As I mentioned in my last post, I now own the Antworks Illuminated Ant Habitat thanks to one generous I-Mockery reader. I didn't have too much to post about it at the time because the ants I ordered for it hadn't arrived yet. But they're here now, and man are they busy in their slimy new home of gelatinous blue goop.
Unfortunately, only five of the twenty-five harvester ants I ordered using the coupon that came with the Antworks kit survived the trip (even though I put a rush order on them). Actually, I really have no way of knowing if they just threw a bunch of dead ants in there and mailed them to me or not. Still, I sent them a complaint and hopefully they'll send me some extra ones soon. I understand that not all of them are expected to survive the trip (especially considering how the postal service has literally mangled some of my packages to the point where you would think they had been raped with a circular saw) but five ants is still pretty weak. Nonetheless, they've kept me plenty entertained as I watch them adjust to their new space-age home.
So the way it works is you start off by creating 4 small "starter holes" to help the ants get started with their tunneling. Sure enough, one of the ants started digging in one of the holes I had created about a day later. Then another ant, who will be known as "Rebel" from here on out, decided to go against the will of his captor and start digging a brand new hole of his own in the corner of the habitat. What's more, after he started doing this, he convinced all of his other ant pals to help him out, including the ant that had started digging in the hole I had created for him.
A funny thing happened though before the first ant finally joined the others. That one ant took some goop from his hole that I had created and covered up Rebel's hole with it. LOL. YOU GOT ANT PRANKED!
Anyway, once their tunnel reached the base of the habitat, they created a second artery from inside it which leads all the way back up to the top. The result of all this digging has created a large pile of goop on the surface which the ants are all too happy to sleep and snack on. I also think they're creating this pile as a makeshift ladder in hopes of reaching the ceiling.
Oh, and for anybody who's considering getting one of these Antworks habitats, I highly recommend getting the one with the glowing blue LED light base. After all, what's better than watching ants eat and dig their way through blue goop? Watching them eat and dig their way through glowing blue goop.
And now, some pics of the ants and their handiwork:
Spruce (Guest) on 05/22/2007 4:48 pm
Rebel, eh? Beware the revolution...who knows if that goop is really laced with weapons grade mutagen that shall make them large enough to take over the world and divvy up the continents? I'd hate for RoG to be the guy at the start of the movie that ruins everything for everyone but the misfit hero(who shall of course become a combat master and get the hot girl. But sheesh, is his best friend ever screwed).
Captain Struggle (Guest) on 05/22/2007 4:51 pm
RoG,
My son has had one of those things for over a year and we still haven't bought ants for it. I'll have to give it a try now that I see how interesting it is.
Calleh (Guest) on 05/22/2007 4:51 pm
Hah, If i was a insect, i'd choose that place to live.
It's probably a 4 star hotel of ants.
Black Tooth Grin (Guest) on 05/22/2007 5:07 pm
After all, what’s better than watching ants eat and dig their way through blue goop? Watching them eat and dig their way through glowing blue goop.
And what's better than that!?
Watching them eat and dig their way through glowing blue poop.
Emeraldscales (Guest) on 05/22/2007 5:18 pm
I bought one of these back in February and all of my ants are still kicking. I bought my ants http://www.antsalive.com/ here and they only cost $5 versus whatever that other company charged, plus only 2 died en route. They've already made a multitude of pathways and are still really cool to watch!
Kryten Syxx (Guest) on 05/22/2007 5:34 pm
Glad you're enjoying them ants RoG! I tried out their cheaper line of termite farms ... but the wood enclosure they were kept in didn't last long. Now they are eating away at my desk. Excitement!
ElSingario (Guest) on 05/22/2007 5:44 pm
I've never had much interest in ant farms before...but you certainly make it sound like fun. I may have to pick one up to add meaning to my life.
diraru (Guest) on 05/22/2007 6:22 pm
I had an ant farm once, but they betrayed me! After I had put them all into their ant farm not on a table near my bed(the only table I had in my room that wasn't covered in random crap), I awoke the next day to find a few things wrong...
1. there was a crack in the corner of the ant farm.
2. the ants were either dead on the table or...
3. biting the hell out of my arm.
diraru (Guest) on 05/22/2007 6:23 pm
why is there a random not in there? am I dyslexic now?
Quandary (Guest) on 05/22/2007 6:56 pm
Is that giant ant eating that man's crotch? The horror!
Be wary this does not happen to you, Rog.
lol (Guest) on 05/23/2007 12:33 am
l;
jack_the_ripper (Guest) on 05/23/2007 7:13 am
Crush them! Kill them! Those tiny creatures are evil!!! Haven't you seen Aliens?
MEK (Guest) on 05/23/2007 9:50 am
Wow! Those are some freakin' HUGE ants!
Ones in this country are only like... Slightly smaller than 1 CM.
Lone Wolf (Guest) on 05/23/2007 3:27 pm
-RoG-, awesome ant farm, hope you get your money's worth on live ants next time.
Max Burbank, I'm not sure when you wrote the pirate article, but the Cap'n Crunch pirate just got brought back for Chocolate Cap'n Crunch commercials.
Manel (Guest) on 05/23/2007 5:15 pm
Is it that hard to go outside and grab some ants? Just leave candy at the side walk wait a bit and HURRAY ANTS!
Aks (Guest) on 05/23/2007 10:09 pm
Ants kick ass.
Keith (Guest) on 05/23/2007 11:53 pm
I realize giant ants are cool but seriously, ordering ants by mail? Just scoop them from outside. If you want larger ants, just rob a children's zoo, or the LA zoo down in Griffith Park. There's no security there.
the boy (Guest) on 05/24/2007 12:34 pm
That shit is BRIGHT... (and it's no picnic!)
arg_zombies (Guest) on 05/24/2007 4:11 pm
I'd probably just eat the blue stuff and release the ants :(
ColdFusion (Guest) on 05/24/2007 9:04 pm
It would be pretty funny to get different species of ants and watch them have a war, but considering they're in the ant equivalent of a studio apartment here, that probably isn't too nice.
... God damn this is cool.
RebeccaOTool (Guest) on 05/25/2007 10:59 am
Dude, now I *really* want to get some ants and buy that thing(I suppose I could capture the ones who invaved my kitchen and not order any...).
z (Guest) on 05/26/2007 12:33 pm
Why do you have to order ants? There all over the ground, last I chaecked.
Stevetothepast (Guest) on 05/27/2007 10:30 pm
When I was younger I had this thing called "The ultimate bug collector set" which sounds better than it really was mainly because it was just a knock off tupper ware dish and a shitty 10 page booklet. Anyways I used to put 3-5 earwigs and a couple beetles in. Just let them sit for a few days until they hated each other. Very entertaining. You should throuw a few different bugs in there RoG. C'mon you know you want to.
ShadowNinaj (Guest) on 06/21/2007 1:07 pm
Hey there where can i get this?
Don (Guest) on 06/27/2008 8:00 pm
Ordering ants seems a little out there , but I guess people sell them
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