6 replies to this topic

[WiteBeam]

Printed this for my CA-02 colony for when they have enough numbers. What do you think?

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[ANTdrew]

This looks very nice, but it will take several years for a Camponotus colony to reach a size for a nest that large. An easy thing you can do to improve the function of the nest would be to pour some absorbent plaster in the bottom of the chambers. Camponotus can struggle in nests that are not absorbent enough. Also, where is the outworld for this setup?

[WiteBeam]

Great ideas! I will definitely do that with some plaster. I’ll share updated pictures. I was considering blocking off entire sections beyond a single nest a test tube and opening up more areas as they grow.

The outworld is in the top middle between the nests.

[ANTdrew]

That is not enough outworld space. Consider that wild colonies have the whole world as their foraging space.

[rptraut]

Hello Witebeam;

If you made each section as an individual module, you could connect modules together as your colony grows. They might already be separate, I can’t tell. Have you made provision for escape-free feeding and cleanup?

The outworld is probably big enough for the colony you have now and maybe one more season. You’ll probably only need a nest module and the outworld to that point. If each module is separate, you could add nest modules and increase the outworld as your colony grows. The setup in the photo is probably big enough for one of my four year old colonies. It would work well if you could add modules together and eventually as your colony grows, get to the setup you picture, with a larger outworld.

I soon realized when I started making Formicaria; I can build them much faster than my ants can fill them!
RPT

[WiteBeam]

Here it is with plaster throughout the inside of the nests.

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[ANTdrew]

That’s a good upgrade there.