 | How do I place an order? I'm confused.
Placing your order is very simple. First find the item you want, then click "Add to Cart". Your shopping cart will then pop up. If you would like to continue to shop, click "Continue Shopping" in the shopping cart window. Once you have added all the items you want, click "Checkout" on your shopping cart window. If you can't find your shopping cart window, go to any of the "Buy Antlions" pages and click "View Shopping Cart."
If you are having trouble placing your order, call us at 877-332-8706.
Back to Top
|
| | Can I pay by check or money order?
Sure. That's no problem. Once you are done shopping find your total by clicking View Shopping Cart, then click Checkout. Add the Amount and the shipping & handling together. That's your total. You can now close that window. Make your check or money order payable to: Ian Skelley, 1303 Poppy Ave, Pensacola, FL 32507. When you mail your payment, make sure you let us know the quantities and items that you want. As soon as the check or money order clears, we will ship out your order. It's that simple.
Back to Top
|
| | How soon will my ant lions arrive after I order them?
Ant Lion Kits are shipped out using USPS Priority Mail so it will usually only take about 2-3 days for you to get your ant lions. You can also add Express Shipping for faster service.
The Ant Lion 3 Pack and the books are shipped via First Class mail and take about a week to arrive.
Back to Top
|
| | How is shipping & handling calculated?
Why is shipping sometimes as much as the Ant Lion Kit?
Holiday Shipping Info.
To find out how much your shipping costs will be, add the item to your cart, then press "Checkout." This will show you your totals. To complete the purchase follow the directions. Ant Lions can only last so long without food and fresh air so we use USPS Priority Mail to make sure your ant lions arrive in a timely and cost-effective manner. Because shipping differs depending on your location and the weight of the package, you may receive a refund back if the shipping cost is substantially different than what we have set as the standard shipping. But you will never be charged more.
Holiday Shipping Info:
If you would like your order to arrive by Christmas, we recommend that your place your order by Dec. 18th. If you would like your order to arrive as close to Christmas as possible, just let us know. Remember that your order includes live ant lions. And while they can survive for a while without fresh air, try not to leave them packaged up for longer than 3 days from the time you receive them.
Back to Top
|
| | Arrive Alive Guarantee
In order to guarantee that your ant lions arrive alive, your low temperatures must be at least in the 40's before we can ship to you.We will check your temperatures here, and ship out your order as soon as the weather permits.
If you decide on Express shipping, your temps must be at least 15 degrees, and someone must be there when the package arrives.
If you would like us to ship with NO Guarantee, just email us, and let us know.
Back to Top
|
| | Express Shipping Info:
Next day delivery by noon or by 3:00 pm to many destinations.
Delivery to most addresses in the United States - including PO Boxes and military addresses.
Check Delivery Time based on your zip code.
(Origin zip code is 39426.)
Back to Top
|
| | Can you ship ant lions to my country?
Canada - Permit Needed
Australia - Not at this time.
England - Yes.
Germany - Yes.
Back to Top
|
| | My Ant Lions keep throwing out sand from their bowl. What can I do?
Ant Lions are very active diggers. One of the ways to help keep them from throwing sand out is to make sure the sand level in your bowl is not too high. Try taking out some sand of the habitat.
Back to Top
|
| | Do the antlion zen gardens come with a lid? How do you keep the ant lions from escaping?
These antlions are in their larval stage and cannot escape the bowl. However, at some point they will cocoon themselves in the sand for about a month, and then reappear as a winged adult ant lion.
When they do cocoon, it is a good idea to use netting so that the adult won't escape -- it will almost certainly emerge from its cocoon when you're not watching.
A stick placed upright in the sand will provide the newly emerged adult with a place to rest while its wings expand and harden properly.
Ideally, the adult antlion should be returned outside within a day after emerging from the cocoon. If held captive any longer, it will lose energy and may die.
Back to Top
|
| | How many days should I wait until I introduce the first ants, and how do you keep the ants contained?
The best time to introduce the ants into the Zen Garden or Habitat is after the ant lions have made their pits.
If you drop the ants directly into the pit, you won't have to worry about the ants getting out. One ant per pit.
If you put the ants in the sand with the intent of letting them
fall into the pit themselves, just keep an eye on them so they don't crawl out of the habitat. If they manage to crawl out, just move them back into the habitat.
Another idea is to put a thin layer of vaseline around the bowl so the ants can't get out.
Back to Top
|
| | Will the Ant Lions bite me?
I have heard rumors that ant lions can bite humans, but I have never had one bite me or anyone I know. You can place them into your palm and they will just scurry around. It kinda tickles. From my experience, there is nothing to be afraid of when handling these Ant Lions.
Back to Top
|
| | Do I need to buy Ant Lion food?
Most people feed their ant lions with ants and small insects living around outside their homes. However, if you prefer having your ant lion food shipped straight to your door, then you can try these options:
FLIGHTLESS FRUIT FLIES:
Flightless fruit flies are convenient. You don't have to worry about feeding the flies, and one vial will last around a month. You can purchase fruit flies here.
