CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What do you need to raise ants?

1. What are the conditions for raising ants?

The following conditions can be referred to when raising ants:

1. Site selection: Choose a site that is ventilated, dry and has sufficient light.

2. Breeding facilities: Use bricks (or plastic film) to build a circular water trough around the site, ensure that the water trough has a certain inclination, use bamboo or wooden sticks to build a frame, arrange it into a track shape, and place humus sand at the bottom.

3. Making of breeding boxes: Shoe boxes, food boxes or clothing paper boxes can be used as breeding boxes.

4. Feed: small animal carcasses, plants, fruits and vegetables are all fine.

5. Feeding and management: Take measures such as escape prevention and cleaning.

2. What do ants eat and how to raise them?

Ants have a wide range of feed. Artificially cultivated ants such as the Pseudo-Black Polyrhachis ants are mostly omnivorous and can be fed with rice bran, bran, bean cake, bean dregs, chicken feed, honey, various fruits and animal feeds such as fish meal, silkworm pupa meal, bone meal, eggs, insect carcasses, etc.

When raising ants, pay attention to the following points:

1. New and old ants cannot be raised together. They must be raised in separate groups to avoid killing each other and causing the death of all ants in a nest.

2. Ants have a strong ability to escape, so the breeding tank should be flat, smooth, and seamless. A water tank should be set up around the breeding room to prevent ants from escaping.

3. Ants are sensitive to low temperatures. When the temperature is below a certain level, their growth slows down. Therefore, in winter or in low-temperature weather, artificial heating should be used to increase the temperature of the breeding environment to accelerate their growth and development.

4. The natural enemies of ants include woodpeckers, anteaters, pangolins, etc. When breeding ants in the wild, it is important to take appropriate measures to prevent harm from enemies.

3. What should you feed ants?

Feed ants with sugar, honey or oily foods. Most ants are omnivorous and eat everything. There are many kinds of ants, more than 11,700 known species in the world, and more than 600 species of ants have been identified in China. Not all species have the same food preferences.

Insect experts divide most ant species into two categories based on their diets: sugar-loving ants and fat-loving ants.

"Sugar ants" like to eat sugar, honey and all sweet things, while grease ants like grease and foods rich in grease.

Sugar vs. fat is a very typical way to distinguish North American ants. But if you go to South or Central America, you will find that in addition to sugar and fat, the ants here are more greedy and more vicious, and they often feed on rodents, chickens, pigs and even goats.

4. How to raise ants?

1. Breeding site: Build a circular water tank around the breeding pond, about 50 cm wide and 10 cm deep, and fill the pond with water to prevent ants from escaping. Build a simple wooden frame on the island, which can be layered, with each layer about 25 to 30 cm, connected from top to bottom, and 5-10 nests can be raised per square meter.

2. Environmental temperature: The growth and reproduction of drug ants are closely related to the control of temperature and humidity. The normal temperature is 10℃-38℃, the best reproduction temperature is 25℃ to 30℃, and the environmental humidity is maintained at 80% to 90%. The humidity of the breeding soil is about 20%, and it can be sprayed with clean water several times a day. In winter, cover the shed with plastic sheets or use light bulbs and coal stoves for heating.

3. Feeding ant bait: Ants are omnivorous insects, and they must be fed with sufficient and delicious bait when raised artificially. They can be fed with corn flour, watermelon rind, rotten pears, non-alkaline food, leftovers, rice bran, etc. They can also be fed with insects with high protein content, such as flies, and dead insects and mice.

4. Daily management: The bait that ants eat should be hygienic, the water they drink should also be hygienic, and the ant house should be cleaned regularly. The light should be kept for 15 hours a day and night, and direct sunlight should be avoided in summer. A 15-watt light bulb should be used for lighting at night. The air in the ant house should be kept circulating and fresh. The ant nest should not be turned over at will to avoid affecting reproduction.

5. How to raise ants?

1. Site selection:

It should be determined according to the size of the breeding population. Whether indoors or outdoors, there must be sufficient light, no clutter, and no bad odors.

2. Breeding facilities:

Use bricks (or plastic film) around the site. Build a 25 cm wide and 5 cm deep water tank. The inner edge of the water tank should maintain a certain inclination to effectively prevent the seed ants from falling into the water. When building the water tank, leave a drainage hole that is convenient for changing water. Build a frame 20-25 cm away from the inner edge of the water tank. The materials can be bamboo poles or wooden sticks, arranged side by side in a track shape. The first shelf is more than 30 cm above the ground, and the distance between the shelves is more than 35 cm. Place 10-15 cm thick humus sand at the bottom of the shelf.

3. Production and arrangement of breeding boxes:

Homemade feeding boxes are usually paper boxes that have been used to store food and clothing, and are generally 35-40 cm long, 20-25 cm wide, and 10-15 cm high. Place the Masson pine, which is the favorite nest for ants, in the box, followed by leguminous plant straw such as red beans, soybeans, and broad beans. Wild plants include small-leaf camphor, large-leaf camphor, and old grass. All need to be dried to prevent mildew. The tightness of the straw should be appropriate, neither too tight nor too loose. This is very important. Ants do not differentiate and build nests on straw that is about to mold or has already molded. Put the straw together with the seed ants that have been divided into nests into the box, seal it with adhesive tape on all sides, and drill a small hole at one end of the box. The arrangement interval of the ant box should not be less than 60 cm. If the interval is too close, it will easily cause ants to fight with each other.

