How to Make Your Own Formicarium: AntsCanada Tutorial #30

Summary

In this informative video, Mikey Buos from Ants Canada shares creative ideas for homemade ant farms, suitable for hobbyists and beginners on a budget. He discusses various materials like cork, white Tong (autoclaved aerated concrete), plaster, and even wood, showcasing different designs sent by viewers. Mikey emphasizes the importance of moisture gradients and nest cycling for healthy ant colonies, while also highlighting the benefits of natural nests for mimicking ants' natural behaviors.

Takeaways

• 🐜 Mikey Buos from AntsCanada is discussing homemade ant farms as an alternative to purchasing pre-built formicaria.
• 🌐 Many viewers, especially young ones, are catching ants during the nuptial flight season and starting to get into the hobby.
• 📚 Mikey appreciates the feedback from viewers whose tutorials have helped them and feels encouraged to create more content.
• 🏡 The video covers various DIY ant farm ideas, including cork nests, white Tong blocks, and plaster nests, highlighting their benefits and considerations.
• 🔩 Cork nests are suggested for carpenter ants due to their wood-loving nature and the need for drier nests, with a caution about potential rot and mold.
• 💧 White Tong blocks, made from autoclaved aerated concrete, are praised for their water retention properties and ease of tunnel drilling.
• 🌱 Plaster nests are noted for their water absorption and long history of use in ant keeping, but caution is advised due to potential mold issues.
• 🏺 The video showcases creative designs like attaching white Tong nests inside aquariums and using cement to create formicaria with water ducts.
• 🌳 Natural nests are presented as an option, allowing ants to behave naturally and manage their waste, with the added benefit of being an attractive display piece.
• 🌐 The video mentions the availability of formicaria on AntsCanada's website, including the flagship Omni nests, which are fully disassemblable and designed for practical ant keeping.
• 👍 Mikey encourages viewers to experiment with different designs and learn from others' experiences in ant keeping.

Q & A

Who is the speaker in the video script?

The speaker in the video script is Mikey Buos from AntsCanada.

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is about creating homemade ant farms or formicaria for ant keeping as an alternative to purchasing pre-built nests.

Why might young viewers be interested in the video?

Young viewers might be interested because the script mentions that many of the viewers are young, even as young as 12, who are getting into the hobby of ant keeping and may not be able to afford purchased nests.

What is a 'formicarium'?

A formicarium is a type of ant farm or artificial nest for keeping ants, which can be homemade or purchased.

What material is mentioned for creating a homemade formicarium that is water retentive?

White Tong, also known as autoclaved aerated concrete, is mentioned for its water retentive properties and ease of drilling tunnels.

What are the concerns with using a cork-based nest for ants?

The concerns with using a cork-based nest include the possibility of it rotting and potentially developing mold if not properly maintained.

What kind of ants does Mikey suggest keeping in a cork-based nest?

Mikey suggests keeping kongus, which are a type of carpenter ant, in a cork-based nest due to their preference for drier nests.

What is a 'natural nest' as described in the video?

A 'natural nest' is a setup where ants are given a digging medium like cork bark and allowed to behave as they would in nature, including creating their own chambers and waste disposal systems.

What is the 'Omn Nest' mentioned in the video?

The 'Omn Nest' is a flagship formicarium product from AntsCanada that is fully disassemblable, cleanable, and allows for full visibility of the ants' activities.

What advice does Mikey give for beginners interested in creating their own formicaria?

Mikey advises beginners to review the video for ideas, choose a design that suits their tastes and their ants' needs, and to experiment and learn from others' experiences.

What is the website viewers are directed to for purchasing formicaria?

Viewers are directed to antscanada.com for purchasing formicaria from AntsCanada.

Outlines

00:00

🐜 Introduction to Homemade Ant Farms

Mikey Buos from AntsCanada kicks off the tutorial by addressing the ant-keeping community, particularly the young enthusiasts who are starting their ant-keeping hobby. He acknowledges the viewers' interest in creating their own ant farms, especially those who can't afford to buy ready-made formicaria. The tutorial aims to provide ideas and examples of homemade ant farms, showcasing creativity and resourcefulness in ant care.

