3D Printed Ant Farm (1/8/2022)

-

     In recent years, 3D printing technology has grown immensely in popularity, driven by its increasing affordability and accessibility. As an ant enthusiast, there is often a need for an accessory or part that would be difficult or impossible to purchase. For example, different sized, sturdy trays for providing ants liquid food (such as honey) are quite difficult to come across. 3D printing has solved this problem for many, as it enables people to print feeding trays designed to fit the dimensions of their formicaria. In addition, 3D printing has enabled creation of customized formicaria at the click of a button, a feature of the technology that has made custom formicarium creation easier than ever.

    I have personally utilized 3D printing for a variety of ant-related projects as well, one of which is this ant farm style formicarium that lets the ants to dig in a predefined space, which forces them to make their chambers visible, but still lets them choose how they excavate their chambers. The formicarium consists of two major parts: the outer plastic container and the inner 3D printed chamber. This inner chamber is first filled with sphagnum moss (to retain moisture), then sealed onto the base of the acrylic container using hydrostone plaster, with one side of the inner chamber touching one wall of the outer box. The side of the inner chamber touching the outer box has a small hole in it, where a syringe can be inserted to moisten the sphagnum moss, providing the ants will all the water they need. The finished product looks like this:



    So far, I have used this formicarium for two of my favorite Californian ant species: Pogonomyrmex subdentatus and Myrmecocystus mexicanus. Both species have been thriving in these formicaria, and watching them create spacious chambers to their liking has given more insight into how these ants nest in the wild. The Pogonomyrmex dig wide, but low-ceilinged chambers at the bottom, with a maze of tunnels reaching up to the surface. Being harvester ants, they created seed galleries in the drier portions of their nest. The Myrmecocystus on the other hand dug cavern-like chambers, which were both high and wide. This allowed them to accommodate their larger "honeypots", or repletes. 

   Myrmecocystus mexicanus in this formicarium. The dirt makes photography difficult, but allows them to shape their nest to their liking




   Pogonomyrmex subdentatus in this formicarium, which have dug much narrower, more chaotic chambers in the dirt.

    Overall, I really love the amount of flexibility 3D printing brings to the DIY-side of the ant keeping space. The ability to imagine something, and turn it into a physical product in just a few short hours is incredible, and is sure to be a staple of innovation, both ant-related and otherwise, in the coming years. In the future, I would like to experiment more with 3D printed formicaria, especially in regards to designing larger, modular setups and displays.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Experience Raising Honeypot Ants 3/9/2020

-
Image
     Throughout the years I have kept ants, honeypots have been one of my favorite types of ants to raise. Here in California, our native honeypot ants are all of the genus Myrmecocystus . These ants are visually stunning, producing large food-filled workers called repletes. Here are some repletes of one of our native species,  Myrmecocystus mexicanus :        Generally , honeypot queens will have a captivity success rate of less than 25%, which make them very hard to keep. In the years I have been raising ants, I have kept five unique species of them, all native to California. In this post, I will describe in detail the methods, tips and tricks I use to raise honeypot ant colonies. Founding       The  most difficult part of raising honeypot ants is the founding stage. Certain species, such as Myrmecocystus navajo , aren't too temperamental during this stage. However, others, such as Myrmecocystus mexicanus  are. ...
Read more

Species Profile: Camponotus fragilis

-
Image
    California is one of the most diverse states in terms of ant species. One of the most unique species native to California is Camponotus fragilis . These ants are known for their distinctive yellow coloration, which is uncommon among the Camponotus  species in California. They are one of the fastest growing Camponotus species , and are a great species for beginner and expert antkeepers alike. Species Name: Camponotus fragilis Photos: Camponotus fragilis colony with their first major worker Difficulty:  Beginner California Distribution:      This species is found in abundance throughout the deserts of southern California. Species Description:       This species is one of the few yellow Camponotus  species present in California. These ants usually nest under rocks or debris in desert regions. They have colonies that get quite large, with some colonies in captivity having several thousand workers. This species is monogynous, which m...
Read more

Myrmecocystus mexicanus: California's Largest Honeypot Ants 1/18/2019

-
Image
     During the summer of 2019, I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to the Mojave Desert. While the deserted landscape may seem desolate, it is teeming with an abundance of creatures, if you look in the right places.      One of the best times to see desert life is right after a monsoon storm, which often take place in the summers. These storms drop immense amounts of rain in a short time, which often causes flash floods. However, these rains can also trigger the nuptial flights of ants, where the reproductive males and females fly out of the nest in search of a mate.      Luckily for me, I visited the desert at the perfect time. A storm had come through and dropped multiple inches of rain over some easily accessible desert. Upon arrival to the sites which had received the most rain, I was able to find queens of many different species. One of the species I collected was Myrmecocystus mexicanus, the largest species of honeypot ant in Ca...
Read more