Ants in the terrarium

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KCN, 24.01.2009 21:15

Good afternoon!
I want to share my experience of keeping interesting terrarium objects - ants. Best of all (less whimsical) - black garden. he also kept red forest dogs.
For garden plants, two methods are suitable - to catch a wingless fat female in July-August (wingless means fertilized) and plant it in a jar with earth. Earth mixture-chernozem-sand 1-1. A little plant debris or dry moss on top. The main thing is that the humidity is sufficient - the ant family dies during a drought, especially fruiting females. To control the humidity in the jar, the easiest way is to plant a plant - while it is green and in a normal turgor-the humidity is optimal. fades - you need to water it.
The female digs a hole, and at the end of winter, the first workers appear, usually smaller than the next ones. Feed best with honey, you can add a piece of meat.
Another option is to cut out a piece of the anthill. If there are no winged females and males in it , you will have to catch a wingless one and plant it.
It should be noted that sometimes females are not accepted, and sometimes they are accepted. At low humidity, females are killed more often than at high humidity.
another option is to collect eggs (not cocoons, although they can also be used) and pour them to the ants - they always accept them, even of a different species. Larvae will come out of the eggs, then cocoons, then winged or working ones, depending on the harvest season.
By the way, the anthill is stable even without the queen, there will simply be no replenishment of workers.
The device of the lid is important -a lid for a 3-liter jar, an ordinary one, a hole for a syringe is cut in it-for honey and a hole for a grid-it is better to use a small metal one, if a pantyhose is chewed through in 2-3 weeks. The grid is glued together.
keep it better at room temperature, do not put it in the sun - ants die from overheating.
It is better to water the soil through a grid, try to open it less often - garden plants run well on glass.
There are no camponotuses running on the glass, but they are not stable, at least for me.
Red forest females are poorly accepted.
If you are interested in observing the life of ants , put a paper cover in the form of a cylinder on the part of the jar that is occupied by soil. ants will build their galleries right behind the glass, and after removing the cover, you can watch.
That's all there is to it.
I'm not an entomologist, and I've been breeding ants since high school - but I think this is the most interesting terrarium I've ever seen.
if anyone was interested in this-share your experience, do not hesitate, here all your own. if you are interested in more details, please contact us.
Sincerely, KCN.

This post was edited by KCN - 21.06.2018 12: 41