Today you’ll get a chance to see how ants live. The best way to know more about the insects is to make them stay in an artificial ant hill that can be made without any efforts.

That was the first house of the ants before they got a new and comfortable dwelling.

It consisted of a test-tube with a wet piece of cotton as worms will never survive in case of bad humidity. The box is considered as arena where they can hunt and gather food.

The queen is laying an egg.

In spite of the fact that ants see a lot of food, they try to leave the dwelling. The fissures are covered with greasy lip gloss which makes it impossible to leave. Four soldiers died. The more food they are given the greater amount of them dies.

The test-tube is filled with worms and eggs. There is not enough place for 40 ants. By the way, there was just 10 of them in the very beginning.

The egg is carried away by the workers to a special place where other eggs are kept.

Feeding the queen.

Ants like eating small insects and meat. Those ants that were born recently try to function as nurses though they can’t even walk properly yet. Older ants supply them with food and clean them. Food that is planned to be carried inside the test-tube is examined by the guard that can reject it as garbage.

Doesn’t the queen eat too much?

They don’t eat much in winter and are rather passive. The situation changes in spring, as their appetite is improving increasingly. Worms that saw no changes in winter increased twice. The ants in the picture are carrying empty shells to the dump site.

A worker is cleaning a new-born ant.

They don’t eat much in winter and are rather passive. The situation changes in spring, as their appetite is improving increasingly. Worms that saw no changes in winter increased twice. The ants in the picture are carrying empty shells to the dump site.

The new soldier.

Upper part of their eggs is transparent.

It is high time to build a new dwelling.

A soldier ant.

Did you know that a typical ant colony consists of female workers only? Their queen needs male ants just for mating and only once as after fertilization she is capable to produce eggs for 20 years. Meanwhile, working female ants live from 1 to 5 years and males die soon after mating.

Once you decide to breed ants forget about a test-tube as many ants including Camponotus fellah are very big in size.

A working ant is 1 cm long while the queen and soldiers are twice as big.

It is high time to make an artificial ant hill which should consist of a gypsum block with available passages and rooms facing the arena. Ants need ventilation and a possibility to moisture their dwelling.

A future ant hill.

The bottom of the box must be lined with plastic wrap.

The gypsum is placed in a box which is then covered with a glass plate supplied with clay removing extra gypsum.

Removing the clay that was left. Wash the cast thoroughly to avoid any fat and leave it to dry for a couple of days.

Couple the cast with a glass plate.

Cover the ventilation holes with capron mesh.

Trial assembly.

Entrance to the arena.

It’s time for housewarming party!

The first explorer is investigating the new dwelling.

The space was then examined by working ants and after that a soldier was invited.

Workers carried not only necessary things but crooked ants as well.

As soon as the last ones were put on the floor they could stand up and start running around…

… or just continued lying without changing their position.

The queen was transported after everything was ready. The soldier in the picture meets and feeds every carrier.

Carrying follicles.

The ants thought the ventilation holes to be rather huge and decreased them using the gypsum around.

Their mouths were full of gypsum.

Helping each other to remove the gypsum.

The ant hill is ready.

A new ant is revealing itself to the world.

Drinking water.

Ants don’t mind eating cat food.

A soldier is cleaning a worker.

via dandrey and master-klass