formicarium get fungus growth or it gets super dirty, I know you can't just open the glass with ants inside, but what if the colony needs an upgrade anyway?
I would be able to just make them move and clean the nest and reuse it for a very long time (perhaps use it for multiple colonies in the future) but if I glue the glass I will not able to clean it unless I break the glass or damage the ytong,
so I would need to make another nest and this possible would go to waste, I know the ytong is cheap but it needed a lot of effort and I don't like to waste stuff.

If I glue the glass with silicon and I need to clean the nest in the future what options I have without removing the glass? (for example I mess up the watering and the nest gets fungus,then I force the ants to move (using light for example) and I have the nest empty and I need to clean it)

I know the nest isn't something special, I just want to make sure what is the best option so the next time I will make a better version of it.

 

Hey, you want to be an ant keeper, you’re taking time to construct something safe for your ants. We get it, it’s special enough to you that you want to do it the best you can!

[ANTdrew]

Don’t get discouraged. It’s quite hard to make a formicarium that works well, which is why they cost so much. It took me three years and a lot of crappy failures before I made some that worked. Yours looks fine, and all that matters is if it works. Honestly, any formicarium looks like crap once a healthy colony is done trashing it, so I wouldn’t even worry about aesthetics. Focus on function for now. One very easy way to bypass any issues with the glass would be to place the whole thing in an escape proof box as an outworld.