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The Ant Works concept was developed by NASA back in the heyday of the US space programme. Their idea was to take a colony of ants into space so the astronauts could study the insects' behaviour in zero gravity. Why, we hear you ask? Well, we guess they had to study something as they hurtled around planet earth. Anyway, NASA's loss is our gain because the amazing jelly-like habitat they invented is now available to support ant life here on earth. Or more specifically, on your desk, bedside or kitchen table.
The Ant Works is filled with a highly nutritious non-toxic gel into which you prod four little holes to get the tunnel network started. Now get out into the garden or park and catch about 15 ants to populate the colony. Put them in the Ant Works, replace the lid... and watch. Within days the ants will burrow out an amazing pattern of channels, each clearly visible in cross-section through the walls of the container. Maintenance is minimal. Besides providing a safe ecologically-correct habitat, the gel also provides the ants' food. You simply need to open the lid for a moment once a month to aerate the interior.
In the unlikely event of you not being able to track down any ants of your own, the Ant Works comes with a form you can send off for specially bred UK ants - the ant breeders (now there's a job!) charge £4 for postage and special ant packaging.
Ant
Facts No 1
Ants are one of the oldest living creatures on earth. Like sharks, they haven't
changed much in millions of years. Nature got it right first time, proving
the old axiom "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
Ant Facts No 2
Ants are the world's strongest creature in relation to their size. They can carry 10-20 times their bodyweight. They are also the longest living of all insects.
Ant
Facts No 3
At any given moment, there are at least 1015 ants living on earth
That's a number so large - and involving more zeros than is polite to use
in mixed company - that there are two words for it: Billiard (if you're British) and Quadrillion (if you're American, or just easily swayed by the trans-Atlantic influence - I mean, their Billions are tiny compared to ours, aren't they). Anyway, that represents 0.1% of all the planet's insects.
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Due to cold weather (ants cannot be transported when it is really nippy) the Ants may take 5-6 weeks to arrive when sent off for.. |
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Customer Reviews for Ant Works
This gift should carry a health warning! I now suffer from insomnia since I bought this Ant Works... I find myself acting like a mother with a newborn... the slightest noise in the night and I'm up checkin on me little fellas just to make sure he ain't dug a one way tunnel into a perspex wall and bashed his little antenna in! My next step is to get the little fellas to breed; I managed to find a female ant in my backgarden with a big booty on her... I have even started to play Barry White, dim the lights and lock the bedroom door for the little fellas (not all my ants are exhibitionists)!
Tiny, Liverpool
Tie up your siblings, send out your dad and give your mum some cleaning to do, because it's here... finally the pet you've always begged for - in fact an Ant Works of pets - this is the best thing since that disregarded puppy you got for Christmas. I could not be having more fun - I was so excited when it came through the door! I wasn't even willing to send off for ants, the fun was in the capture, it was like a recruitment selecting the best of the best to take up and look after the Ant Works for the next 6 months. I must admit I was down at first when I had caught them all and they seemed to not want to stay or do anything but overnight they transformed from homesick insects to determined builders, and now I have a amazing route of tunnels and working ants to amuse me each day. What more could you ask for...? It was such a good investment, I advise people to buy one - there is a new tunnel every day! One problem now though, wherever I go I am scared to tread in case I squash an uncle or sister of one of my amazing workers. 10 out of 10 for this product!
David B, Essex
"My Ant Works."
Pavel G
"Some photos of my little ants settling into their new home..."
Picture Of The Month Winner Philip C
"Some photos of my little ants settling into their new home..."
Philp C
HAIL IWOOT! They have prevailed once again, this time in the form of ants. After receiving my Ant Works the very next day, I sent off for the phial of ants as I really wasn't bothered to go look for some. After anxiously waiting for the ants to come in the post they arrived in celebrity style (in a block of soil in a plastic container). I left the thrilling Arsenal - United game to go greet my new roommates. After about 30 minutes of trying to put them into their new home the ants seemed a bit psychologically disturbed so they all crammed up into one corner. I left them to get used to their new habitat and went to sleep. On waking up I saw that the ants had amazingly started to dig in the corner in which they were all crammed up (ignoring the 4 holes I so lovingly made for them). Now all I gotta do is wait for them to make a complex underground system which any Ant Works father would be proud of! You are seriously mad not to buy one of these. It's the most fun you can have after eating through a free 1st class buffet. PS. I think all my ants are male as they were watching the football highlights with me later that day! :)
IG, Harrow
TEE HEE! Totally fantastic! My partner and I are more interested in studying the ants (or 'my boys' as they are known) than each other these days! Fantastic prezzie for any age but not suitable for people who want to have conversations - don't expect anything when these little lovelies get to work runnin' around!
Fiona J, Wiltshire
They're digging! After a very hectic day yesterday, my little ants have sprung into action. I recieved my Ant Works at around lunchtime yesterday and went straight out to find me some ants. I managed to find 8 in total, quite a good number I think - it's not too busy in there. I ran back to my room and popped them in their new home. For the rest of the day they didn't do an awful lot. I discovered that ants sometimes like to lie on top of each other for hours on end (must be how they make friends). They spent most of their first day just sitting. Doing nothing. One even went missing! Now I have only 7 ants - no idea where the missing one went, there aren't many places to hide. Anyway, life goes on. This morning I awoke to find them running around, up and down the holes I made for them. And now they have started digging for themselves. It really is cool to watch, although some of the ants are very lazy and just sit at the top sleeping (probably dead actually). Brilliant fun, order one this minute!
