SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

This section is intended to share suggestions and tips for future generations to improve the Formicarium even more.

TIPS:

- Ants are delicate animals, you must be cautious and careful.

- Being organized, right from the start, plays a key role in the organization to both improvement of the formicarium and to carry out a valid research question correctly.

- Communication within a research group is very important, it allows everyone to understand where you are with the development of an idea and in case of need or advice, the opinion of others is crucial.

- It is advisable to choose a theme for the scientific question which attracts and intrigues you.

- Feed them with the Bathkar artificial diet every now and then, ensuring the ants have a healthy lifestyle and a stable weight -> see Aline's research question

THINGS TO IMPROVE:

- The connection between the humidifier and the larger water tank, which has caused problems, must be improved. The problem can be solved if the pressure in the bottle with and without the hole is identical -> If not, water escapes and does not become mist to humidify the formicarium.

- Another improvement for the future that could be made is to increase the layers of soil in the feeding chamber and the main chamber, allowing the ants both more movement due to the different materials and the exposure to new surfaces.

- Another idea is to introduce new plants, in order to have vegetation that is more similar to their natural environment and to allow leaves that the Fungus like more.

- it is advisable to choose a theme for the scientific question which attracts and intrigues you.

- Another theme that can be improved in the future is the "Marking Ants Project".

Several methods have been performed for ideal ant tracking.

The ants, after spending three minutes in the fridge, were colored on the back with nail polish, which when applied in small quantities does not cause damage to the ants' skin.

The tested ants were then isolated for 48 hours to prevent the spread of the odor. 

Colored ants were also spotted weeks after coloring, but the project was not continued.

http://krungkuene.org/ameisen_page/exp/index.html