Specifications Details

The following are details on the terms used in the specifications box on each cast page.


Ant Type
I try to list each ant type by their common name (fire ants, carpenter ants, etc.). If known, the genus and species will be in parenthesis after the common name. Some ant genera or species will not have a common name in which case I'll just list them by their genus and species.

Cast Number
Each cast is given a unique number for the purpose of having a means to reference a particular cast. The cast numbers are three digits long and are stylized on the site like this: Cast #001.

Created
The date in which the cast was poured.

Cast Weight
The weight of the actual cast, in pounds. The display base is not included in this weight.

Cast Material
The material that was used to make the cast. It will almost always be aluminum but I have used zinc and plaster as well.

Cast Dimensions
I measure the cast height, width, and length of the cast in inches. I consider the height to be the vertical dimension (the depth of the ant colony) and the width and length to be the shortest and longest dimension parallel to the ground surface. Because the casts are so irregularly shaped, I usually just get an approximation of the longest part of the cast in each dimension.

Base
The type of base in which the cast is mounted to or sits on. The casts are usually displayed on a wood base. Sometimes the cast is mounted to the cast with a bolt and sometimes it will sit on top of the base with no mounting. A few casts are mounted to a stained board which hangs on the wall. On the cast page, I usually include a detailed description of the base.

Base Dimensions
The dimensions of the display base in inches. The height is the thickness of the wood. The length and width are the longest and shortest dimensions. Sometimes the base will have other wood attached in order to display the cast and I don't include those dimensions in this description. Check out the base description at the bottom of the cast page to see more detail.

Frame
The type of frame in which the cast is displayed on. For frames, I usually make a 1" aluminum tube frame with a hook at the top which the cast can be hung on via an eyebolt in the cast. On the cast page, I include a detailed description of the frame design.

Frame Dimensions
The height, width, and length of the display frame. Height is the vertical, width is the shortest horizontal dimension, and length is the longest.

Mount
The mount describes how the cast is attached to the base or frame.

Bases either have a bolt which fixes the cast to the base or the base has risers which the cast sits on with no mounting.

A frame mount will consist of an eyebolt through the base and a hook bolt on the frame. This mount makes it where you can remove the cast and place it back on the stand easily.

Orientation
The orientation of the colony. If the cast is mounted right side up then it is in its natural orientation with the top of the display being the part of the colony near the surface and the bottom being the deepest part of the colony.

Sometimes it's necessary to mount the cast upside down so the top of the display would be the deepest part of the actual colony as it was in the ground.