Dave’s AntWorks Day 5: Ants take a break
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They look like ants from up here!
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My ants haven’t been doing much tunneling. It’s been a bit cooler here so maybe it’s due to the temperature.
I thought there was a dead ant in the gel on the top, but when I dug down a bit into it, it was apparently just ant poop. You can see the dark spot in the picture here, just above the ant in the middle of the picture. This picture is looking down from above through the lid. There was also a bit of condensation on the lid which I wiped off. You can also see down through the tubes in this picture.
Speaking of the lid, my sister-in-law expressed concern that her cat might knock over the AntWorks and let them escape. So I thought I’d mention that the AntWorks is not glass, but plastic, and the lid fits on quite tightly. It could not be accidentally knocked off and it actually takes a bit of prying to get it off.
Since I didn’t have much to share in the way of new tunnels today, I thought I’d post a video I came across which shows what happened to someone else when their AntWorks gel pulled away from the side a bit, and two curious ants got stuck between the gel and the wall. I really don’t know how this could happen. The gel is very tight (it seems like it has been poured in as a liquid and set-up inside the container) and it would take something serious to pull it away from the side. Perhaps they dropped it. It’s a long video, but you could zoom ahead to see the outcome.
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Hi Dave,
I am sorry but I couldn’t understand in the video what you meant, the part between the gel and the wall and the two stuck ants..
And in the vidoe it seems to be a bit boring to watch the ants if it always this way and ? couldn’t discern the tunnels in the video.
Actually it made me a bit disappointed to watch an antwork if it always like in the video.
Could you please make it clear for that if I get an antwork, will I always view what is in the video (cause it is not very attractive) or is it just cos of the video?
Thanks in advance for your great illumination on my questions and antworks.
It is a perfect job.
B.G.
Thanks for your comments.
That video is unusual and not indicative of the AntWorks (which is why I posted it). It is not my video, but one I discovered online.
Somehow that person managed to get the gel to separate from the side of the AntWorks and in the brief time it was separated, two ants got between the gel and the wall. I don’t know how they managed to get the gel to separate from the wall. My only guess would be that they dropped the AntWorks since it would take quite a force. Either that or they did it purposely. The gel has a fairly hard consistency. It’s not like Jello that would wiggle around.
In order to get to the trapped ants, the other ants cleared a space. They didn’t make tunnels as they usually would, but rather a broad clearing to get to the trapped ants as quickly as possible (which is amazing to me).
The ants wouldn’t normally dig like that in the AntWorks. Usually they make tunnels and I am amazed by how they connect them and make “central stations” in the gel where multiple tunnels connect. I’m trying to get good photos of the bottom of my current AntWorks where they have made a bit of a cavern, but left some gel that seems to be supporting the roof (although I’m sure the gel above would stay in place). It almost looks like columns holding the gel up.
I would expect that after they rescued the ants in the video, they continued normal tunnel building.
Sorry that video is boring. I did mention in my post that it is long and you could forward to the end.
Check my other posts on AntWorks to see a video I made of the ants digging a tunnel and lots of pictures of their tunnels.
Thanks,
Dave