Formicarium - The Modern Formicarium Is a Great and Enjoyable Ant Farm Solution

There are a multitude of different manufactured formicarium types, styles and designs, and on top of that are the kits and plans so you can produce your own using simple materials. Designed to enclose and house an ant colony within in a similar fashion to a fish tank or reptile vivarium a formicarium provides the ideal ant farm observatory.

The idea behind their design is to make them thin and long so that once the ants are added you will be able to view and observe the ants activities including looking side on into their burrows and tunnels which they will build before your very eyes.

Normally transparent from thin glass or a hardened plastic and elongated in shape the first types of formicarium were created back in 1929 and were decorated with palace and farm scenes to add additional visual interest. In 1956 they started to be manufactured by a company called Uncle Milton Industries and called the Uncle Milton ant farm. Since then they have gone on to sell well over 20 million varieties of ant farm to the general public.

There are a multitude of individual websites with formicarium interests that go into detail explaining how to produce your own using general items and household products, but there are a few base line rules that should be adhered to in every instance.

Housing: When choosing the main housing product be sure to make sure it is not too thin, you will be surprised as to what ants can actually chew through.

Security: One key factor is that ants are great escapologists and it is better to have several hurdles for them to overcome rather than just risking one.

Open Plan Ant Farm: Some people like to have an open plan ant farm with the formicarium in the middle and such things as tree stumps or similar around it so that the ants can be fed from these and viewed returning items back to the nest. Anything that is placed should be attached securely so as not to fall over while you are out and allow the ants to enter your home across the stumps.

Having ants in your home in any fashion is paramount to having a colony of miniature ferocious wild animals on the loose in containment, nothing will bring this home more than if you provide your colony with a live food source such as a fly. Ants are just as happy to eat cat food, grapes, meat, honey, and pretty much anything you wish to give to them.

A modern formicarium such as the Uncle Milton ant farm offers a great means of observing these highly overlooked fascinating social creatures. A great means of relieving stress is by having a formicarium on the desk at work or educating the family on the sideboard at home, but wherever you decide to place your ant farm it will very soon become compulsive and addictive viewing for all.