LOBSTER ROACHES:
Young lobster roaches work very well for feeding your ant lions. Since they breed, they can provide an endless source of nutrition, and are inexpensive. Just be sure to ask them to include a few smaller roaches in your initial order so you can feed your ant lion until the breeders make babies.
For more info or to order visit: www.wormman.com
ANTS:
At this time, we have not been able to locate a source of ants that will work. If anyone can find a source for smaller ants (smaller than Harvester Ants) that we feel will work, we will pay you $50.
PIN HEAD CRICKETS:
Ant Lions love crickets too. Check with your local pet store to see if they sell pin head crickets. They probably run about .05 cents per cricket. You can also order them online at www.flukerfarms.com.
Back to Top
|
| | Do I need to water my antlions?
We have heard that ant lions get everything they need to survive from their food. However, just to be on the safe side, we recommend that you mist their sand about once every two weeks.
Back to Top
|
| | The ants I put in the pit are too strong for my ant lion to grab. What can I do?
If the ant is too strong for them you might need to put the ant in the refrigerator for a couple hours....the cold slows them down without killing them. If that doesn't work well enough, consider purchasing argentine ants which are available at www.antsalive.com. To order these ants just call AntsAlive.com at (877) 864-2207. A months supply of ants (25 ants) runs around $2 - $3 shipping included. These ants are smaller than Harvester ants (Ant Farm ants) so your ant lion should have no trouble with them.
Back to Top
|
| | How long will my Ant Lion live? What is the life cycle of an ant lion?
Ant Lion larva have been known to live anywhere from one to three years. Then they cocoon themselves for about a month, and emerge as a winged adult ant lion. When they do cocoon, it is a good idea to use netting so that the adult won't escape -- it will almost certainly emerge from its cocoon when you're not watching. A stick placed upright in the sand will provide the newly emerged adult with a place to rest while its wings expand and harden properly. Ideally, the adult antlion should be returned outside within a day after emerging from the cocoon. If held captive any longer, it will lose energy and may die. The adult ant lion lives from 30 to 45 days. Here is more info on hatching ant lions. Because of the difficulty of telling the age of an Ant Lion, we cannot guarantee how long your Ant Lions will live.
Back to Top
|
| | What species of Ant Lions do you sell?
We have had some of our ant lions identified, and found that they were of the species Myrmeleon crudelis Walker. However the species could change from time to time depending when and where we collect them. You can find information regarding the kind of species located in North America here.
Back to Top
|
| | Can I purchase Ant Lion Kits in advance as gifts?
Sure, that will be no problem.
Just place your order and let us know when you would like your gifts to arrive, and we will make sure they arrive alive and on time.
Back to Top
|
| | Can I put ant lions in my ant farm?
First, if you dropped an ant lion into an ant hill (or ant farm) the ants would attack and kill the ant lion. Ants know their enemies.
However, if you placed an ant lion in an
environment and let him have time to burrow
himself, and then added ants into the environment, the ant lion should be fine.
The ants that come with ant farms are usually Harvester ants. Harvesters are generally too big for Ant Lions. Instead consider purchasing argentine ants which are available at www.antsalive.com. To order these ants just call AntsAlive.com at (877) 864-2207. A months supply of ants (25 ants) runs around $2 - $3 shipping included. These ants are smaller than Harvester ants (Ant Farm ants) so your ant lion should have no trouble with them.
Also, Ant lions dont have to eat very many ants to survive, but if given the chance the ant lion
would eat as many as he could and as fast as he
could....I would venture to say that if you had an ant lion in a habitat with 25 ants, that all the ants would be dead in maybe a month or so....but that is just a guess.
Having a separate yet connected area for your ant lions would work great, and if the ants don't seem to be exploring that area enough to keep the ant lion fed, you could always put some sugar around the ant lion pit.
Back to Top
|
| | What famous movies had Ant Lion-like creatures?
This article tells the answer.
Back to Top
|
| | How can I create my own ant lion habitat?
An ant lion habitat can be as simple as a styrofoam cup or as elaborate as you want to make it. Just make sure that each ant lion has about 2 cubic inches of space. You can also use sugar instead of sand. It's that simple!
Back to Top
|
| | How big are the antlions?
As babies, our antlions are less than 1/16th of an inch, and within around 3 years can grow a little larger than 1/2 an inch.
Back to Top
|
| | Can ant lions be used for ant extermination?
The following answer comes from Mark Swanson of The Ant Lion Pit. Thanks for the info Mark.
I've been asked this question too, and I answer with "probably not." I haven't actually put this question to an entomologist, and I don't have any evidence to support my view, but I'm basing this opinion on the fact that an antlion can eat only one ant every 20 minutes or so and probably couldn't keep up that pace all day long. I suppose it depends on the size of the ant colony, but my guess is that they could never keep up with them. One of the "beneficial insects" websites includes antlions in its list
but doesn't say that they could actually be used for ant control. Wishful thinking perhaps? I would suggest looking up alternative ant control methods on the web.
Back to Top
|
| | What do I do when my ant lion cocoons itself?
Hatching an adult ant lion
Back to Top
|
