Build A Giant Ant Farm
It looks like I'm on an ants kick right now. This may or may not be the last ant related post.. this week. 😉
When I was a kid, the idea of having an ant farm always interested me. I think it was partly because I have a bit of a fear of insects, and I liked the idea of being able to watch them safely and to be in control. But that fear was also what kept me from ever getting an ant farm. More specifically, the fear that somehow they would escape and I'd have a roomful of ants.
Fast-forward a bit to today, and there still seems to be a market for ant farms, but they've gotten quite a bit more sophisticated. The most popular brand of ant farms for sale appears to be the AntWorks ant farms. What's neat about the AntWorks ant farms is that they're filled with a nutrient rich gel. Unlike a traditional ant farm, ants in a gel ant farm get everything they need from the gel. There's no need to feed the ants or give them water.
There are several varieties of AntWorks ant farms, but the one that really caught my eye was the AntWorks Tunnel Vision
One thing that I'm curious about though: if two ant farms with well established ant colonies are connected to each other, will the ants defend their territory? Will there be constant ant battles? Is someone going to test this and get back to me? 🙂
Tags: ant farm, antworks, build ant farm, gel ant farm, giant ant farm
unlikelymoose said,
There's all sorts of Berlin Wall jokes here. But I seiously think if they are exact same kind of ants that they would get along just fine.
February 11, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
sparx said,
I know there are species of ants that are very territorial, and some that seek out other colonies to conquer and enslave… but I'm not sure about the "normal" ants that would be in an ant farm. They don't seem very aggressive, so I can't really picture them getting into turf wars.
Do you know what kind of ants are used in ant farms? I suppose I can look it up later. Research this and whatnot.
February 16, 2009 @ 10:55 am
spudart said,
after owning an ant farm a few years ago, i can tell you that when you dump the ants into the ant farm, they each take on particular roles in the community. But they do not fight.
However, they do die.
It's really not that much fun after about two weeks.
February 16, 2009 @ 12:16 pm
sparx said,
But, mr ant farm guy, what happens when two established colonies, with roles already decided on, meet?
February 16, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
Peterson said,
It depends on where you get the ants. If you order them in the mail chances are you're actually getting ants from the same colony (Any of the Milton ant farms use ants from same colony). That's why they don't fight. They can recognize each other through pheromones.
December 9, 2009 @ 12:39 pm
miguel said,
I would love to build a giant ant farm and hang on my wall, im talking 3 feet by 3 feet is it possible .
September 2, 2010 @ 5:26 pm
sparx said,
I'm sure you could build an ant farm MUCH larger than 3×3 feet.
The real question though is: if something goes wrong and it breaks… how many ants do you want unleashed upon your home?
September 2, 2010 @ 6:58 pm
spudart said,
ants die pretty fast.
September 26, 2010 @ 9:23 am