Hi guys! I hope you’re doing well!
Today I’m going to compare two great ant nests made by the company WaKooshi, the Mercury nest, and the Venus nest! Let’s see which is the best! But before we start with the actual comparison, I wanna take a moment to describe the two products very quickly.
The Mercury Nest
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The first of the two nests that we’re going to compare today is called Mercury nest. This nest is made of acrylic, and it’s based on a test tube setup. That means that the actual nest in which the ants live is in fact a very basic test tube setup, considered by most ant keepers to be the gold standard of starter nests.
The main feature of this nest is the little outworld mounted on top of the test tube. This is a very clever solution In my opinion, as it enhances the usability of the nest by including an outworld, while keeping the space that takes on the shelf under control.
If you wanna learn more about this nest, I would strongly suggest you check out this review! In this one I make a detailed review of this nest, listing the pros and cons of this type of setup!
The Venus Nest
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The other nest of this comparison is made by the same company, and it’s called Venus nest. As you may have noticed, WaKooshi uses the names of planets as the model name for their nests.
This one has a lot in common with the Mercury, but also has some major differences. The Venus is also based on the same very basic setup as the Mercury, but instead of having just one test tube, it has 3 of them!
In this nest the test tubes are placed one next to the other, creating an array of nests. Each test tube has its own little entrance, which connects the nests to the little outworld. The outworld in this nest is a lot smaller if compared to the one on the Mercury nest, but nevertheless does its job swiftly.
Just like for the Mercury nest, I’ve also made a dedicated review for this nest! If you are interested, you can check it out here!
The Company
These are two of the most popular ant nests made by WaKooshi.
If you have never heard of them, WaKooshi is a UK-based company, very popular in the ant keeping community for their very cool 3D printed acrylic nests. If you are interested in one of these nests, you can find their online shop at www.wakooshi.com.
The Comparison
To determine which of the two nests will be the winner, I will assign a point to only one of the two products in 5 different categories: price, build quality, features, aesthetic, and expandability. At the end of the comparison, the nest with the most points will be the winner!
Let’s start with the first category!
Price
At the current date, the Mercury nest is a little more expensive than the Venus on the WaKooshi online shop. The price of the Venus is currently £16.95, or €20.95 if you live in a country that uses the euro.
On the other hand, the price of the Mercury is £21.95, or €26.95. With a difference in price of just £5, the Venus is a little cheaper if compared to the Mercury.
Given the fact that functionally the two nests are very similar, the point in this category goes to the Venus!
Build Quality
Both these nests are built using 3D printing technology, a very modern technique used to create acrylic parts. This technology uses an additive process that creates the acrylic components by depositing various layers of material one above the other.
I have to admit that the 3D printing quality on both of these nests is extremely good! There aren’t any signs of smudges or errors caused by the 3D printer, and the surfaces are really well made!
If you, just like me, really like 3D-printed ant nests, I would suggest you take a look at this other nest! This one is made by the same company, and is perfect if you have a larger colony!
The acrylic panels available on both nests are also made with very high-quality materials, and the cuts are extremely precise. The acrylic panels of the outworld and the red covers are very clear, facilitating the view of the ants inside the nest.
Given the fact that both nests are made with the same 3D printer, this could be considered a tie! However, some of the pieces of the Mercury have really amazed me, and for this reason, the point for this category goes to the Mercury!
Features
Now to the features. Both nests offer lots of very useful features. They both have an outworld, a red lid cover, and both are based on the most trusted nest system: the test tube setup.
The three main differences between the Mercury and the Venus are the outworld size, the number of test tubes, and the additional liquid feeder that we find only on the Mercury.
The outworld of the Mercury nest is a lot bigger, and with its bigger opening it makes it a lot easier to access the inside and feed the ants.
Another useful feature that is present only on the Mercury, is a little test tube-based liquid feeder.
With this feeder you can provide the ants with a constant source of various types of sugar liquids, an amazing upgrade if compared with the more classic liquid drop in the feeding dish.
Thanks to these additional features, the point for this category goes to the Mercury!
Aesthetic
Personally, I like both nests. They are very different from any other nest that you can find on the ant keeping market, and they are also very functional.
However, the little outworld of the Mercury catches the attention. It is really well made, and with its included liquid feeder and its 3D printed lid, it easily beats the one that we find on the Venus, both aesthetically and functionally.
So for this category, I can safely give the point to the Mercury!
So far we are at 1 point for the Venus and 3 for the Mercury! Let’s continue with the last category!
Expandability
When it comes to expandability, the Venus easily wins. From what I’ve seen, the Mercury nest doesn’t have an option for expandability, and if there is, you probably have to buy a special connector separately.
On the other hand, with the Venus you have a dedicated auxiliary port made especially for this reason.
Via this little door, you can connect a bigger outworld or a bigger nest, giving the ants a lot more nesting space.
For this reason, the final point goes to the Venus!
Conclusions
The verdict is in! The Mercury wins this competition with just one point more than the Venus!
Real-world impact!
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