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A brief history: Invented by California entrepreneur Milton Levine (also known as Uncle Milton) in 1956. The transparent, sand-filled Ant Farm allowed you to observe the inscrutable doings of a colony of harvester ants. Originally it could be yours for only $1.98 and during the next two decades, Levine would sell over twelve million of them. (See the complete history here!) Today, more than 20 million Ant Farm and Ant Habitats have been sold around the world. The product has become a treasured part of American culture, having been recognized as one of the Top 100 Toys of the Century by the Toy Industry Association as well as garnering considerable media attention throughout the years.New space age ant habitats and innovations such as the
AntWorks Illuminated Ant Habitat keep the idea of ants for pets fresh in the minds of kids and adults alike.
Antfarms® and Formicariums can make excellent science projects and are great for educational toys for your youngsters to learn with. Read below for interesting facts about ants and their behavior. We have numerous insect videos and documentaries about ants that may help you to understand them better.
Care and Feeding: If you have a gel based Formicarium you will not need food or water as the gel supplies that. Ants will appreciate a drop of honey, sugar, or bread dipped in sugar water, and tiny bits of fruit or vegetables. Very, very small amounts will do; you don't want the food going moldy in the bottle. Ants get water mainly from their food; however, every couple of days you can add a cotton ball soaked in water to supplement the supply Be careful not to knock the bottle over or shake it up; this will destroy the ants tunnels.
- Unless you have dug up or order a queen ant yourself, you will need to replenish your ants from time to time as ants only have a life expectancy of 45-60 days. It is illegal to sell /export a queen ant in the United States and a few other countries because one doesn't want to import or export a queen to a non-native region where indeed the species can run rampant or cause ecological damage.
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