Elenco Insect Exploring Kit - Manual (Page 9)

15
Your Ant Colony
You need to fill the
lower component of
the ant farm with
fine sand. Be sure to add a few drops of water if you find the sand
too dry, it needs to be slightly damp. Make sure the cover is on
tightly, and place the container up somewhere and cover with a
dark cloth. Place one end of the enclosed plastic tube onto one of
the connectors on the side of the ant farm and the other end of the
tube on the round container.
You will now need to go and look for some ants to populate your
ant farm. You can find the black and brown garden ants under
stones and flat rocks.
Once you have located a good
nest, squirt in a few drops of
sugared water or place a shredded
raisin inside and put it near the
nest. Shortly you will begin to see ants
have detected the sweet treat you have
laid for them and then lots more will
appear. When you have enough in the
container, replace the lid and take
your ant farm home for observation.
You will need to leave them
alone for now. Keep the ant
farm container covered and
only remove the cloth so you
can observe the ants for a short
time.
14
A Tiny Queen and Her Followers
Without the combined effort of all these creatures working
together, the soil would go bad. That is the reason that dead trees,
excrement, dead animals and leaves are decomposed fast. They
replenish the soil.
Most creatures you encounter are what we call lone wolves, even if
they are in a group once in a while. Some insects are totally
different.
Ants live a colony of hundreds to thousands. They all
work and live for the benefit of the entire colony.
Work Groups
Ant society is governed very similar to our
own. They are the caregivers that care
for the eggs and offspring. Others are
ones that go out into the world and
gather food to bring back. Some have
the lucky career of taking out the
garbage and dead ants or helping renovate the
nest. Then there is the military. The soldier ants guard the
queen and chase away intruders. Organising them all from her
throne is the royal queen. She is the only one that is allowed to lay
eggs and sustain the colony, so she is the most important ant there
is. Other female ants serve and feed her.
Your kit has all the stuff to make your own ant colony so you can
watch the ants' life for days.