Ant Farm Update #1

May 6th, 2008

Some readers may recall that a while ago I received a much-celebrated ant farm for my birthday. Well, now the English weather has warmed up a bit, the ground is crawling with little ants, and I decided it was time to capture some guests. Having given up on my crude jam-filled ant trap (by now, a science experiment in itself), I resorted to a jar and a stick. After a bit of poking around the dirt I had ten fine ant specimens - I mean, guests, in a jar. I put them in the fridge to make them sleepy and then shook them into my farm.

At first the ants huddled in a corner, so I assumed they were a little freaked and I put them in a dark cupboard to adjust to their new blue-gel wonderland. When I came back, four ants were crawling on the ceiling of the ant farm, and the rest - were nowhere to be seen! In less than two hours, over half my ants had squeezed through the pre-drilled air holes to freedom. Apparently, when they were huddled up, the mischevious little things were already planning a jailbreak.

So I taped up the air holes and put them back. I estimate there’s about 60 cubic centimetres of air in the farm, which should be enough to keep them going for a while.

After that I captured some more ants (from the same spot, naturally) and added them to my little insect kingdom. I didn’t bother chilling them this time, and I regretted that decision. The expression ‘herding cats’ is a misnomer, let me tell you. Once again I put my guests into storage to get settled in. When I came back, I discovered this:

My captive ants were systematically tearing away the rubber seal of the lid!! I had to admire the persistence and problem-solving abilities of the little buggers. To express this admiration, I taped up the entire lid to make sure this escape attempt was doomed. Even now, the ants have rejected my helpful starter tunnels and have made no attempt at building a hive, instead putting all their efforts into escape. I’m now keeping a close eye on my guests, and will report their future exploits.

Entry Filed under: General

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