Ant farms make owning a pet easy for kids
Ant farms should, in my humble opinion, be mandatory for all small kids. What am I talking about? Well, research shows that children who’ve had the experience of being responsible for a pet grow up to be more responsible adults too. Hardly surprising but think about it. If we had more responsible parents out there, there would be fewer kids out on the streets causing all sorts of trouble after dark. OK I know I’m on my soap box but this stuff is important. Anyway, this article quickly runs through the main Orders (or groups) of insects to determine which are the most suitable for children to have as pets.
The main insect pet groups look like this:
Ants (Order Hymenoptera) Ants make great pets You can buy an ant farm for under $20 Very little maintenance is required They eat virtually nothing yet are active all the time and perform remarkable feats of tunnelling. They are great to watch.
Stick insects and leaf insects (Order Phasmidae) - these are great when newly hatched - they run around all over the place. But as they get bigger there level of activity drops off and they begin to loook more like their namesakes - sticks. As the insects become more and more stationary for longer and longer periods, a child’s interest is likely to tail off, quite understandably. Need fresh plant food regularly.
Crickets (Order Orthoptera) Now these guys can make very good pets for kids. The many different species vary considerably in their appearance and show quite a bit of sexual dimorphism (that is, the males and females look different) They can be quite active, particularly at warmer temperatures and some will sing, given the right encouragement. Need fresh plant food regularly.
Bees (Order Hymenoptera) Definitely adults only. Bees are fascinating to keep, and can earn you a little money, but require a good deal of equipment, and care.
Cockroaches (Order Blattodea) A lot of parents have an understandable aversion to cockroachesbut, provided they are housed and looked after properly caged then they are the same as any other insect. Everyone knows how active cokroaches can be, but they do have the alarming habit of eating each other of food gets short. Kids might find this difficult to take. Will eat pretty much anything. Hissing cockroaches are extremely striking insects.
Millipedes (Order Myriapoda) Interesting to watch but can spend long periods in an inactive coil, which is pretty boring for children. Prefer warmer temperatures. Eat detritus. Giant millipedes can be up to 12? long and as thick as your finger so you will need a large tank or terrarium.
So, there are clearly many options open to you when choosing an insect for a pet. Although I find all insects interesting, I think, for children, ants in an ant farm is likely to offer the best chance of success. The ant farms themselves are cheap, and there are many types to choose from. The ants are usually active and will capture a child?s interest and running costs are virtually nothing.