05:03

🏡 Creative DIY Ant Farm Designs

The paragraph delves into various DIY ant farm designs, starting with a cork nest that maintains a moisture gradient, suitable for wood-loving ants like carpenter ants. It also discusses the use of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC or white Tong) for its water retention properties, and how it can be drilled to create tunnels. The tutorial includes examples of flat white Tong nests, white Tong integrated into an aquarium setup, and cement-based formicaria with innovative water management systems.

10:04

🌱 Combining Formicarium and Outworld in a Single Unit

This section explores designs that integrate the formicarium and outworld into one unit, such as plaster nests within an outworld environment. It highlights the importance of monitoring temperature and hydration levels and the potential risks of mold due to moisture. The paragraph also features a plaster nest made of Paris plaster, which is easy to mold and dye, and a wooden nest that mimics termite-created tunnels for a cylindro Merm colony.

15:06

🎨 Unusual and Natural Ant Farm Options

The paragraph presents unconventional ant farm setups, including a simple container with ants, a test tube setup that serves as satellite nests, and a natural nest that allows ants to behave as they would in the wild. It emphasizes the benefits of natural nests, such as the ants' natural waste disposal system and the ability to plant real plants for an attractive display.

20:08

🛒 AntsCanada's OMN Nests and Encouragement to Experiment

Mikey concludes the tutorial by promoting AntsCanada's OMN nests, which are designed for practical ant keeping, allowing for easy disassembly, cleaning, and observation. He encourages viewers to subscribe, learn from experimentation, and seek advice from experienced ant keepers. He also invites viewers to check out the website for a variety of formicarium options and to consider the OMN nests for their ant-keeping needs.

Keywords

💡Ant Keepers

Ant keepers are hobbyists or enthusiasts who cultivate and maintain ant colonies, often in artificial environments known as formicaria. In the video, the speaker addresses this community, acknowledging their passion for creating homes for ants and their interest in learning about homemade ant farms.

💡Formicaria

Formicaria refers to artificial ant nests or habitats, which are the main focus of the video. The term is used to describe the various homemade ant farms discussed, including those made from materials like cork, white Tong, and plaster.

💡Nuptial Flights

Nuptial flights are the mating events of ants, where winged ants leave the nest to mate and potentially start new colonies. The video mentions that many viewers in North America are in their anting season, which includes these nuptial flights, indicating the timing for catching new queen ants.

💡Cork Nest

A cork nest is one type of homemade formicarium mentioned in the video, created using sheets of cork. It is highlighted for its ability to maintain a moisture gradient, which is essential for the ants' comfort and health, as demonstrated by the example where the upper part of the nest is more moist than the lower part.

💡White Tongue

White Tongue, also known as autoclaved aerated concrete, is another material used for creating formicaria. It is noted for its water retentive properties, making it suitable for creating tunnels and chambers for ants to inhabit, as shown in the video script where it is used in both upright and flat nest designs.

💡Capillary Action

Capillary action is the process by which water moves up through narrow spaces against gravity, driven by surface tension. In the context of the video, it is used to describe how water is distributed within certain formicaria designs, ensuring the ants' environment remains hydrated without over-saturation.

💡Plaster Nest

A plaster nest is a type of formicarium made from plaster of Paris or a similar material. It is praised in the video for its water absorption and the ability to support colonies over time. However, it also comes with the risk of mold if not properly managed.

💡Natural Nest

A natural nest, as mentioned in the video, is an ant habitat that closely mimics the ants' natural environment. It often includes real soil and plants, allowing the ants to behave as they would in the wild. The video script describes a natural nest housing an Aphaenogaster queen as an example of this type of formicarium.

💡Moisture Gradient

A moisture gradient refers to a variation in humidity levels within the ant's habitat. The video emphasizes the importance of this gradient for the ants' well-being, allowing them to choose their preferred environment within the nest.

💡Test Tube Setups

Test tube setups are a method of housing ants, often used for starting new colonies or as temporary habitats. In the video, it is mentioned that some ants use test tubes as satellite nests, indicating their versatility and practicality in ant keeping.

💡Omn Nests

Omn nests are a specific product mentioned in the video, designed and engineered for ant keeping with practicality in mind. They are fully disassemblable and allow for a clear view of the ants' activities, making them a popular choice among ant keepers.

Highlights

Introduction to homemade ant farms as an alternative to purchasing formicaria for young hobbyists and those on a budget.

