Ants in their tanks

Ant Cam goes live

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:51:01 +0100

for nosey parkers

Rather than just reading about how the ants are getting on you can now look in on them: ant-cam

The alarms go off

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:45:26 +0100

but the escape attempt is foiled

Just spotted a solitary ant wandering around outside the tanks. Most impressed as the lids have been on all day and I’ve been pretty diligent in my escape-proofing. She’s now safely back on the inside with her family. Gave them woodlouse for their welcome home party.

Digging In

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:11:19 +0100

the baricades go up

Thanks to some strategically placed bits of wooden meat skewer a few of the ants have found their way along the plastic tubing to the nesting box. Unfortunately they don’t seem too impressed by the nice damp sand/loam mixture I’ve lovingly prepared for them to make a new home in. I guess their test tube is just too cozy.

Yummy woodlice

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:22:55 +0100

their first taste of protien

The ants weren’t being very adventurous this morning so I hoped some protein might get them all excited and busy. This meant going hunting for the tribe. The first thing I found under the wheely bin in the back garden was a (soon to be) unfortunate woodlouse. I did feel a bit guilty boiling it alive to finish it off and kill off any nasty mites it might be carrying – the moral quandaries of keeping ants!

A new world is born

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:09:10 +0100

and the ants explore

My ants now have a big sand pit to play in and they seem to love it. It only took a few minutes for the first worker to emerge from the test tube and not long after there were 6 intrepid explorers scurrying around in wonderment at the vast sandiness of their new world.