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Collection
and Maintenance of Ants to Use for Teaching
by
Roger D. Akre, Laurel D. Hansen, and Elizabeth A. Myhre
and
Studying Ants: A Beginning
by
Mark B. DuBois
MAINTENANCE,
OBSERVATION ANT FARM
An observation
nest for the ants can easily be made from a pine strip 2"
X 3/4" X 62". Since most window glass is 3/32",
a 1/8" thick blade on a table saw is used to cut 1/4"
deep grooves into the strip, 1/4" from the edge (Figure
6). The strip is then cut into 3, 17" pieces and one
15 1/2". The 15 1/2" piece will be on the bottom,
the two 17" pieces will be used for the sides. They
are fastened together using glue and nails. A piece of glass
cut to fit is inserted into the grooves and pushed into
place. These glass panes will permit observation of the
ants.
Figure
6. Wooden frame of ant farm. Stabilizing feet may be added
to the bottom before glass is slipped into the grooves.
A lid,
made of the same pine strips, is routed out so that it can
be inserted between the glass strips and wooden sides at
the top of the nest. Three 1/2" holes are drilled through
this lid for ventilation and for access to feed the ants,
and the ends of the lid are notched so they rest on the
side strips. The lid is pushed into place and will fit tight
just by friction.
Figure
7. Inner container forces the ants to tunnel next to the
clear wall of the outer containers so they can be seen.
The
nest is then filled with soil (remove large stones and debris)
from the nest site (not sand), and >200 ants are added
to the soil surface. The ants will start excavating tunnels
immediately, and will soon make nest chambers in which to
keep their larvae. Up to 3,000 workers and 100 queens can
be maintained and observed in this nest. If the colony is
fed and watered, colonies will survive for 10 years or more.
A variation
of this observation nest can be constructed by placing one
container inside another so only the outer 1" is available
to the ants with soil to excavate (Figure 7).
Figure
8. Clear plastic box container, side and top views. The
top has a hole covered by screen.
Figure
9. Clear plastic boxes connected by tubing. One is the main
nest, the other the feeding chamber.
Figure
10. More than two chambers can be connected with clear tubing
to form an intricate three dimensional maze. Smaller containers
(clear 35 mm film containers) can be used as feeding chambers.
They can readily be detached and cleaned.
Next:
Maintenance, Classroom Use
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