Discussion on the importance of moisture gradients in ant nests for the ants' comfort and choice.

Presentation of a cork nest design with a moisture gradient, suitable for wood-loving ant species like carpenter ants.

Exploration of using white Tong (autoclaved aerated concrete) for creating water-retentive ant nests.

Description of a white Tong nest setup with a glass top and silicone sealing for an upright nest design.

Innovative flat white Tong nest design from the Netherlands with an attached outworld tube.

Use of cement and creative design for an ant nest within an aquarium by a hobbyist from New York.

Mention of the challenges of cleaning white Tong nests due to their sponge-like properties.

Introduction of a cement formicarium with a water duct system for capillary action hydration.

Creative formicarium design from the Philippines with cement, sand, gravel, and fake plants for an attractive outworld.

Discussion on the benefits of natural nests for ants, including natural behaviors and reduced need for cleaning.

Showcasing of a plaster nest design within a well, with real plants and soil for a realistic environment.

Presentation of a plaster nest made of plaster of Paris, a cost-effective and water-absorbent material.

Highlight of a wood nest design for termite-loving ants, created with artificial tunnels and chambers.

Humorous inclusion of a simple container with ants, possibly as a joke, from a viewer in South Africa.

Introduction of a formicarium setup using test tubes as satellite nests for a Lasius colony.

Showcasing of a natural nest housing an Aphaenogaster queen, allowing for natural digging and behaviors.

Promotion of AntsCanada's website for formicariums and the flagship Omni-Nest designed for practical ant keeping.

Encouragement for viewers to subscribe, experiment, and learn from trying new things in ant keeping.

