How to Make an Ant Farm

Ants are social creatures that create colonies and work together as a group to build and maintain the community they live in. Each ant has a job to do, so you'll need male and female ants for your ant farm.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A large jar or small aquarium with a tight lid
• Small bottle
• Small garden shovel
• Bucket
• Garden soil
• Ants
• Funnel
• Construction paper
• Scotch tape
• Honey
• Cotton ball

1. Place a small glass container inside a large jar or aquarium. This smaller container takes up space in the middle of the main container so the ants build along the glass so you can view them.
2. Find an ant colony in your yard. Dig in an area where you see a lot of ants and put some of this soil with ants inside, into a bucket. Look for ants that are larger than the other ants and the queen ant, which has wings. Try to get these ants into your bucket if possible, along with eggs and larvae.
3. Put a funnel or paper cone into the main container away from the smaller container. Add soil into the funnel and fill up the container with this soil. Fill up the rest of the container with garden soil.
4. Put a lid on the container. Make sure you have air holes, but that they are not too large.
5. Make a sleeve out of construction paper to put around the bottom of the container to add darkness. This will help your ants to start working immediately.
6. Feed your ants with a drop of honey or bread dripped in sugar water in their container. Add small bits of fruit or vegetables. Also, add a cotton ball soaked in water every few days.
7. Remove the paper sleeve from the container when you would like to view your ants.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also order ant colonies from a science supply catalogue to make your ant farm with.
• This makes a great science project for kids. When using this for a science project, make notes on the ants' progress daily.
• You can also use a small jar and cover it with cheesecloth and attach it to the top with a rubber band around the jar.
• Use a magnifying glass to look for ant larvae and for ants with wings, which are queen ants.
• If you are dealing with biting ants keep your skin as well as small children away from the ants.
• Don't knock the bottle or shake it up. This will destroy the new home the ants are making.
• Don't put a lot of food in your ant farm or it will start to mold.