How to Make Your First Ant Farm

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An ant farm in a jar is an easy summer science project for younger children. This simple ant jar uses materials you'll have at home and will provide hours of interesting fun for the kids.

Do you have a future entomologist in your family? An entomologist is a scientist who specializes in insects. Ants fascinate kids and a small ant colony is easily made and maintained by young children. This project is ideal for kindergarteners and early primary grade students. With parental help, a four year old will be able to manage this as well.

An ant jar is a good home schooling science project. Students will learn about ants environmental requirements, food needs and of course, will be able to observe the colony behavior in a controlled way. Simple as is may be, this ant jar provides training in observation that helps develop a questioning mind.

Making the Ant Jar

You will need:
1 quart or larger clear glass jar
1 8 – 10 inch pie plate
1 2 inch deep pan, larger than the pie pan, to hold water
Soil
Pencil
String
Water
Ants

Directions: Fill the both the jar and the pie plate about two-thirds full with soil. Set the jar into the bowl of soil. Settle the jar into the soil so that it is level and stable. Place the pie plate into the larger pan and add at least 1 inch of water to the pan. The water acts as a moat to keep your ants from escaping. If you use a quart jar, you can substitute a soup bowl for the pie plate and a 10 inch pie plate for the water pan.

Don’t cover the jar. Ants are curious and active creatures who will appreciate being able to wander over the top of the jar and into the surrounding dirt. They may crawl over the edge of the pie plate, but when they hit the moat, they will turn back to the soil mound. Ants won’t cross water, so you don’t have to be concerned about an ant invasion in your kitchen! Your child will probably enjoy watching the ants test the water with their antennae, rather like how we dip a toe into the pool to test the water temperature.

Finding Ants

You need about 100 ants for your ant jar. You’ll probably find all the ants you need in your own back yard. Use a pencil to collect the ants. They will easily climb onto the tip of the pencil and you can transfer them to your new ant jar. Unless you are able to find a small, active ant mound where you can collect an ant queen, your ant jar will last from four to six weeks, the average life span of worker ants.

A word of caution about collecting your ants; ants are territorial and if you collect ants from 2 different colonies they will fight and kill each other. Stay in one part of your yard once you begin collecting your ants.

If you do find an active ant mound, you can collect it. Collecting an ant colony is easiest after a rain shower, when the soil is moistened. To collect a small ant colony, use a garden trowel to cut a circle around the mound approximately the same diameter of the jar you are going to use.

Fold a section of newspaper into a cone shape and fold up the bottom of the cone. Dig out a cylinder of dirt and carefully move it into the newspaper cone. Transfer the soil and the ants into the jar.

When you collect an ant mound, you may also collect the queen. You will recognize her by her significantly larger size, large abdomen, and the additional three eyes between the normal two eyes on her head. If you are fortunate enough to have a queen, your ant jar colony will have a much longer life span.

Once the ants are in their new home, you should begin to see tunneling activity within 2 or 3 days. Look close to the bottom of the jar for the first tunnels to appear. The soil will be dampest there.

Feeding the Ants

Make a simple feeding chart to help your child keep track of when to give the ants water and new food. Be careful not to overfeed or water. It is best to water on one day and then feed 2 days later.

Ants like variety in their diet. Tie the string to the pencil and attach food for the ants onto the string. Lay the pencil across the top of the jar to suspend the food just at soil level.

Good food choices for ants are slices of soft fruit such as apple or banana that have been dipped in honey or sugar water. They also eat bits of meat, cheese, bread, and candy. Feed the ants once a week.

Ants also need water. Add a teaspoonful of water to the soil jar every third day. Be careful not to make the soil too wet.

Ants, Ant, Ants

A magnifying glass makes it easy to observe the ants. Be careful about using the magnifying glass in direct sunlight or you may have fried ants! Ants prefer darkness so you’ll want to keep the jar in a shaded location. Ants are sensitive to vibrations, so once you create their new home, don’t move it around. Too much movement stresses ants and they will die sooner.

Have your child observe one ant closely for several minutes and record what he sees. An ant’s body is divided into 3 segments, the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. The head is connected to the thorax by a very skinny neck. The thorax is connected to the abdomen at the waist. Ants don’t have skeletons; instead, they have rigid outer shells that protect their inner organs.

Using the magnifying glass, your child will be able to see the ants mouth and watch how it’s jaws work. Ants use their jaws the way humans use their hands, for carrying, digging, and tearing off bits of food. The eyes will be easily identifiable. Most ants have 2 eyes; some have 5 and some ants have no eyes at all.

Blind ants use their antennae to feel their way around their world. All ants will continually wave their antennae. Ants use their antennae to discover information about the world and the objects they encounter. Using their antennae, they can detect the size of objects and determine whether they can climb over it or if they will have to go around it.

The abdomens of some ants contain stingers. Ant stings can burn and will become slightly raised red bumps at the site of the sting. An ant sting will itch for a few say and it may become infected, but it is rarely a health threat. If you do get stung, wash the area with soap and water as soon as you can. Apply a past of baking soda and water or calamine lotion to the sting. There are over the counter anti-itch creams that may be applied as needed.