Transcripts

hello everyone all of you ant lovers out

there this is Mikey buos from ants

Canada thank you guys for watching my

videos and welcome to the ants Canada

ant Channel where we talk about ants you

know a lot of you guys have been writing

in saying ah I've caught a queen you

know all of you in North America are hot

into your anting season you know the

ants there are having nuptial flights

and you guys are catching your ants and

a lot of you guys are starting to get

into the hobby um and I think that's

great a lot of you are saying that my

tutorials have helped you a lot um I

think it's awesome so I thought it was

time to create another ant tutorial to

talk about homemade ant farms it's

basically an alternative to purchasing

fully built formicaria your own nests a

lot of you who've been writing in to me

are young kids and you know as young as

12 who are watching my videos so hello

out there thank you guys so much for

watching um with your parents and thank

you to your parents for supporting your

ant love um and a lot of you are teens

as well and your students and you know

some of you guys don't have jobs so of

course you can't afford any Nest that

you buy online or anything like that so

you need to essentially create it

yourself um a lot of you guys out there

are just as crafty and um you know

resourceful as the ants that you care

for a lot of you ant Keepers out there

like to create you you want to create

the homes um of your ants and that's

kind of the fun part of being a ant

keeper and an ant hobbyist you get to

create the nests yourself um it's a very

satisfying feeling so I totally get that

so for those of you who need ideas in

terms of how to create your own

formicaria here are some great ideas

pictures that you guys have sent into me

of your homemade formicaria and of some

that I found online all right the first

one here is a photo that I found online

of someone who is keeping it looks like

campones or formica in a cork nest for

those of you who have access to sheets

of cork where crafty you can essentially

have two layers of cork you have the

back layer and then a second layer to

create the walls for this cork Nest you

can see that um this person has

established a gradient where the upper

part of the nest is more moist and the

lower part in this picture is drier um

and that's always good you don't want to

soak an entire Nest you want to have

some kind of moisture gradient there so

the ants can choose uh where to go it

looks to me like these two Cor sheets

are screwed together the glasses placed

on top uh sandwiching the cut cork sheet

there I've seen nests like this before

um I don't know how long it takes before

a nest like this would rot um and

perhaps mold but it looks to me like

this Nest would last at least a year for

me I would probably try to keep konus in

a nest like this um carpenter ants

because you know carpenter ants are wood

loving but also so they appreciate drier

nests you know so you don't really have

to soak this cork Nest which might cause

it to rot quicker so uh yeah it's a

great idea if you have access to sheets

of cork now if you look at this Nest

this here is a big block of white Tong

also known as autoclaved erated concrete

and what it is is it's created in an

autoclave pressurized while it while the

cement hardens so that there are

minuscule air bubbles in the cement

which causes it to have um water

retentive properties what that means is

it's a brick that absorbs water those

tunnels there are drilled using a drill

bit or a Dremel and from my

understanding it's pretty easy to drill

tunnels into this brick it looks to me

like this person has the white tongue

block sitting in a a long pan Which I

suppose is used to hold the water um and

it's a all around a very beautiful and

practical Nest uh I see a piece of glass

uh fastened there uh onto the block I

see that this person has used uh some

silicone cocking uh to do that and uh

yeah so they've chosen for this white

Tong Nest to be an upright Nest you can

also create a white tongue Nest that is

flat uh for those of you North America

finding white Tong in autoclaved irated

concrete is kind of hard um to come

across I know in Europe you guys there

and in Australia have a lot of access to

AC as they call it or white Tong or

hebble brick it's got a lot of names um

and you might it might be easier for you

guys to find that the thing about white

Tong is uh once the ants completely soil

it it's kind of hard to clean I mean you

can scrub it but because of all those

little bubbles in there uh some of the

waste gets trapped into those micro

bubbles it's the nest kind of becomes

becomes a big sponge for um microbes if

you uh don't control moisture like for

those of ants that are moisture loving

there's a higher risk there of like

bacteria overtaking the entire Nest now

as I said before white Tong nests can be

created to lie flat as in this picture

uh which is from Roy UT from Netherlands

um now he essentially has the white

tongue flat and a glass placed on top

and of course a tube which attaches to

the outworld there on the right very

neat design me personally I prefer nests

that lay flat um only because you know

you can I find the the view of the ants

better The Brood sits on the floor and

you know rarely will you see ants

hanging from the ceiling um unless the

room is really really packed so for me I

prefer having flat nests and I like to

kind of look from the top uh from a

bird's eye view but that's all Personal

Taste that's completely up to you now

another thing you can do is uh you can

do what Lawrence here from New York did

which was attach a white Tong carved out

Nest uh into the inside of an aquarium

so what he did here was he took a white

Tong block carved a nest and then stuck

it to the side of an aquarium then

filled the rest of the space with uh

some sand and it looks like dry sand um

now the way this works is if you keep

the sand relatively dry the ants will

choose not to burrow in it and they will

make use of the white Tong brick now

some people instead of using sand like

to use um cement or grout and then that

way the ants for sure don't dig into the

medium that they're not supposed to um

and you see here that he has a little

opening for the ants to enter the white

tongue nest

uh some of you guys have sent in some

really cool formicariums not made of AAC

