Outworld with the heat barrier.

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AleksandrB
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:14 am
Location: ****, Saratov

Outworld with the heat barrier.

Post: # 65508Post AleksandrB
Tue Nov 12, 2019 3:05 am

Greetings The AntsCanada!
I am here from Ru speaking Ants community in a search for friends, especially those, who will be interested in my particular idea about ant keeping technology, to discuss and to do experiments.
I'm a grownup Engineer and antkeeping is my hobby from time to time, since no internet time, and when I have enough free time. A few years ago I had an active period on that hobby, and then I had one particular idea. Now I back to the hobby and "the idea". Got some new plans, and want to share. I am not sure if this is the biggest En forum, but your Youtube channel is great, big thanks for the work!

The idea is to make open space outworld(I am not sure in terms, we call it arena) with the technology of heat barrier as an anti-escape barrier.
Why do I want to do that?
I think that modern ant keeping lacks that kind of technology. The formicarium could be made very beautiful and natural, with respect to ant's health and natural behaviour. But all the outworlds that I've seen is mostly a fish-tanks, which is not very esthetic and not natural. Especially for those ants with good climbing characteristics - you have to use closed fish-tanks - that a shame. That not only looks bad but also mess up with ant's behaviour, as they fell themselves buried.

So the idea is to put around the outworld a thin anti-escape barrier with hight temperature.
Advantages?
A) Outworld could be flat-shaped or even something three-dimension as a figures garden. Easy to watch, easy to take pictures. New possibilities for designers. I'm not very good, or maybe never have time for the stylish design, that's why I'm sharing my work in the hope that someone will remake it really beautiful.
B) The heat is natural for the ants as they are naturally exposed to the heated items in the wild, like stones under the sun. I think it's good for ant's health among other anti-escape's. No danger of getting into oil of any kind. No danger of falling from the heights. No danger micro dust that can plump the spiracles. No danger of drowning in the water. Fresh air!

Disadvantages?
It uses some electrical power, not really much. And its heat's up air around, and outworld itself, not really much. It will make ant's go free if there's no electricity. So the power source is better to be reserved. In my own experience when the power goes down the ant's don't trying to run away immediately, as in the case when they found a breach in some other closed-up outworld, but it should be tested over.

Some pictures of the alpha model:
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And the beta model:
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And the youtube link does not work as I expected it to work. But you can copy past it.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/RcnFx-DQid4[/youtube]
Do you have any similar experiments described here?
I would appreciate if you point out my language mistakes.

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idahoantgirl
Posts: 1521
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:52 am
Location: Idaho, USA

Re: Outworld with the heat barrier.

Post: # 65514Post idahoantgirl
Tue Nov 12, 2019 7:36 pm

I like the idea! similar to the water moat idea but more effective. Interested in how it works out long term, how many casualties, and power outages.
Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

Keeping Tetramorium immigrans, Tapinoma Sessile

AleksandrB
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2019 1:14 am
Location: ****, Saratov

Re: Outworld with the heat barrier.

Post: # 65607Post AleksandrB
Mon Nov 18, 2019 12:04 am

idahoantgirl wrote:
Tue Nov 12, 2019 7:36 pm
I like the idea! similar to the water moat idea but more effective. Interested in how it works out long term, how many casualties, and power outages.
I tested with Lasius Niger so far, and they behaved great in the long term. No casualties at all. What you can see on the video - is only their first experience, when they are trying the barrier. Also, I've been provoking them at the moment by putting the food and taking it away. After some time they didn't go so close(even when the barrier is off). Power consumption is pretty low, like ten of watts. I don't remember the exact numbers but I do remember that when I counted it was ten times less than my fish tank with all the light and filters.

I plan to do a couple of new versions.
One is very small, compact model for a very little species (Tetramonium), using a tiny nickel-chromium line and an Arduino based regulator. I hope it will be a useful model, because, despite their size, Tetramonium are known to be nasty escapers, when the colony is big.
The other is bigger for the big and fast ants (Camponotus Vagus). I plan to use a pretty thick self-regulating cable with the temperature of 60c. I'm afraid if the temperature will be too low. Or the cable will be damaged because of the minimum load. But I hope that the cable itself is thick enough so the ants wouldn't run(jump) through it.
I would appreciate if you point out my language mistakes.

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