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A formicarium or ant farm is a
vivarium A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...
which is designed primarily for the study of
ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...
colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
and how ants behave. Those who study ant behavior are known as
myrmecologists Myrmecology (; from Greek: μύρμηξ, ''myrmex'', "ant" and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a branch of entomology focusing on the scientific study of ants. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the ideal form of society and ...
.


History

The formicarium was invented by
Charles Janet Charles Janet (; 15 June 1849 – 7 February 1932) was a French engineer, company director, inventor and biologist. He is also known for his innovative ''left-step'' presentation of the periodic table of chemical elements. Life and work Janet gr ...
, a French entomologist and polymath, who had the idea of reducing the three dimensions of an ant nest to the virtual two dimensions between two panes of glass. His design was exhibited in the
Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...
in Paris. Janet's invention was recognized by his promotion to Chevalier (Knight) of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
, but he did not obtain a patent for, nor attempt to market his creation. The first commercially sold formicarium was introduced around 1929 by Frank Eugene Austin (1873–1964), an
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
and
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
at the
Thayer School of Engineering Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth (Dartmouth Engineering) offers graduate and undergraduate education in engineering sciences at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The school was established in 1867 with funds from C ...
at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
. Austin received a patent for his formicarium on June 16, 1931, as well as further patents for its continued development. Austin included whimsical painted or wooden scenes of palaces,
farms A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
and other settings above the ground level. In 1956,
Milton Levine Milton Martin Levine (November 3, 1913 – January 16, 2011) was an American entrepreneur who was the co-founder of Uncle Milton Toys. Biography He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 3, 1913, to Harry and Mary Levine. As a young bo ...
, founder of Uncle Milton Industries, created his own version of a formicarium, reportedly independently from Frank Austin. Levine got the idea when attending a Fourth of July picnic. Levine registered the term ''ant farm'' for his product and registered it as a trademark. Austin may not have used this term; in his patents, the formicarium is referred to as an "educational apparatus" and "scenic insect cage", and in the 1936 magazine article about Austin's device, the structure is called an "ant palace". Levine’s “Ant Farm” trademark received notoriety in 1995 when
Scott Adams Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of the syndicated ''Dilbert'' comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. ''Dilbert'' gained nation ...
used the phrase in a ''
Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title characte ...
'' comic and received threatening letters from Uncle Milton Industries' attorneys, demanding a retraction for the unauthorized use of the phrase. Adams satirized the incident in a later comic strip, in which Dilbert asked for a substitute phrase for "a habitat for worthless and disgusting little creatures", to which
Dogbert This is a list of characters that have appeared in Scott Adams' ''Dilbert'' comic strip. Primary characters Dilbert The main character in the strip, Dilbert is a stereotypical technically-minded single male. Prior to October 2014, he was us ...
replied "law school".Scott Adams,
Dilbert
" United Feature Syndicate, Inc., December 30, 1995


Materials

Most formicarium types now available on the market are either made of acrylic (plastic) or 3D printed. These are superior to the 'sandwich' type formicarium as there is no chance of tunnel collapse, and they are designed more specifically to keep queen ants with workers, whereas the 'Milton' type nests were only designed to house worker ants. A 'sandwich' formicarium is usually a
transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...
box made of glass or plastic, made thin enough so that the tunnels and cavities made by the ants can be seen and their behaviour can be studied. The fill material is typically soil, loam, sand,
vermiculite Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral which undergoes significant expansion when heated. Exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently, and commercial furnaces can routinely produce this effect. Vermiculite forms by the wea ...
, other mineral fragments or sawdust. Formicariums containing gel that act both as fill material and partially food are available. However, they do not provide the ants with adequate housing and nutrition for the long term and in some instances, they can actually be poisonous to the ants. The formula and nutritional content of gels vary, but for worker-only colonies they tend to only contain sugar or agar plus preservatives. Most gels are colored blue. Other types of formicaria are those made with plaster,
autoclaved aerated concrete Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a lightweight, precast, foam concrete building material suitable for producing concrete masonry unit like blocks. Composed of quartz sand (SiO2 with impurities), calcined calcium sulfate (CaSO4, a.k.a ...
(AAC) or simply with no medium. Plaster nests can be made by placing modeling clay on a glass panel in the form of tunnels and chambers. The plaster is poured onto the mold, and when the plaster dries, the clay is removed and the remaining structure can be used for housing ants. The ants in this type of formicarium are very easily seen. Mediumless formicaria may be in any container, with the ants staying in moist
test tubes Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
or other small containers. This also allows for better visibility. A formicarium can be designed to be free-standing, and not enclosed or lidded like a vivarium. A free-standing design does not require high walls and a lid, but rather relies on barriers to secure the ants within their habitat. Containing ants inside a formicarium can be a challenge. Several substances are used to repel the ants, including anti-escape oil, petroleum jelly or liquid
PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemour ...
, which are applied to the side of the formicarium to prevent escape, as most ant species cannot walk on these slippery or sticky surfaces. Despite this, some species of ants can build bridges of debris or dirt on the substance to escape, while in other species some individual ants can walk on the substance without impedance. Formicarium owners often make use of two or more security measures. Another escape-prevention technique involves placing the entire formicarium in a shallow container of water, creating a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
. Some ant-keepers choose to put their ants into a 'test tube outworld' before a formicarium as this allows them to keep the colony comfortable and safe within their test tube whilst also allowing them a foraging area.


Laws on keeping ants

In the United States of America, it is usually illegal to ship live queen ants across state lines without a permit, and most ant farms sold in the US contain no queens. Professional ant shops and suppliers may ship ants only within the state where they reside. In the European Union, some domestic species are protected, and it is illegal to own, keep, buy, or sell these ants, or to damage their nests. Unlike reptiles and spiders, there are no laws on owning, keeping, buying, or selling tropical ants. Most formicaria are designed to house queen ants; professional ant shops and suppliers usually sell their colonies with queens.


See also

*
Ant-keeping Ant-keeping (or ant keeping) is a hobby involving the capture, care, and observation of ants and ant colonies. It is a form of lay myrmecology. History Keeping ants as pets has been a common hobby since the mass-marketed Uncle Milton's Ant ...
*
Ant robotics Ant robotics is a special case of swarm robotics. Swarm robots are simple (and hopefully, therefore cheap) robots with limited sensing and computational capabilities. This makes it feasible to deploy teams of swarm robots and take advantage of the r ...
*
Instant Fish In physics and the philosophy of science, instant refers to an infinitesimal interval in time, whose passage is instantaneous. In ordinary speech, an instant has been defined as "a point or very short space of time," a notion deriving from its ety ...
*
Sea-Monkeys Sea-Monkeys is a marketing term for brine shrimp (''Artemia'') sold as novelty aquarium pets. Developed in the United States in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut, they are sold as eggs intended to be added to water, and almost always come bundled in a ...
*
SimAnt ''SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony'' is a 1991 life simulation video game by Maxis and the company's third product, focusing on ants. It was designed by Will Wright. In 1992, it was named "Best Simulation Game" at the Software Publishers Assoc ...
*
Mexican jumping bean Mexican jumping beans (also known as ' in Spanish) are seed pods that have been inhabited by the larva of a small moth (''Cydia saltitans'') and are native to Mexico. The "bean" is usually tan to brown. They are from the shrub '' Sebastiania pa ...


References


External links


The Papers of Frank E. Austin
at Dartmouth College Library {{Portal bar, Insects, Biology Myrmecology Pet equipment Buildings and structures used to confine animals Educational toys Insectariums