Ant House: description of the farm, recommendations, tips and reviews from the owners

Who has not dreamed at least once to feel like the Creator, the supreme being, who can invent his own new world? No, these are not excerpts from the life of the patients of the yellow house, but today’s realities, and besides, they did not do without the use of space technologies. So what are we talking about? Attention! Before you is an ant or, in other words, an ant farm.

Everything about her is about the farm

This regular aquariumMade of organic glass, it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The whole point is in its outlandish filler: a transparent gel created in the US space laboratories in order to study the behavioral patterns of ants in space conditions. Now, any earthling can see the ant fuss. Moreover, such farms are already becoming a fashionable fad, having moved from the virtual world to the ordinary one. According to reviews, people who have purchased such an ant house are very satisfied and actively advise it to their friends.

Essentials for breeding ants

First of all, you need special gel, which will serve as both a habitat and food for unpretentious insects.

In addition, it is necessary storage tank, in which this material will be located. The kit also includes a stick for making a recess in the jelly-like mass.

Of course, you need directly yourself ants necessarily of the same species, so that there is no enmity, probably created by strangers in a small ant society.

What do you think?

Tips for Formicarium Owners

Where can I find or purchase residents for a newly minted terrarium?

1. A simple and unpretentious way is self-catching. Ants live almost everywhere, but there is a nuance: they can be obtained before the ant hibernation has begun, that is, only in the warm season. This is a significant drawback of the free type of hunting.
2. You can buy pets in specialized pet stores or marketplaces.
3. There are still online shops that will gladly offer you swarming goods.
4. There are also sites that host private ads for such a trading segment. The advantage is that there is a choice and bargaining is appropriate.

Where to start?

To put it bluntly: from the beginning. An aquarium is bought, filled with gel, a deepening of up to 6 cm is made with the help of a stack or even a finger, and the residents of the ant house are launched in quantity no more than 10-20 pieces. Further, the ants will orient themselves: these surprisingly smart insects will begin to create a system of passages and tunnels, while feeding on a viscous mass.

Difficulties in leaving

They don’t exist. Ants can take care of themselves. Hard-working creatures even carry their dead comrades and accumulated waste upstairs on their own, after the next cleaning of their home. The only thing left for the owner of the ant universe is to wipe it all with a cloth or remove it with an ear stick.

It is also important to regularly ventilate the farm: ants need air.

In the case of a complete replacement of the gel, it is necessary to thoroughly wash and dry the tank, that’s all. Then, add a new filler and the process will repeat.

The little things in life are small

Creating a society in captivity will be slightly different from the natural existence of an ant. Such a delicate moment as reproduction is possible only after acquiring a worthy female capable of laying eggs. Then a phased picture of the birth of a new life will appear before the owner of the farm: transformation of an egg into a larva, caring for a potential member of society by the entire ant world, an amazing transformation of a banal larva into a chrysalis, and, finally, a miraculous birth of a new recruit. The whole fascinating process lasts about one and a half months.

If there is no suitable female, then you can purchase eggs or larvae – the effect will be identical.

A bit about the forbidden

Ants on a farm can live up to 3 months. It is possible to periodically add new residents and, thus, life in an artificial anthill will seethe and develop for years. But there are some taboos:

• you can not overpopulate the anthill, otherwise the gel will be eaten ahead of time;
• tenants must be of the same type, if the rule is not observed, then the strongest will survive, who will destroy the rest;
• you need to constantly monitor the amount of filler;
• the anthill should be in a dark, cool place, away from sunlight and central heating communications;
• it is better to choose smaller tenants – they are long-livers;

If the gel remains, and the ants are no longer there, then its replacement is optional, you can also populate the next batch there, they themselves will arrange everything to their liking. Ants use the gel sparingly, so if everything is done correctly, then without changing the filler, you can grow several more ant generations.

Why not butterflies?

The reality is that it is to the small, tireless workers that people’s attention is now riveted. What are the reasons for such an active study of the life of ants? If you dive into the world of encyclopedic knowledge, you can find out that these insects:

• do not sleep at all;
• absolutely dumb;
• extremely ascetic;
• scrupulously obey a clear social hierarchy;
• the volume of their brain in relation to the size of the body, the largest among insects and mammals;
• the ant family can be compared in number to the bird family: there are thousands of different species of ants in the world;
• they are the only ones besides man who breed domestic animals;
• not a single creature is capable, like an ant, of lifting a load 100 times its body weight;
• the vitality of these insects is amazing;

The information received encourages people to learn more about them, to observe the amazing society of ants in nature. And recently it became possible to purchase home farms and now you can see the active and organized life of these interesting creatures around the clock.

Terrarium for ants: an entomologist’s dream

Who and why might need an ant farm?

Some buy a farm for your curious childrenhoping to awaken in them an even greater thirst for knowledge.

There are people who need formicarium as a means of relaxation, stress relief: they say, all life is an ant fuss, but we don’t notice really important things, and stuff like that. In addition, if you take a closer look at the activities of small, but such hardworking and persistent creatures, then this is great motivating.

Doctors say that contemplation of an ant terrarium regulates blood pressure surges, effectively calms the nervous system, and distracts from life’s difficulties. And if you use the farm as a night light (such illuminated models are commercially available), then this item will also decorate the room, giving it a futuristic charm.

Choosing a formicarium

The choice is huge. Models, sizes, shapes, filler can be selected for every taste.

The most common trusses are made of plexiglass and filled with gel.

Flat models with sand filling look like an exotic African souvenir. Sand for them is selected natural from different places on the planet, while each layer laid in the formicarium differs in color, and sometimes resembles a rainbow.

Gypsum terrariums lose outwardly, but, apparently, are convenient for ants, and this is the most important thing. Moves and galleries in such farms have already been made.

Farms equipped with lighting , there are any types, but they look most advantageous in tandem with a gel.

Exclusive models in the form of paintings , traced in the background – expensive and spectacular.

Whatever the reviews, one thing is undeniable – the ant farm has the right to exist and will always find its admirers.