Art Formed from Science
The act of casting ant colonies is nothing new to the field of science. Entomologists have been casting colonies of ants since 1988, with dental plaster being the first material used to cast.(1) Many materials are used to cast colonies, such as dental plaster, paraffin wax, and molten metals. Some materials used such as plaster and wax, allow for the recovery of the insect bodies for further study. Metals such as aluminum and zinc however, do not allow for body recovery.(1)
Understanding an insect like the ant, which live in subterranean super colonies, would not be possible without examining the structures of their colony. When looking at the different shapes and sizes of ant colony casts, it is obvious the structure is deliberately and carefully constructed.