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Ten Things We Learned From Our Antquarium
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Although ants aren't exactly welcome guests in my home, they've made themselves comfortable in my kitchen for several years. So when it came time to populate my son's first ant habitat – a space aged Antquarium – I couldn't see ordering the creepy crawlers through the mail. Instead, we decided to gather a few intrepid scouts from a new colony we noticed on the counter. The adventures that followed proved educational in ways we never imagined.
Our First Ant
Getting the first ant into the container was no problem. Getting the second ant in proved a bit trickier. When we opened the top of the ant habitat to put her in, the first ant escaped. With ant number three, we were quicker. My son popped the new gal in while I blocked her farm-mate from escape.
Lesson 1: Like ants, people should work together to overcome obstacles.
The Great Escape
The ants didn't take to captivity. They stayed on the underside of the lid, desperately seeking (or so it seemed to us) a way out. When I checked on our guests before going to bed (they really are fascinating!) I couldn't believe what I saw. One of the ants was halfway in, halfway out of the tiny air hole on top of the Antquarium. The image was creepy to say the least, but also somehow inspiring. I couldn't bring myself to crush the little trooper (as I would have with any other ant about to crawl onto my kitchen counter). I turned the light off and went to bed. The next day, both ants were gone. When I re-read the instructions, I noticed they said to gather ants "in your backyard or garden." Apparently, the little Argentine Ants who are so fond of my kitchen are not the best fit for the Antquarium.
Lesson 2: Read and follow instructions.
Simple Pleasures
A few weeks later the sun came out and so did the ants in our garden. My son was playing in his sandbox when I heard him yell, "Mommy! Mommy! Come quick!" I rushed to the back door to find him holding a plastic bucket in one hand and a Frisbee, tightly covering the bucket, in the other. "I got some ants!" he announced proudly. I ran to get the ant habitat for a second try. We gathered two more ants that day and spent the evening with our eyes glued to the Antquarium. They crawled into the tunnels we had started for them and painstakingly carried bits of the clear blue gel up to the top. They dug and dug and crawled and crawled and we watched and pointed and talked and laughed and learned.
Lesson 3: Ants are fascinating to watch.
The More The Merrier
Because the Antquarium is relatively small, and because I'm a person who values a good deal of personal space, I hesitated to put too many ants in even though the instructions recommend about fifteen. But when my husband reminded me that ants typically live in large colonies in relatively closed quarters, I decided our new "pets" might like more company. As we added more ants to the habitat – for a total of nine – they did seem to welcome their new farm-mates. After all, in nature ants cooperate to build their nests, gather food and defend the colony against enemies.
Lesson 4: Ants are social creatures.
All In a Day's Work
While the Antquarium is a product of space aged technology – it was originally created for zero gravity so a NASA space shuttle mission could study animal behavior in space – when it came time to do some research, we went old school and walked to our local library. We found an excellent book, The Life and Times of the Ant by Charles Micucci (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003), that offered a lot of useful information in an easy to read format with fun illustrations to boot. The first thing we learned from Mr. Micucci was, "Ounce for ounce, an ant is one of the strongest animals on earth. An ant can lift a seed five times its weight, while an elephant can lift a log only one fifth of its weight." Not only that, they're extremely diligent workers. "Each year," the book continues, "the world's ants dig up more than 16 billion tons of dirt – enough to fill 3 billion dump trucks."
Lesson 5: Ants are extremely strong and diligent.
Kissing Sisters
We couldn't help noticing that our ants seemed to "kiss" each other often. Not only was it fascinating to watch, it led to numerous discussions about why they continually locked lips. Turns out, according to Micucci, "Ants exchange food with other ants mouth to mouth."
Lesson 6: Ants share food through their mouths (and did I mention they're fascinating to watch?!).
Clever Little Creatures
Another interesting tidbit we learned from our book is that in 2000, "Scientists applied ant behavior as a model for computer networks. Computer systems based on ant behavior re-routed around problems quicker than previous systems did." We weren't surprised, after watching the wee workers labor away day after day, digging and piling and crawling around obstacles without ever slowing their pace or missing a beat.
Lesson 7: Ants are industrious creatures.
Is It Warm In Here?
A few weeks into our Antquarium adventure, we moved across town temporarily to dog-sit for relatives. Returning home after a few days to check on the mail and take out the garbage, I noticed that the ants weren't moving. We'd turned the heat down when we left and the house was pretty cold, and I feared the ants might be dead. We noticed their antennae moving and figured if we could just warm them up, they'd be OK. Hoping to speed the process along, I put the Antquarium near a window with the sun shining on our freezing little friends. About an hour later, I checked on them and found the Antquarium walls covered with condensation. I immediately moved the Antquarium into the shade and grabbed the instructions. That's when I noticed the warning: "NEVER put your Antquarium in direct sunlight." Ooops. We carefully opened the top every few hours for the rest of the day and the condensation evaporated, but the ants started dying a few days later.
Lesson 8: See Lesson 2 (Read and follow instructions!).
Another Day, Another Ant Hill
When only two of our original ants remained alive, we couldn't bear to leave them in the Antquarium with their dead sisters any longer. We returned the two survivors to the garden, cleaned out the bodies of those less fortunate, and decided to gather more ants for Round Two. It wasn't difficult to find more, of course. After all, ants are everywhere. And did you know they've been "everywhere" for millions of years? According to Micucci, "Ants evolved from wasps more than 100 million years ago." The dinosaurs are gone, we know, but the mighty ant marches on.
Lesson 9: Ants are efficient survivors.
Nature's Helpers
After watching ants up close – and learning so much about them from our research – my son decided he no longer wants to crush every ant he comes across. We made a pact to live and let live when it comes to the ants in our garden. Besides, ants are good for the garden. Many ants prey on other insects that are harmful to plants, and ants often thin trees of leaves and break them down into nutrients that make the soil more fertile. In fact, Micucci tells us, in 1880 "Germany passed a law protecting wood ants because they kept trees free of pests." (In the spirit of full disclosure, however, I should add that we still have no mercy for those unfortunate ants who venture into our kitchen!)
Lesson 10: Ants are much more than a household nuisance.
Check out the Antquarium and other engaging ant farms and science kits at discoverthis.com.
Home > Resources for our Science Kits > Articles on Science Learning and Science Kits > Ten Things We Learned From Our Antquarium
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