Devolve Chamber (NEW)

Description

Time to Complete

Product Summary

NEW DEVOLVE CHAMBERS!  This is an improved version of the original Devolve Chamber.

Why do we change?  The original plastic dishes we used for these were prone to small cracks.  The new material is a 3-d printed plastic and is much stronger and durable.  The visibility has not been affected and all three containers (nest area and two feeding areas) have clear plastic lids.  The plugs and connection ports are much better as the thicker walls allow for a more secure fit over the old design.  One of the things we try to do here at Tar Heel Ants is limit the use of tubing and this setup does just that.  The magnetically attachable feeding dishes allow for quick and easy changing out for cleaning and require no tubing.  We do include a piece of tubing to make them more secure, however, in the event tiny or stinging ants are being kept in the Devolve Chambers.

Original Write-Up

Devolve Chambers are a formicarium design for founding queens to begin their colony.  The simple design of a single, small water tower inside a small petri-dish style setup works excellent for Camponotus species and Formica species.  During our research with Camponotus chromaiodes and Camponotus castaneus we have found these habitats to have the ideal humidity conditions for a founding queen.  These formicaria are intended for medium and large size species.

What do they come with?  Needle-tip syringe (blunt-tip are too large for the holes in the lids), stopper, foraging area (based on quantity selected) and tubing to fit between foraging area/nest.

Some possible benefits over standard test tubes:

• We found our Camponotus chromaiodes queens raised in these setups had quicker time from eggs to workers then test tube setups
• We found Camponotus chromaiodes queens raised in these setups had larger worker counts at the end of year one than in those we studied in test tube setups.
• We never had to move queens from their original chamber during this time (we recommend the attached foraging area once workers arrive!)

Features:

• 3″ diameter petri-style habitat w/lid
• 2 Magnetically connectqable feeding dishes
• 3/8″ tubing insert
• 2 plastic plugs
• Small water tower (average time before refilling 2-4 weeks) filled through a tiny hole in the lid.
• 3/8″ connection port standard (other sizes optional)
• Fits inside many of our habitats for easy moving (Fortress formicarium, Phalanx formicarium, Nucleus formicarium etc.)
• Tar Heel Ants preferred substrate – vermiculite (we prefer because it has outperformed other substrates during our in-house testing and research)