Test Tube Outworld
Description
I love the [Betterform formicarium by artGuard (linked here)](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2750544) and all it's remixes. One of the hidden gems that popped up as an addon to this wonderful formicarium was this cute little [external feeder/ outworld by basteluwe (linked here)](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3840425). I loved how simple and useful this was for a small colony rather than constructing an entire outworld for a this fledgling queen and her nanitics. However, I also dislike feeding test tube colonies in their tubes for various reasons. This little outworld was perfect for that kind of setup but sadly didn't fit any size tubes well without potentially cracking, so I decided to remake it with a handful of small adjustments just to make constructing it a little easier. While this isn't a remix of the original external feeder by basteluwe (as I did in fact make it completely from scratch), it is clearly entirely inspired by it, and for that I give a big thank you to the original creator. This will fit a 1/2 inche tube and is designed to be very tight and flush, so that medium or small size ants like Tetramorium or Lasius can't escape. I would not recommend using this for any tiny species (Pheidole bicarinata, Monomorium minimum, etc.) as I can't promise flush enough contacts to prevent them from escaping, though you are certainly welcome to try at your own risk. I printed mine at .2 and even so it still required some light sanding to get pieces to fit correctly. This was deliberate as I said to ensure smaller ant workers can't escape. # Design The design is quite simple. A simple room to connect to your test tube via a 1/2 inch tubing. A feeding tray for proteins and sugars. A screen frame that is intended to glue a piece of plastic or screen mesh to. The idea here was I found glueing screen mesh directly in to the outworld difficult and messy. Glue yours to this screen frame and then glue the whole frame in. Trust me, it's easier. The lid and screen frame have small insets to place your plastic or mesh. The window does require supports unless you're a bridging master but that is the only part that does. For the plastic, you don't need anything fancy. I used a plastic muffin container from the grocery store to cut out for my lid window. You could also do this for the front window if you didn't have access to screen mesh. Happy anting!
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