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Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 6:46 am
by LearningAntz
Hello, now I’ve been browsing this forum and have heard that the store should be releasing 4” x 4” nests that would be made of plastic, which would make the price much lower. I’d really like if these products could be placed in the store as it’d be much quicker and easier to manufacture and it’d be cheaper to purchase, not to mention better for a beginning colony since they don’t require as much space as the current Formica Hybrid Nest 2.0 offers. For a lot of us antkeepers when choosing a nest for our ants, it comes down to price, and I’m sure doing this would boost sales and income. I know I’d probably buy 3, 4” x 4” hybrid nests if this were the case assuming each would cost half the price of the Formica Hybrid Nest 2.0, but buying the bigger one isn’t practical for me at the moment and the smaller 3D printed ones just aren’t worth the price. I created this thread since it’s been a while that it’s been said a hybrid nest like this would be put on the store. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 11:03 pm
by ooper01
Thank you for your post LearningAntz. We have several products in development at the moment, including new large versions of all our Hybrid Nest designs (like the current 8" x 8" Formica Hybrid Nest). We have plans to make one generic 4" x 4" Hybrid Nest, but unfortunately it won't be available for a long time still.

We are developing a small "founding" formicarium, however, that we are very excited about. We have been designing and developing it for over a year now. It can be used to start a new colony (just a newly fertilized queen) and/or house a small colony that has been raised in a test tube. It will be a soil formicarium so you will be able to watch the ants dig tunnels and chambers. We are hoping to have it available in a few months.

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2018 11:53 pm
by LearningAntz
ooper01 wrote:
Fri Jun 01, 2018 11:03 pm
Thank you for your post LearningAntz. We have several products in development at the moment, including new large versions of all our Hybrid Nest designs (like the current 8" x 8" Formica Hybrid Nest). We have plans to make one generic 4" x 4" Hybrid Nest, but unfortunately it won't be available for a long time still.

We are developing a small "founding" formicarium, however, that we are very excited about. We have been designing and developing it for over a year now. It can be used to start a new colony (just a newly fertilized queen) and/or house a small colony that has been raised in a test tube. It will be a soil formicarium so you will be able to watch the ants dig tunnels and chambers. We are hoping to have it available in a few months.
Thanks for the response. I’ll probably end up purchasing just a single 3D printed Hybrid Nest for now. My only worry is that it’ll arrive as the darker colour than the one advertised, which is the one I would prefer. Would it be guaranteed I get the colour shown if I purchase it and not the darker colour?

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 10:30 pm
by ooper01

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:46 pm
by LearningAntz
Alright. Thanks! For the generic 4x4 Nest. When do you expect it to come out? Does a long while mean a year?

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:16 pm
by ooper01
Yes, a year would be a good estimate.

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:30 pm
by LearningAntz
ooper01 wrote:
Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:16 pm
Yes, a year would be a good estimate.
Thanks for the quick response. I’ve decided I’ll just buy a Lasius Hybrid Nest 2.0 and Tetramorium Hybrid Nest 2.0 (when Tetramorium comes out)

Do you think 50 workers will be okay to move a Tetramorium colony into one of these nests? Or would it be best to wait for more workers?

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:58 am
by ooper01
LearningAntz wrote:
Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:30 pm
Thanks for the quick response. I’ve decided I’ll just buy a Lasius Hybrid Nest 2.0 and Tetramorium Hybrid Nest 2.0 (when Tetramorium comes out)

Do you think 50 workers will be okay to move a Tetramorium colony into one of these nests? Or would it be best to wait for more workers?
Hard to say. I have a large Tetramorium colony using two of the new Formica Nests. One is completely filled and the other only partially filled. They are using several chambers as junk piles in the second one. I suppose you could try it out and see how they do??

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:37 pm
by LearningAntz
ooper01 wrote:
Tue Jun 05, 2018 11:58 am
LearningAntz wrote:
Mon Jun 04, 2018 9:30 pm
Thanks for the quick response. I’ve decided I’ll just buy a Lasius Hybrid Nest 2.0 and Tetramorium Hybrid Nest 2.0 (when Tetramorium comes out)

Do you think 50 workers will be okay to move a Tetramorium colony into one of these nests? Or would it be best to wait for more workers?
Hard to say. I have a large Tetramorium colony using two of the new Formica Nests. One is completely filled and the other only partially filled. They are using several chambers as junk piles in the second one. I suppose you could try it out and see how they do??
Alright. Thanks!

Re: Smaller & Less Expensive Hybrid Nests

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:09 am
by AntsDakota
I once had a Pheidole colony that I thought was Tetramorium, so I bought the Tetramorium hybrid nest for them. They refused to move from their beloved test tube, and weren't accepting most foods I heard Tetramorium love.