Build Your Own Ant Ranch or Condo

The Basics | Ant Condos | Life Span | Release | Buying

So, you want to raise ants in your classroom, but can't afford an ant ranch. Or your children are eager to experiment and you need several ant ranches. Or the budget's really tight. Or you're a natural do it yourselfer. Whatever, with very few materials you can build as many ant ranches as you like and connect them, too.

The basics:

1 one liter soda bottle
1 two liter clear soda bottle
sand or sandy soil
1 piece of cardboard about 4" x 4"
1 piece of cheesecloth about 12" x 12", doubled
1 rubber bands
1 piece of clay the size of a marble, or an inch of double sided tape, or scotch tape, or . . .
Cut the tops off the soda bottles at the shoulder and discard. Put the small soda bottle inside the larger one. Keep it in place by putting the piece of clay, or whatever adhesive you have, on the bottom of the small bottle.

Make an eating platform for your ants by cutting the cardboard just a bit larger than the small bottle and taping it on top of the small bottle. It can be square, or round, or freeform, colorful, or au naturale. (I've used a piece of black and white checked contact paper that reminds me of linoleum.) After all, we know they eat off of our kitchen floors, as well as "in the wild." Three or four pieces of tape will do. We're just trying to hold it in place, not trying to keep the ants out of the small bottle. They can go wandering in there, if they'd like.

Fill the space in between the two bottles with the sandy soil. This way you'll be able to see the tunnels and rooms,

Feed the ants by placing oatmeal on the dining platform. Now, of course, this is boring food at best. You know what ants eat - cookie crumbs, cracker crumbs, tiny pieces of sweet things. etc. Just think of what they swarm over at a picnic. It will help if you cut the food up into ant sized pieces.

Now wait a minute! One of the biggest reasons for deaths in classroom ant colonies is overfeeding. One half teaspoon a week is enough for your colony of 1 - 2 dozen ants.

Ants don't live on bread alone. They need water, too. The best way to give them water, and prevent drowning, is by putting a piece of wet sponge in a bottle cap and placing it on the dining platform.

To prevent escapes, cover the top of the two liter bottle with a piece of doubled cheesecloth held tightly with a rubber band.

Ant Condos
Now for the creative part. Take clear plastic tubes - you can get them at a hardware store - and make walkways for your critters.

Poke a hole in your bottle just above the sand and insert the end of the tube. Let it stick out on the inside about 1/8 - 1/4". Make sure it fits tight, so the ants don't get out. You can wrap tape around it, or glue it, or fix it with whatever materials you have around.

Connect as many ant farms as you'd like. You can also disconnect the tubes and tape a small piece of paper or plastic, or whatever, tightly over the opening.

One caution. Ants from different colonies don't mix well. They actually wage war! So make sure your ants were all collected from the same anthill before you allow them to go visiting.

Life Span
The average life of an ant ranch seems to be 6 - 12 weeks, unless you collect a queen. With a queen, your colony can continue to thrive for as long as you'd like.

Release
Be sure to release the ants wherever you collected them. It's the ecologically resonsible thing to do.

If you purchased your ants mail order, you won't need to worry about releasing them. They'll die before release time - see life span above - since they are shipped without queens. There is rarely a need to dispose of them by euthanasia - freezing is the recommended method - since every classroom has a least one child willing to take the ant ranch(s) home with them.

Buying Ants
Can't imagine why you'd want to buy ants - unless it's the dead of winter. Seems strange to be giving you the address of the ant ranch maker when you're making your own, but . . . . uhmmm.

Uncle Milton Industries
5717 Corsa Avenue
Westlake Village, California 91362
800-869-7555
818-707-0878 fax


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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