The New Fish Tank....

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.

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

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".

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.

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

• Sturdy acrylic container measures 14 x 16.5 x 3cm
• The perfect educational gift for anyone aged between 9 and 99
• Pack comes with everything you need, except ants
• Magnifying glass
• Ant life expectancy approximately 6 months (worker ants conveniently carry their late brethren to the top of the gel for easy disposal)

Gel can be re-used time and again