How to make a homemade anthill?

Ants are popular insects for their laborious habits.And, like It happens with the bees, the worker ants are dedicated to work in groups for the good of the colony and the queen.It is common to see them working to increase their anthill or gather food, because the ants are present all over the world.

In this sense, observing them can be a fascinating activity for insect lovers.If you are also one of them, you have probably wondered how to make a homemade anthill , right? Then read on, in ExpertAnimal we explain everything you need about this process:

Homemade anthill: the bowl

The first thing you should do is to get a suitable container to start your anthill.Some people use simple plastic kitchen containers, but the most recommended, for hygiene, size and maintenance, is to use glass containers .

We can buy glass containers that are intended for other functions, such as a glass, a tupper or an aquarium for fish.However, the most advisable to guarantee the survival of the colony and the creation of the spaces will be to acquire a glass anthill in a physical or online pet store.In the market we will find very varied and creative options.In the event that you use recycled glass jars or containers, make sure they are clean, without labels or inscriptions.

But in addition to the anthill you will need a foraging area , that is, second space that you should connect with the ho Homemade miguero.In this space the ants will perform the function of food search , in addition to eliminating waste and exercising, essential for their well-being.

Types of anthill

There are many types of anthill, both commercial and homemade.We can find some of land, where you start without holes .In these the ants must dig for themselves and can be a very interesting option For all those curious people who wish to see the process as naturally as possible, in other cases, we can opt for anthill with prefabricated spaces , where we can probably observe the process better but more artificially.

The materials of the commercial anthill (and homemade, because we can also make them at home) with spaces already created prior to the introduction of the ants are:

• Gel
• Plaster
• Cork
• Acrylic
• Plastic
• Etc.

How to make a homemade anthill?

In this video of the channel Aquariums 4k you are taught how to make a homemade anthill with its respective foraging area in an economical and simple way:

Homemade anthill: the substrate

If you've decided on an anthill with soil , you're probably wondering what kind of substrate to use.You should know that the soil can be easily obtained from your garden, you just have to make sure that be wet earth with the presence of some small stones.Yes, monitor the amount of moisture, since it should not be soaked, but neither rammed nor completely dry.Similarly, check that the earth does not contain animal remains, so you will avoid fungal formation due to rot.

It is advisable to examine it carefully to eliminate any organic (food, dead animals) and inorganic (pieces of plastic, glass, cigarette butts, among others).Ideally, the substrate of your home anthill is free of these elements, as well as other live insects that could attack the ants.

If you don't have adequate land in your garden, you can acquire soil and sand in a nursery or greenhouse, just make sure that the soil is not fertilized or compost.Once you have selected the land, mix two parts of it with one of sand and pour into the anthill , either the flat aquarium or the recycled jars.Make sure that the earth is not stuck in the crystals (if this happens, it means that it is very wet and you should remove it to dry) and that it is not very compact, remember that ants should be able to move easily .

Homemade anthill: oxygen

Before introducing the ants, you need to find a method to keep them inside the anthill, otherwise, they will escape.Completely closing the aquarium or the containers you are using is impossible, since you would prevent oxygen from entering and the ants would die.

We recommend you follow the following steps for the construction of a home anthill:

• Leave 3 centimeters free of earth before from the edge of the container, so it will be more complicated for the ants to get there.
• Cover the edge with mineral oil taking care that it does not slip towards the ground.
• Cover the edge with a napkin , fasten it to the aquarium walls on the outside and make holes using a pin or needle .The holes should be small to prevent ants from getting out.
• To the lid of the home anthill, make larger holes to allow air to enter.As the napkin will be in Between the anthill and the lid, the ants will not be able to access these holes.
• Place the anthill lid on top of the pierced napkin.

In this way, your Ants will receive enough oxygen without escaping their colony.

How to make an ant farm?

Your anthill is almost ready, now, where to look for your new tenants? In a wrong way, many people choose to use some ants from their garden, however, these insects reproduce under a strict hierarchical system , so they will survive very few weeks in a new anthill if they do not have a Queen.After this time, they will die to fulfill their life cycle and there will be none left in the colony.

Where to get a queen? Here the real problem arises.they almost never leave the interior of the anthill, remain in the deepest and darkest place having young and organizing the operation of the colony, they can only be seen outside during the bridal flight , that is, the period of mating.Some people might think of destroying the anthill or capturing the queen during the nuptial flight, however, the anthill that already exists will perish in a short time, so we do not recommend this option under any circumstances .

In these cases, the best or is to go to a store and buy a kit of ants for a homemade colony.These have been raised without destroying the home of other insects and include the queen ant and several workers.However, in the Next video we will see how to identify queen ants and how to start an ant colony.

How to introduce ants in the anthill?

Taking the ants to their new home is very simple.They are usually marketed in test tubes , which include water, a separation cotton, seeds and a small colony formed by the queen, the workers and one or two soldier ants.Bastara with open the funnel and leave it above the foraging area .

The ants themselves will take the initiative and begin to dig or find a safe area so that the queen can take refuge.It is important that during this process we lower the lighting of the room, since the queen ant has preference for dark areas .You can also place a black cardboard on the outside of the anthill, which you can also remove when you are curious without causing damage to the ants.Remember that you should cover the upper area , to prevent them from escaping.

Ant care at home

Once the home anthill is built, pay attention to the care of ants:

Ants feeding

Ants feeding will depend on the size of the ants anthill, the number of insects it contains and the type of ants.Yes, there are ants honeys , others that feed on different insects , fruits or seeds .We will leave the food suitable for the species in the foraging zone .In any case, no you exceed the amount of food or it will rot.Avoid offering cooked food or meat for the same reason.

Water

Ants get most of their food hydration.However , it may be convenient to reinforce it to prevent them from becoming dehydrated and die .You should not water the soil, because you run the risk of drowning the ant farm.soak a cotton ball in water and renew it every few days.

Hygiene

You should regularly clean the foraging area, never the interior of the anthill.outer space ants discard unusable food, dirt or the corpses of their deceased companions.You can use a stick of the ears to do it.

Where to put the home anthill?

Ant colonies are built underground, so they prefer a dark environment to do their lab work res.You should not place the anthill near a window or a lamp, prefer a space of the house with little lighting, otherwise, you should cover the crystals with cardboard.

Similarly, the ideal is that you choose a space of the house that can be the permanent home of the ants, since it is not advisable to move the anthill or manipulate it .In case you need to do it, you must be very careful to avoid that Earth travels and crushes the ants.

With these simple tips, your home ant colony will prosper in a short time.Sure!

If you want to read more articles similar to How to make a home anthill? , we recommend you go to our section What you need to know.

References

Lopez Criado, P.; Mateos, J.C; Rodriguez Lopez, A.(S/f). Ant farm, an ecosystem in the classroom. University of Salamanca, Spain.