ANTSTORE World of Ants

[APROSE]

Hi,
This is my first post, as I have just found the site.
I am about to order some products and ants to get me started.
My kids love "creepy crawlies", animals ,fish and just about anything to do with nature. They loved the thought of getting ants that will live in their playroom.(with my supervision of course).
I like the idea of the "Antaquarium" that is filled with the jell. You don't talk about it much! is it as good and healthy for the ants and will it give a better view of the ant's activities????

Aprose

[Peter]

jsut to say that my brother got me one last yea and its small verry small also onse teh ants die its hard to get the out then as most of the blue jelly food the molder from a dead ant grows very fast i would not recker mend it to any unless u want to use the blue jelly as food try getting the Ant farm deluxe for the wall my friend has this and its fun to sit and watch the,

hope this helps in some way

sorry aobut spelling to

[jogi]

Hey!
An antquarium is also a good formicarium for many ants, but not for all. You must see, that the humidity is high and therefore the ants must like it (e.g. some Myrmica species). So, for those ants it is a approbriate behavior, but not for a very long time. We still make experiments with it.
But i think, for beginners it is a good opportunity, because it seems a little bit more fascinating.
good luck!
Joachim

[APROSE]

Thank you for your advice.
I have gone ahead and ordered acolony and some sand etc.
I have built my own "viewing tank"(sorry forgot the proper name).
I will let you know how it works out.


ps. How tight should the lid be?
Will they climb up the side of the glass to escape or will they stay in the sand and lum if it only goes half way up?????

[Peter]

np every one got driffent veiws and they will clim the glass

[fukuokaant]

Hello I have read in a newspaper about ants:

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By KAHO SHIMIZU
Staff writer

The plastic conversation piece filled with aquamarine-tinted gel is missing a vital ingredient: ants.

Ants set up home in an Antquarium.

The Antquarium puts a new spin on the old ant farm, filled as it is with a gel that gives ants something to both feed on and tunnel into. Put the ants inside and never have to worry about them again.

The Italian product has sold more than 70,000 units since its debut in June 2003, importer Outride Brandship Builder Inc. said. Ants are not included.

Takenori Shigetomi, 28, said, "As I live on my own, I wanted to have pets that are easy to take care of." He said he also "wanted to feel close to nature."

Shigetomi has kept six ants in his Antquarium at his home in Tokyo since April.

It costs 3,150 yen and is available at Tokyu Hands Inc., Lawson Inc. and other retailers as well as the Outride Brandship Web site.

Tokyu Hands also sells other no-fuss pet products at its 22 outlets nationwide.

Its Shibuya store started selling Holo Holo, a small plastic box that contains around five tiny Scarlet Shrimp, for 3,129 yen in June 2003. The 1-cm shrimp come from Hawaii, hence the product's Hawaiian name, which means to stroll.

"We never expected the products to be such a big success," said Masaki Okazaki, who works at a Tokyu Hands outlet in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

He said the outlet expanded the shelf space for such products threefold in January.

The Antquarium went on sale in Tokyu Hands about a month later, and was soon followed by products such as a kit to raise "tadpole" shrimp.

Okazaki said the Antquarium is popular with men in their 20s and 30s. Women in the same age bracket tend to favor the Holo Holo, he said.

The water in the Holo Holo contains algae and minerals that sustain the shrimp. There is no need to feed the shrimps or change the water.

"I think the Holo Holo has catered to the needs of people who wanted to have pets but were unable to do so for various reasons," Autumn Corp. President Akihiko Miyajima said. Autumn has sold more than 140,000 Holo Holo units since its launch in October 2002.

Outride spokeswoman Mayumi Hayakawa has a different take on the products' popularity: "Working people nowadays live in a world in which they don't even have a chance to take notice of ants. (The popularity of the Antquarium) shows people's thirst for ecology."

The Japan Times: Aug. 21, 2004


I have see some of this dangerous ants?
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copy:
Species threatened The red wood ants live along a strip of shoreline on the Ishikari coast of northern Japan. In the early 1970s when Professor Higashi of Hokkaido University, Japan, first began studying this supercolony of Japanese red wood ants, there were approximately 45,000 connecting nests that extended nearly 20 kilometres along the shore of the Japan Sea. At that time, it was estimated that the colony had 307 million red wood ants, including about 306 million workers and about 1.1 million queens. The colony is thought to be about 1,000 years old. Since 1973 the supercolony has been under siege. The construction of a new port on Ishikari Bay has occurred on top of 30 per cent of the ant megalopolis. This has reduced the number of red wood ants living there by more than half. Researchers from Hokkaido University are analyzing the DNA and genetic structure of the red wood ant supercolony. Results to date indicate that colonies are genetically distant from each other; however, within nests, most nestmates are siblings. Ant behavioral responses in a laboratory setting indicated that queens were initially hesitant to visit foreign colonies for the first 24 hours, but would visit after this time. No hesitation was observed between different nests of the supercolony. Workers displayed antagonistic responses when different colonies were mixed in a box. However, between different nests of the supercolony, there was no antagonistic response in any behaviors. Results will assist the conservation of this truly remarkable and ancient ant colony. The health of the ant population is very important to the health of the surrounding oak forests. back to the list of projects



this is the best ant link of japan: Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar


bye Naku

[Markd]

i have never had an ant farm but always wanted one, so i am going to make my own one, so i have a few questions i need answering before i make it. i dont know weather to make it out of perspecs or glass. im thinking of making it about 4ft to 6ft high, about 2 to 4 inches thick, about 4ft wide and im going to keep it in my garden.
i would like a queen for this. could anyone help me with this as i a big time novice with ants, but am very intrested and i dont want a tiny little ant farm that canhold about 4 ants. ive been looking on this site but i cant find any ants to buy i guess ill have to look harder. any suggestions to do with anything that might help me. thanks

[Stefan_K]

Hi Markd,

there are a few pros and cons of glass and perspecs:

Perspecs cons:

1.) gets scratched easily when you fill it with sand
2.) larger parts might expand slightly when filled with sand

Perspecs pros:

1.) Easy to cut
2.) Holes for connecting tubes can easily be drilled

Glas cons:

1.) Much more difficult to handle, to cut, and to put together
2.) Very difficult to drill

Glas pros:

1.) Hard to scratch
2.) No expandation when filled with sand


I am not sure with the measures of your farm, as I am not used to feet and inches. However ... maybe you have a look at the antfarms sold by AntStore ( Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar ) and check the measures of them. Keep in mind that the ants might not be visible in case your farm is too thick, as it could be that the ants build their nest right in the middle of your farm. The more tight you create your farm, the higher the chance is that you will see what they are building.

Hope that helps ...

Stefan

[charles17]

Hi i was wondering if the uncle milton type ant farms were good for ants


and i was wondering if the white foam type of soil that comes with em were good for the ants. it seems to dry for ants... k thanks

[Awesome]

this is just for kids, if you really want to give the ants a good home you can beter use Hyperlinks sind nur für registrierte Nutzer sichtbar one instead because you can extend it with an arena for instance.