Did you know that you could bring ants indoors? Ant nests are great way to explore the nature and understand the interactions in a social colony. This will make a great group or class project.
You will need equipment (to dig the soil), gloves (to cover your hands), a clean bottle (with lid) and lots of soil and paper funnel. Make air holes on the lid of the container.
1. Locate your nest- it is usually the spot on earth where you can see the most ants. Ask adults to help you. Wear gloves as you dig through the nest, and locate the queen. The queen ant has wings, (or look for the largest ant in the nest); there are eggs and larvae along with her.
2. Make your nest- using the paper funnel gently add soil and the smaller worker ants into the container first, and the queen, larvae, and eggs last.
4. Once ants are in place, put the lid on the container. Make a paper cover to darken the bottle. Ants will set to work immediately.
5. Feeding the ants- Ants love a drop of honey, sugar, or bread dipped in sugar water, and bits of fruit or vegetables. Very, very tiny amounts are sufficient. Ants get water mainly from their food; however, every alternate day you can add a cotton ball soaked in water. Use a clean ink filler to refill the cotton ball.
6. Be careful! Do not to knock the bottle over or shake it; this will destroy the new ant farm.
7. To view- remove the paper cover and make notes or observations. Cover the bottle to simulate the dark condition they live in.