but made of actual cement if you look at

this formicarium created by Art Perez

from Anaheim California you can see that

he created uh a formicarium piece which

is made of cement and he siliconed that

to the glass and then on top of that he

filled all of that space with some more

cement and then added decorations on the

top while it dried that to me is a heavy

Nest but he says he filled um the most

of the space behind that big block of

cement with um a filler I believe it was

styrofoam so the whole aquarium isn't

heavy uh this is a great design um and

he says that the way he Waters The Nest

is there's like a sort of water duct

over there to the right you can see it

it runs from top to bottom and water

goes in there and essentially there's a

space between the nest and the glass so

water spreads through capillary re

action through that that really tight

space really kind of clever similarly

here is Rox solar malite from

Philippines he sent in this formicarium

design um and it's really neat you can

see the top of the earth portion he's

even got a um man-made I it looks like a

a puddle or a lake I think that's great

I think it's very creative uh so he used

here uh cement as well and he sprinkled

some sand and gravel on the top while

cement was drying and also added twigs

and fake plants you can buy fake plants

from anywhere for those of you in the US

and Canada Dollarama has tons of great

great fake plants um so you can look uh

for that stuff there um and as for Twigs

you can find lots of Twigs outside or

wherever uh so he made his out outworld

very attractive very nice um easy to

make you got to remember though you

don't want to make it too complex and

too decorated because remember you got

to clean this space when the ants leave

their garbage and create cemeteries now

if you look here these are his ants I

believe he's keeping solenopsis geminata

and they are loving this cement

formicarium now I assume this

formicarium is also hydrated by way of

capillary action you know when you pour

water into the outworld it eventually

just kind of spreads throughout the

entire formicarium uh between the many

spaces uh between the glass and the

formicarium all right so moving on now

to entire units uh which contain

formicarium and outworld in the same

unit I saw this really neat picture um

online it's essentially a plaster Nest

inside a well an outworld and instead of

the nest portion facing the glass The

Nest actually faces the inside of the

formicarium and this also creates a cool

option um you can see here this person

has decided to plant some plants there

uh I see real soil a shallow layer of

real soil there um and they've just

stuck it there looks really really nice

really attractive they've got a

hygrometer there and thermometer there

as well to monitor temperature and

hydration really cool uh design and uh

the thing is the thing I'm concerned

about here though is if the ground is

kept really moist then I imagine the

plaster as well would be moist and might

possibly rot faster um now it as a rule

I say if you add uh a thin layer of soil

you should keep it dry but I see real

plants there so that's the problem you

got to wet you got to water the plants I

mean they plants they need water so the

soil will be relatively wet which also

means the ants might be encouraged to

dig and move into that soil and create a

nest nesting site there

um and as well it also means that all of

that moist soil will be touching the

bottom of that plaster

formicarium which causes a risk for mold

outbreak but hey it looks like it's

working I see some ants there um and

they're really

inhabiting uh that plaster nest and it

doesn't look like they're digging into

that moist soil so hey if it works it

works great this is a kind of cute

formicarium this photo was sent in from

Stacy Watson from Bristol United Kingdom

it's a 3inch nest made of plaster kind

of neat so she has this small little

container um and she uh created a

plaster nest and when I say plaster this

is plaster of Paris by the way um and I

believe they also have this substance

which is more Hardy called hydr

Stone um and plaster of Paris is very

easy to buy it's cheap you can get it

from any arts and craft store um and

essentially you just need uh some kind

of cast and mold thing where you can use

Play-Doh she used Play-Doh I guess to

create a tunnel and then you pour that

plaster into that container let it dry

pull that mold out remove the um clay

the Play-Doh and then you have that

design and it looks like also she used

um some brown dyes now in terms of dyes

and that sort of thing in formicariums

I'm kind of I I'm kind of chemical

phobic when it comes to the living space

of my Ants um even the silicone that I

use for my formicariums and for creating

your formicariums for those of you who

have purchased um my formicariums in the

past I always use uh aquarium safe

silicone for those of you in Canada you

can buy this in a Canadian Tire Home

Depot it says safe for

aquariums um and I believe you in the

states as well have access to this uh

it's just uh ants a lot of times

depending on the species are very

chemical sensitive so I'm just afraid of

using dyes even though they might be

organic dyes or whatever I just I prefer

to keep things as raw I guess as

possible but nevertheless this is a cute

Nest uh for a starting Colony I think it

would be great and if you could connect

many of these it uh makes an attractive

piece for for anyone all right here's

another example of a plaster Nest from

Casper and Sophie from Poland this time

in a round container and it looks to me

like they are keeping formica in this uh

plaster Nest really cool again the thing

with plaster is it's great it absorbs

water well and has proven to raise

colonies over decades now it's been an

option for a lot of end Keepers for many

many decades but it also can mold you

know when there's food sitting around it

molds and so it needs to be changed the

great thing about plaster nests is it

forces you to keep changing the nests

eventually when the you know all the

bacteria and mold builds up you're just

forced to move the colony to a new Nest

which is great uh I've talked about Nest

cycling in previous videos which is very

important you know ants live in soil and

the soil is always moving it's always

circulating ants are bringing soil from

