Ant Farm Question

I have an ant question! We just got an ant farm and I think they are soldier ants and they just sit on the surface of the sand all day.  What should I feed them and water them?  Will they ever tunnel?

Thank you,

Heather

If you got a standard commercial ant farm, the ants you have are worker ants. This just means that you don’t have a queen ant. Soldiers are extra big workers, which often perform special tasks.

Usually the type of ants sold with commercial ant farms are harvester ants, because their large size and tendency to tunnel makes them fun to watch. They are also relatively easy to collect.

Have you ever made a sand castle? If so, you have probably found out that if the sand is too dry it simply falls down when you try to build with it. If the sand is too wet, it is like mud and you can’t shape it properly. The sand has to have the right amount of water in it to build a good castle.

Ants have the same requirements. They prefer their sand to be a bit moist. If your sand is too dry or too wet, however, they won’t be able to tunnel in it.

Try adding some water to the farm with an eye dropper. Add a small amount at a time to dampen the sand a bit. Be careful, because too much water and food can make it moldy.

Another reason that ants won’t move around much is if they are too cold. Do you have your ant farm indoors? Is it warm enough for you to visit them without a sweater? If not, you might try moving them to somewhere a bit warmer.

As for food, adult worker ants mostly drink liquids. Mix a bit of honey or sugar with about the same amount of water in a small container. Soak the sweet-water mixture into a bit of paper towel rolled up into a ball or a piece of cotton ball. Make sure it is small enough so it will fit into the opening of the ant farm. Place it on the surface of the sand near the ants. Be sure to change the food often, as it might get moldy and/or dry out.

Please let me know if you still have further questions. You might also be interested in the posts on answers to questions from fourth graders, and the Ant Facts or Fiction quiz.

(Note: As I mentioned previously, I have been the “Consult-Ant” on the Leaping from the Box website. I answer questions about ants and ant farms. From now on I will post the answers here, and when Karen has time she will also post the answers on her site.)

3 Replies to “Ant Farm Question”

  1. I bought an ant farm for my grandson and added a tube of harverster ants. The dug tunnels. After 5 days, we found the unit covered in house ants (the little black ones) inside and out, with a thick trail of small black ants leading to a crack in the wall. They had attacked and conquered the ant farm. All the big ants were dead, and the little ones were small enough to go through the holes in the ant farm. Have you ever heard of this happening before? I had to carefully take it outside, and then spray insecticide to kill all the house ants, but that was the end of the ant farm. I’m reluctant to buy another because of this.

  2. The harvester ants would not have survived long without a queen. The food attracted the other ants, but they also would not have lingered once it was gone.

    A bit ironic…

  3. I have black garden path ants. I have made a contraption where I am able to make it as tho it rains a bottle cap full of water every other day(unless the dirt is still moist) so the ants collect water from the soil/dirt or do I have to create a drinking trough with a moist paper towel in order for them to drink

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