Dark Dome

Dark Dome

From $9.99

Fits 5" and 10" DomesDarkroom-Grade Red Acrylic~5% Light Transmission

TrapJaw's Dark Dome Cover

A red cast acrylic cover that fits over the Conservatory's viewing dome, cutting the light reaching the fungus garden to a small fraction of room brightness while leaving it visible to you. Lift it off when you want to watch; leave it on the rest of the time. Many colonies will function normally without this accessory, but sensitive founding colonies or queen chambers will benefit most from it.

Available in two sizes: a 5" cover for the 5" Conservatory dome, and a 10" cover for the 10" dome. Select your size above.

Dark Chambers for a Dark-Grown Crop

Fungus gardens are cultivated in lightless subterranean chambers. A viewing dome inverts that — it puts the garden under room light all day, which is convenient for the keeper and unfamiliar to the colony. The Dark Dome restores the default, so the garden spends most of its time in conditions closer to what the ants maintain underground.

How It Works

Dark Domes are cut from 2423 cast acrylic — the same grade specified for darkroom glazing. It transmits roughly 5% of visible light, so the chamber beneath sits at a small fraction of ambient room brightness.

The material also works as a cutoff filter rather than a simple tint: transmission begins around 600 nm and rises through the deep red and near-infrared. Everything shorter than that — ultraviolet, blue, and green — is largely blocked.

That matters because ant visual systems are generally most sensitive in the ultraviolet and green range, with sensitivity falling off toward the red end of the spectrum. Sensitivity varies across species.

Founding Colonies

A founding fungus-grower queen is tending a garden she can't replace — a tiny piece of mycelium, started from the pellet she carried on her mating flight. There's no margin at this stage, and anything that prompts her to relocate or neglect the garden can end the colony. Reducing light removes one variable from the most fragile weeks of the colony's life.

Established Colonies

In our own large colonies, covers have meant more frequent queen sightings.

Choosing a Version
Each Dark Dome is sized to a specific Conservatory dome and is not interchangeable.
5" Dark DomeFits5" Conservatory Nest with Dome
10" Dark DomeFits10" Conservatory Nest with Dome
Flat-top panel configurations do not accept a Dark Dome.

Recommended Accessories
Conservatory Nest

The Dark Dome fits the Conservatory's dome configurations and has no use without one.

Required

Choose an option

TrapJaw Labs

Dark Dome

Fits 5" and 10" DomesDarkroom-Grade Red Acrylic~5% Light Transmission

TrapJaw's Dark Dome Cover

A red cast acrylic cover that fits over the Conservatory's viewing dome, cutting the light reaching the fungus garden to a small fraction of room brightness while leaving it visible to you. Lift it off when you want to watch; leave it on the rest of the time. Many colonies will function normally without this accessory, but sensitive founding colonies or queen chambers will benefit most from it.

Available in two sizes: a 5" cover for the 5" Conservatory dome, and a 10" cover for the 10" dome. Select your size above.

Dark Chambers for a Dark-Grown Crop

Fungus gardens are cultivated in lightless subterranean chambers. A viewing dome inverts that — it puts the garden under room light all day, which is convenient for the keeper and unfamiliar to the colony. The Dark Dome restores the default, so the garden spends most of its time in conditions closer to what the ants maintain underground.

How It Works

Dark Domes are cut from 2423 cast acrylic — the same grade specified for darkroom glazing. It transmits roughly 5% of visible light, so the chamber beneath sits at a small fraction of ambient room brightness.

The material also works as a cutoff filter rather than a simple tint: transmission begins around 600 nm and rises through the deep red and near-infrared. Everything shorter than that — ultraviolet, blue, and green — is largely blocked.

That matters because ant visual systems are generally most sensitive in the ultraviolet and green range, with sensitivity falling off toward the red end of the spectrum. Sensitivity varies across species.

Founding Colonies

A founding fungus-grower queen is tending a garden she can't replace — a tiny piece of mycelium, started from the pellet she carried on her mating flight. There's no margin at this stage, and anything that prompts her to relocate or neglect the garden can end the colony. Reducing light removes one variable from the most fragile weeks of the colony's life.

Established Colonies

In our own large colonies, covers have meant more frequent queen sightings.

Choosing a Version

Each Dark Dome is sized to a specific Conservatory dome and is not interchangeable.

5" Dark DomeFits5" Conservatory Nest with Dome

10" Dark DomeFits10" Conservatory Nest with Dome

Flat-top panel configurations do not accept a Dark Dome.

Recommended Accessories

Conservatory Nest

The Dark Dome fits the Conservatory's dome configurations and has no use without one.

Required

Options

5" Dark Dome — $9.99 — in stock — Includes a Dark Dome compatible with the 5" Conservatory with Dome

10" Dark Dome — $19.99 — in stock — Includes a Dark Dome compatible with the 10" Conservatory with Dome

Browse the species care library, see the rest of our shop, or check what we can ship to your state.