the bottom up and just creatures are

moving the soil around so they're never

in stag stagnant media whereas in a

captive for merium the ants have to stay

in the same stuff that you give them you

know and it's it gets kind of gross so

um for those of you with plaster nests

it forces you guys to Nest cycle which

in my books is great now this Nest is a

really cool Nest from Josh Richards um

and it's a wood Nest I rarely see these

but when I saw this picture I thought it

was kind of neat this Colony housed in

this formicarium is a cylindro Merm and

they live in Wood they live in tunnels

that are created by termites so what

this guy's done is he's created um well

an

artificial wooden termite eaten

formicarium I guess uh it's it's really

neat he's used tools to create tunnels

and um Chambers and he's moved the

colony in there and if you look at this

picture to the upper left there are tiny

termites in there and that's what he's

feeding these ants and the Ants are

doing really really well if you see

there's you've got Pupi and larva and

eggs and it's just a really cool thing

um for those of you with camponotus I'm

sure this would work um again to hydrate

the nest I'm sure all you need to do is

just wet one portion of the nest um and

not too much so that it does so you know

you keep it from rotting um but uh most

campanadas prefer medium to to dry nests

so this actually would work uh for you

if you have kutus the only thing though

is you would need to line the

outside uh with some maybe metal or

plastic or I don't know perhaps even

silicone cocking something that

carpenter ants cannot chew through

because these ants that he's keeping in

here don't chew through wood they they

just inhabit the homes of um

termites which are the wants to board

the the tunnels and the chambers so yeah

wooden nests really cool really

neat now I really hope this is a joke

but we received this photo from Louis

Pimentel in South Africa saying that he

brings his ants

everywhere so uh I don't even see any

rooms or Chambers it just looks like a

container with ants in them but I

figured I'd include it in this video

just for some comic relief all right

this setup is from Michael Stewarts uh

and he he's keeping his laus Colony um

in a formicarium that basically is his

outworld along with several test tube

setups and it seems to be working for

him and uh for the species he says the

ants are using the test tubes as

satellite nests and several of the test

tubes have brood and other things in

there so it's uh it's great that this

setup works too if you don't have a

formicarum and finally my personal

favorite the natural nest this photo is

from Thomas um who posted in the uh an

and micology group on Facebook it's a

natural Nest which is housing a queen a

meria queen from Australia uh really

really neat he's opted to just provide

the ant some digging medium a piece of

cork bark and just allow the queen ant

to do what she does in nature people are

always looking for the most natural Nest

this here here is the most natural Nest

giving your ants the freedom to

completely dig if they want to dig away

from the glass which they probably will

they have that Liberty to do that and

you know some end Keepers don't want to

see the action that goes on in the nest

they're just completely happy with

seeing the ants that emerge um above the

nest when you have super super large

colonies anyways it's all the same you

just see ants Chambers with babies you

rarely ever see the queen so you know

you might as well make your ants happy

and give them a natural Nest it's a

great alternative in my opinion and the

great thing about natural nests is you

can actually plant real plants and make

it look really really attractive um as a

display piece say in a living room like

look at this picture really really

beautiful the great thing about a

natural Nest is the ants also behave

naturally in terms of garbage disposal

you know some ants will just create

rooms just for garbage and completely

block off those rooms and it in turn

causes you know microbiota in the soil

to come and break down the waste uh

naturally fungus bacteria all of that to

just naturally break down the ants

garbage you know and so you essentially

don't have to worry about cleaning as

much because the ants just have their

own uh compost system going on there

it's really cool all righty and there

you have it those are examples of some

nests that you guys have sent in to me

um and I wanted to share it with

everyone else for those of you who are

looking for ideas for creating for

marcaria um and I know a lot of you guys

are beginners so um yeah be sure to

review this video and choose a design

that you think best suits you your

tastes and best suits your ants

especially uh and of course to eliminate

any of that guess workor feel free to

check out our website antscanada.com we

have formicariums there for you guys uh

for any species that you guys have

except for some of the more specialized

species like Leaf Cutters and Weaver

ends and if you do check out our site

please do check out our Flagship for

Marium the omn nests which just released

in November last year you know it's a

fairly new product but more and more

people all over the world are ordering

them and discovering just how great they

are for keeping ants we had designed

them and engineered these for marcaria

uh with ant keeping practicality in mind

they're fully disassemblable they can be

cleaned they can be rearranged and you

see everything absolutely all things

that are happening in the nest it's a

really really cool concept the response

we've been getting from the mail just

from people sending in photos of their

ants uh in our omn nests it uh just has

been fantastic a great response and

definitely our number one selling for

Marium so if you can save up or ask your

parents uh to get you something for your

birthday or for Christmas or anything

like that be sure to pick up an omn Nest

I promise you guys will love it anyways

this video has gotten so long now thank

you guys for watching my videos be sure

to subscribe um and go go catch those

queens and experiment there's only one

way to learn about these ants and that's

trying new things experimenting and

learning from others who have kept ants

thank you guys for watching my videos

take care until next time

[Applause]

bye

oh