Chris, Newcaslte
Well, I ordered my Ant Works late Wednesday night, it was dispatched on Thursday, and arrived with the standard post on Friday morning (and all of this using standard P&P)! Great service all round. As for the Ant Works itself, I'm mighty impressed. The jelly is, erm, lovely... and the box is made from lovely, thick, high-quality perspex, and is clear as... well... a very clear piece of clean perspex I guess. As for the ants... well it's January so I can't find any of the little buggers. Ah well, I'll just have to send off for some. You have to send the voucher off to Italy (where the company is based), but P&P is only 3 quid and hey - where else are you going to get ants in the post?! Anyway, the Ant Works has really lived up to, and easily surpassed, the few expectations I had of it (what kind of expectations can you have of an Ant Works anyway?), and I'm sure once it's actually doing what it was designed (by NASA, no less) to do, it'll be even better. If you want some movement on your desk, but don't fancy having a termite mound engulf your mouse and keyboard, then this really is a great option. NOTE: This reviewer is not responsible for any injuries that may be incurred from deciding to outdo your mates who have Ant Workss by actually placing a termite mound on your desk, nor is he responsible for any injuries incurred when you have to hire an anteater to get rid of it.
James, N. Wales
I bought the Ant Works as a gift for Christmas. On Christmas day morning we were to be seen out in the garden searching for ants! We only managed to find 6, so sent off for the free ants that are available with the Ant Works. They arrived today, and were added to the existing family, but DISASTER - they instantly started fighting! PLEASE don't make this same mistake - the Ant Works is great fun and hours of enjoyment, a must for anyone, as long as you only keep to one ant type!"
Meg, Bristol
I'm a different Meg Bristol to the first one, but even so I too have an Ant Works. So far my ants, led by Antonio, are huddled in one corner refusing to budge. How long before hunger forces them into action? Dig damn you dig!!
Meg, Bristol
This is the second review I have written, but this device is absolutely the best thing ever invented. I am so attached to my four flatmates, I've had their names tattooed on my arm, next to little ant caricatures of them. I can't tell you how much I want to be an ant and just bust around their tunnels with them. I've been praying to Jesus to reincarnate me as an ant. If he agrees, I'm going to jump off the roof of my flats. It is going to be awesome.
Josh, Bournemouth
Well, I bought this heavenly device and have spent endless hours watching the little fellas burrow around in joy. I've started to train them to do tricks - I even reward them with sweet treats. I have started to feel like they are family and wept so hard when the first one died. I named him and cremated him in a box of matches, and so his spirit would live on I rolled him in a blunt and smoked his ashes until I was visiting him in ant heaven. Thank you so much for providing me with so much joy.
Josh, Bournemouth
Wow! Never did I think that ants would be so cool! I got them for a birthday present and I love them - a must-have for any age! I'm taking them to work with me next week...
Amy L, Stafford
"How cool is this? My photo's really don't do the product justice. My ants arrived in the post a couple of days ago and I got around 25 with only one deceased. They have started digging now. There seems to be a new tunnel every day! Watching them work is so addictive."
Ollie, Guildford
"Here's a movie of my newly aquired ants! The movie is 2.76mb in size and lasts for 1:33secs. Hope its ok!
"
Michael B, Milton Keynes
Hats off to IWOOT for one of the most wonderfully pointless and highly entertaining products ever!
Just received my ants this morning (fast delivery, I'm impressed!); so far, they ain't doing a lot bar huddling and making a lot of bids for freedom. A few of them have sort of gotten the right idea and fallen down the holes I made for them, and have very little interest in coming back out. Already attached to them, and they're all called Gerald. Nice strong name, I feel.
Buy this now, I promise you won't be disappointed!!
Hannah G, Belfast
Not much action from my ants. Been in there two weeks, no tunnelling and two deaths. I think I got ants from a "slow" nest. They don't even fight. In all seriousness I think I need ants with a higher work ethic rather than these dole scrounging mothers!
Pete, Reading
Bought this as a present for my boyfriend last Christmas - sent off for ants in Jamuary. They dug OK, but just seemed to die , one after another they crawled into their self dug grave...freaky. In Summer we replaced the dead ants with big lively ants from the garden - once again they all perished. I couldn't handle the guilt, so i chuckedf it out.
SABINA, DUBLIN
i love antworks and the ants digging for food and discovering how they die if
they do die that is.thumbs up 10/10 5 stars
dai b, belfast
I got my product a few weeks ago, and got some ants from the garden. At first they seemed to huddle together at the top, then they started tunnelling, but one of them died and all hell broke loose. They started fighting and a few died. They made some good tunnells in the mean time though. Recommended buy. Very funny.
James, Reading
I have purchased AntWorks from IWOOT and I can honestly say it IS the best thing I have every spend my hard earned cash on. I would definatly recommend it to anyone, every day when i finish work I can easily sit for hours and watch the little creatures until bed time. THANKS IWOOT !
Dan, Yeovil
I (Well actually my whole family) have had trouble actually catching the ants in the first place. Does anyone have any experts tips/advice in ant catching. Any advice appreciated!.
We caught eight, managed to get four in. One died, and the others got out when we tried to introduce another 'House Mate'!.
Other than that, great fun for all ages. We will persevere with the ant catching. Might have to send off for some soon...........
Zoe Woodward, North Wales
Every school should have one of these, it is the perfect way to study insects!
Alex, Worcester
Recieved this as a gift for my birthday, too about 3 weeks to order the actual ants, and when I got them they ate each other .. minor holes were dug then there were loads of dead ants. Not recommended.
James, London