4. Feeding and Management

Ants have a wide variety of food, and they like to eat anything sweet and animal. They can be divided into two categories: A. Animal bait: such as meat residues and thick blood of cattle, sheep, fish, pigs, chickens, etc. Various insects are also good food for ants, such as beetles, maggots, silkworm pupae, earthworms, etc. B. Food with sweet taste, such as brown and white sugar, watermelon, honey, pear cores, apple cores, etc.

Ants have a very small appetite, about 0.1 mg per ant per day. 100,000 ants require about 100 grams of food a day (different species have different values ​​depending on their body size). They are generally fed once every 3-5 days.

When feeding, a food bowl and a sponge for absorbing water should be placed on the top of the feeding box. To prevent the food from spoiling, the food should be fed in the same way as before. Feed and clean frequently. Feed as little as possible and point as many as possible to avoid fighting over food. In addition, the types of food should be changed frequently to prevent the ants from losing their appetite.

If you raise them outdoors, in the hot summer, you should plant some vines around the ant box to block the strong sunlight to avoid high temperatures in the ant box. The most suitable temperature for ants to grow and reproduce is 22℃-37℃, the air humidity must be controlled at around 81%, and the soil humidity should be kept at 10-15%. If the air is too dry, you can use a sprayer to spray the ant box and the ground frequently to maintain the normal activities and reproduction of the ants.

6. Some tips on raising ants?

1. We select the venue based on its size. Whether indoors or outdoors, it must have sufficient light, no clutter, and no bad odors.

2. The breeding facilities are surrounded by bricks (or plastic film). Build a 25 cm wide and 5 cm deep water tank. The inner edge of the water tank should maintain a certain inclination to effectively prevent the seed ants from falling into the water. When building the water tank, leave a drainage hole that is convenient for changing water. Build a frame 20-25 cm away from the inner edge of the water tank. The materials can be bamboo poles or wooden sticks, arranged side by side in a track type. The first layer of the frame is more than 30 cm from the ground, and the distance between the layers is more than 35 cm. Place 10-15 cm thick humus sand at the bottom of the frame.

3. Making and arranging feeding boxes Homemade feeding boxes are usually paper boxes that have been used to hold food and clothing, and the specifications are generally 35-40 cm long, 20-25 cm wide, and 10-15 cm high. Place the Masson pine, which is the favorite nest of ants, in the box, followed by leguminous plant straw such as red beans, soybeans, broad beans, etc. Wild plants include small-leaf camphor, large-leaf camphor, old grass, etc. All need to be dried to prevent mildew. The tightness of the straw should be appropriate, neither too tight nor too loose. This is very important. Ants do not differentiate and build nests on straw that is about to mold or has already molded. Put the straw together with the seed ants that have been divided into nests into the box, seal it with adhesive tape on all sides, and drill a small hole at one end of the box. The arrangement interval of the ant boxes should not be less than 60 cm. If the interval is too close, it will easily cause ants to fight with each other.

4. Feeding and management Ants have a wide range of food, and they like to eat anything sweet and animal-based. They can be divided into two categories: A. Animal bait: such as meat residues and thick blood of cattle, sheep, fish, pigs, chickens, etc. Various insects are also good food for ants, such as beetles, maggots, silkworm pupae, earthworms, etc. B. Food with sweet taste, such as watermelon, apple core, honey, brown and white sugar, pear core, etc.

Ants eat very little, 0.1 mg per day. 100,000 ants need about 100 grams of food per day, and they are usually fed every 3-5 days. When feeding, a food bowl and a sponge block for absorbing water should be placed on the top of the breeding box. To prevent the food from spoiling, the food should basically be eaten up every time, and it should be fed and cleaned frequently. When feeding, try to feed as little as possible and point as many as possible to avoid fighting for food. In addition, the types of food should be changed frequently to avoid ants from losing their appetite. If they are raised outdoors, in the hot summer, in order to avoid high temperatures in the ant box, some vines should be planted around the box frame to block the strong sunlight. The most suitable temperature for the growth and reproduction of ants is 22℃-37℃, the air humidity must be controlled at about 81%, and the soil humidity should be kept at 10-15%. If the air is too dry, a sprayer can be used to spray the ant box and the ground frequently to maintain the normal activities and reproduction of ants.

7. How to raise ants?

The question of raising ants is not limited to how to raise them, but how to raise them well. With the prosperity of the pet industry, ants have also appeared in people's vision as a novel pet. Here are some pictures of pet ants.

Camponotus agate

Golden big-headed ant

Camponotus jinshaensis

Big-headed ant

The ants above may be the first time you have seen them as pets. Ants have their own advantages. They take up little space, are small, and have beautiful and diverse colors. The key is that they are unique! People usually ignore them and think they are just black. In fact, different species have different characteristics. You can't raise such beautiful ants in a pile of soil. It's not beautiful. Here are some nests for raising ants.

The concrete three-dimensional nest is highly reminiscent of a natural ant nest, has a good ornamental effect, and gives a sense of beauty that allows one to peek into the underground world.

In recent years, 3D printing has become popular and has also been used to make flat nests. The choice of ant nests is simple and beautiful, easy to observe, simple and generous, and fully reflects the God's perspective.

The advanced "cabbage nest" looks very high-end. It is not only convenient for observation, but also improves your hobby to a higher level.

ps: The above pictures are from the forum "Ant Bar"

8. What do you need to prepare to raise ants?

To raise ants, you need to prepare a box and put a few leaves in it.