http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5803014/fulltext.html
This is the link to the official website for US Patent 5803014 - Habitat media for ants and other invertebrates. I am simply a student majoring in taxation, so a lot of this information is over my head. Someone who has a better understanding of chemistry needs to read this article and figure out a recipe for the good and welfare of all of us. Most importantly, the recipe should include instructions with time, temperature, etc. for making the gel. It should also include a list of ingredients, and maybe where they can be purchased. Once someone has drafted the initial recipe, then we can all go out and try it on our own, and collectively experiment with it until we find the final recipe. I want to buy one of these guys, fill it with homemade gel, and mount it on the wall. Let me know what you think.
Here is a clip of the U.S. Patent:
What is claimed is:
1. A soil-less ant habitat medium providing both a habitat and nutrients comprising the combination of a culture medium and a chemical agent, which chemical agent comprises: methylchloroisothiazolinone in a concentration range of about 2.0 to 2.6 g/l; methylisothiazolinone in a concentration range of about 0.6 to about 0.8 g/l; magnesium chloride in a concentration range of about 15.0 to 30 g/l; and magnesium nitrate in a concentration range of about 15.0 to 30 g/l; wherein the chemical agent is present in the culture medium at a concentration that reduces or prevents microbial contamination of the culture medium and allows for the substantially sustained viability of the ants inhabiting the habitat media.
2. The ant habitat medium of claim 1, wherein the chemical agent further comprises potassium sorbate in a concentration range of about 15 to about 25 g/l...

Seems to me it is an easy way around making a sealed enviro
chamber that a nasa space flight requires. the issue is to find a binder for the gel that dosent melt or give off too much water and shrink and or fog the
glass. you could make a carbo/protein type gel but it would need to be poisoned to prevent growth of bacterium or fungi and that WILL hurt the ants....they may
live for a time, but breed and prosper, most likely not. at least without 12 legged 1 eyed ants after a few generations.... the trick Nasa had to use was to
seal the environment and sterilize the chamber to prevent any unwanted intruders and bathing the ants and or eggs to prevent hitchhikers that can foul up the
works. they also used a inhibitor to prevent fermenting and innovation incase any thing did get inside and take root on the gel. At $1000 per gram of payload
cost they left nothing to chance.... Why go through all that nerdnesss just to watch ants dig? Use a high ratio seaweed gel like used in fruit fly cultures and
add food as needed if it molds they will have a dump to put it and you can scrape it off and remove it. Usually the ant poo pile is on the top in the corner.
Ants clean their rooms of anything bad and put in the trash pile, which is more that I can say for my kids....
