Animals

How to pick an ant farm for grown-ups

Let’s ants.

By Eleanor Cummins

September 25, 2018

Keeping ants alive isn't easy. A typical colony requires regular fruit infusions, lots of water, and protein sources such as mealworms, crickets, and fruit flies. Because these pets can't freely roam your home (that's called an infestation), you'll need to set up a formicarium—the technical name for an ant farm. Choose a species appropriate for your skill level, then trust these teensy-weensy towns to ensure your ant experiment is an active success.

Easy

Casita from Tar Heel Ants — The hardy Messor barbarus is a perfect first subspecies—and this is their ideal starter home. The aerated concrete material holds in moisture, which provides your insects the humid conditions they need to thrive. And a port drilled into the back of the unit allows for a quick water injection via syringe.Ralph Smith

Medium

Gypsum Farm from Ants Kingdom — Established your ant-tending skills? It's time to start a colony. Capture a local queen (the common Lasius niger is a good target during its mating flight each fall), and install her and a few workers in this formicarium. String the plaster modules together with tubing as the population grows.Ralph Smith

Hard

Omni Nest from Ants Canada — Thrill-seekers farm dangerous species such as the fire ant. But poisonous—and possibly invasive—critters need to be locked down. This spacious insect domicile is a series of 17 individual acrylic chambers held together with steel screws for maximum security—and high visibility.Ralph Smith

Latest

Four stellar telescopes for every stargazer

The real reason we’re seeing more wildlife during the pandemic

A new vaccine protects mice from another dangerous coronavirus

Did Uranus get smacked so hard it spun sideways?

Polyhedral gaming dice are the weapons of your imagination

Sony’s new DualSense PS5 controller promises more realistic tactile feedback

Portable scanners that make the world your office

Air quality monitors that verify the safety of the air in your home

We once thought nostalgia was a disease, but it might be key to our survival