Plaster nest for different ant species. Necessary material: Plaster, modeling clay, plastic tubes, rubber mat, wooden frame, sheet of pane, plastic terrarium, marbled lacquer.

The rubber mat (1) is placed on an even surface with the sheet of pane (2) right in the middle. Then the wooden frame (3) needs to be put around the sheet of pane. Out of the modeling clay (4) you need to form small square blocks that have to be arranged on the pane according to the drawing. The individual blocks are connected to those adjoining through the plastic tubes (5) that are pressed into the individual blocks. A wider block (marked (W) in the drawing) is not linked to the adjacent ones and serves as water collecting tank. The plaster is mixed according to the directions and poured into the mould. When the plaster has become solid, the complete construction needs to be turned and the rubber mat removed. Plaster mixture between the rubber mat and the pane should be removed carefully with a knife. After removal of the sheet of pane, the modeling clay - still soft - is scraped out (A) with a spoon. The rubber tubes are taken out with a small pair of pliers or tweezers (B).

Then the finished formicary is freed of the remaining modeling clay with cold water. For those ant species that are able to bite through the plaster the nest should be painted with marbled lacquer. The pane is cleaned and placed into the depression formed through the cast. Into the side of the formicary a hole of the diameter of a plastic tube needs to be drilled. Then a rubber tube is inserted and connected to a plastic terrarium serving as food reservoir. In order to keep the plaster humid, you may pour water into the big chamber. Thus those chambers close to the water chamber contain more humidity than those that are further away.

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