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Ant Farm - Science Kit

Starting an Ant Colony

Excerpt from: The McGraw-Hill Big Book of Science Activities by Robert W. Wood, copyright 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

For more information on this great book with more than 250 kid-tested experiments, click here: Big Book

Materials

  • Quart mayonnaise jar with lid.
  • 8- or 10- ounce jar with lid.
  • soil.
  • dark cloth.
  • trowel or small shovel.
  • white cloth, 4 sq. feet.
  • string.
  • tweezers or forceps.
  • ants.
  • Find a nest under logs or rocks. Notice the kind of food the ants are bringing in. You will have to provide their food. Some ants are meat eaters, while others feed largely on plants.
  • Use the shovel and carefully cut around the nest in about a 16-inch circle. Pry up this mound of dirt, and place it and ants on the white cloth. Be careful when working with ants since some small insects can sting or bite.
  • Examine the contents until you locate the queen. She should be larger and shinier than the rest of the ants. You also should see ants who are sucrrying around carrying whitish-colored ant pupae and shinier objects called ant larvae. The larvae are hatched from the eggs and shed their skins several times before they become pupae.
  • Pupae are ants who are immobile and are in the nonfeeding transformation stage before becoming adults. Collect about three dozen of these pupae and larvae along with about the same number of adult ants.
  • Collect the queen because she produces the eggs for the new generation.
  • Fold the cloth into a bag and tie it with the string.
  • Take it home to transfer the ants and soil to the new nest.
  • Make sure the jars and clean and dry.
  • Put the lid on the smaller jar, and place it inside the larger jar.
  • Try to keep the smaller jar in the center and fill the space between the two jars with the soil from the nest.
  • A paper funnel can be used to transfer ants and soil. Fill the space to within a couple of inches of the top.
  • Punch a few holes in the lid to let in air. Cover the jar with the dark cloth for a couple of weeks to let the ants get settled and start to tunnel.
  • Remove the cover for observations.
  • Keep a small piece of damp sponge in the nest for moisture, and try to determine what kind of food your ants prefer.

    Check out our Fun Facts About Ants page.
    For jars and other potential ant colony containers - click here: Bottles, Jars, and Vials
    For "ready-made" ant farms - click here: Ant Farms
    For insect study kits and materials - click here: Insect Study

    Excerpt from: The McGraw-Hill Big Bok of Science Activities by Robert W. Wood, copyright 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

    For more information on this great book with more than 250 kid-tested experiments, click here: Big Book

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