Greetings Ant Lovers,

I created the coolest ant terrarium, I’ve ever made on this channel. It’s a Leviathan-themed terrarium featuring a sea dragon made of rock. It’s the new ant kingdom home of my massive marauder ant colony (Carebara diversa) named the Leviathans. Moving the colony into it from their old home was quite a challenge, but once they were in and I was able to feed the ants, that’s when my ant-loving dreams came true! Hope you enjoyed this week’s episode! Ant love forever! This video was shot in 4K Ultra HD resolution.

The Coolest Ant Farm I’ve Ever Made | “LEVIATHAN” Ant Tank

Guys, behold! My most epic creation in all my years of ant keeping.

A Leviathan-themed terrarium, the kingdom home to my massive colony of ants, named the Leviathans.

Where are the ants, you ask? Well, they’re already in here, and man, was it a mission!

But brace yourselves, because they’re about to emerge. For I’m about to feed them for the very first time in this setup,

and you guys will be mind-blown by how this entire Leviathan-themed terrarium comes to life when the ants come out to feast.

This is the story of how my greatest ant colony, the Leviathans, found their new home

in this—the coolest ant kingdom I’ve ever made. Welcome to the AntsCanada Ant Channel!

Please SUBSCRIBE to the channel and hit the BELL ICON!

Welcome to the AC Family! Enjoy!

AC Family, behold our beloved marauder ant colony—the Leviathans—

whom we raised from just a tiny budding family and queen ant a few months ago,

to now about to experience a life-changing event.

These ants have no idea they’re about to undergo something a bit traumatic—an ant-pocalypse of sorts—

but it’s for their own good and necessary for them to enjoy a greater and more abundant life

in the new kingdom I’ve created for them.

But guys, keep on watching until the very end, as I’ve got a very important question

to ask you and will be needing your help by the end of the video!

But before we get to moving the ants in, we have a bit of a problem. Okay—a BIG PROBLEM!

Listen to this:

If you caught last week’s episode, you saw that the Leviathans decided to move into a mansion I provided the colony,

which I gave them a couple weeks back because they looked as though they were outgrowing their main home—

this large test tube hidden beneath a castle within their initial terrarium, named Marauder’s Alley.

At first, the ants rejected this mansion I gave them, deciding to stay put within their test tube, despite it getting a bit crowded.

I was okay with this because it meant moving the colony would be much easier once I was finished completing their final home,

the Leviathan terrarium kingdom, which you guys will get to see more of later.

But then, one day, I removed the lid of the mansion to horrifyingly discover it was covered with mold,

which was dangerous. So I left it off, and guys, that was enough to get the ants

to decide to launch a full-out excavation and move into the mansion.

I guess the ants noticed the mold growing on the lid, and that’s why they rejected it as a nest at first!

But now, with a moldy lid, the ants were excavating full force.

Even in the night, the ants were non-stop, working around the clock, excavating tunnels and chambers within the mansion

so they could move the entire colony inside.

But guys, as I said, there was a problem with this. I was still working on finishing the Leviathan terrarium at this point,

and logistically, it would have been so much easier to move the colony into the Leviathan terrarium

if they were still in their test tube—and you’ll see why in a bit.

But with the ants moving into this mansion now, I knew it would surely be a headache

and lead to a lot of ant bites and stings when it did come time to move them—which, as you’ll see later, it did.

So the solution is simple, right? Just remove the mansion now while I was finishing up the Leviathan tank.

Well, AC Family, no—because it turns out, the ants couldn’t wait another day for me to finish their terrarium.

I have to show you the colony in their test tube now!

Opening the nest…

See that, guys?

Man! This is serious! Brood, brood, and lots of brood.

This is easily the most babies I’ve ever seen hoarded into this test tube.

In fact, the brood had now reached all the way to the bottom of the test tube.

There is now more brood than soil here.

And the most concerning of all was this: the queen—our precious Titanic Empress. That’s her.

She was now swimming in an ocean of her own brood.

A lot of you noticed in their last video that she was not even able to move around the nest like before—

just trapped at the bottom of the test tube—which I believe was true.

So even if the colony did decide to move into the mansion,

the ants wouldn’t be able to transport the queen, which meant I would need to physically help them transport her—

which I absolutely didn’t want to risk doing with my clumsy hands!

I had no choice but to hurry and finish the Leviathan terrarium and prep it ASAP

before the ants began to officially move the colony into the mansion.

Currently, they were just in excavation mode—not yet moving in all the brood, which was good.

I still had time.

I tried to go back and look for the queen,

but our Titanic Empress had already vanished,

having slipped away into the darkness of the new digging medium,

to the loving advice of her caring entourage.

Now in terms of all the brood,

I knew it would take a few days or possibly weeks for them to eventually move them all out.

The ants needed to excavate into the digging medium first.

Overall, I couldn’t believe the colony was officially in,

and it warmed my heart to no end!

Time for Phase B.

This time—with gloves—I placed another clean lid onto the mansion

and lifted it out of Marauder’s Alley.

Don’t worry—I would come back for all the ants left behind.

But guys, this was the hard part.

I had no choice but to just open the mansion

and carve away at the digging medium to place it all into the tank.

Ants climbed everywhere,

I was stung incessantly,

but I was surprised to find that the tunnels and chambers weren’t that deep,

but was impressed by how much brood they had already moved in.

Now I had to move the ants in this way

because if I did it by connecting a tube to allow the ants to move themselves in,

there was a pretty high chance the ants would choose to move the whole colony into this mansion

and not the terrarium—

since they’d already covered it with “homey” pheromones

and were about to move into it prior to this Antpocalypse.

I had no choice but to go the intrusive route for moving the ants in this mansion.

I brushed all escaped ants into the nest area,

and those attacking me off my body,

and stepped back to witness the final stages of their Antpocalypse.

Just like that, the majority of the colony was in.

I arranged things around because I wanted some light to enter the test tube

to encourage the ants to move out of it.

Eventually, when the ants were residing fully in the digging medium and settled in,

I could remove all this cotton and the test tube—

but definitely not now.

The ants were too panicked, aggressive, and just blanketed the entire area!

I also gave the colony a freshly cut-up roach

for nourishment in this energy-demanding time

and transported their water test tube for hydration.

Now guys, this is not time-lapsed.

The ants were truly racing around in panic—

and of course they would,

as this was truly an Antpocalypse—traumatic for any ant colony.

Thankfully, the special talcum barrier I was using

from my buddy Jon at Ants Singapore was working like a charm,

keeping the ants inside the setup!

The Leviathans now had the huge task of constructing a completely new nest.

But now, for the very first time,

they had an enormous amount of space and digging medium to do it.

They were free at last to create the dream nest

with endless tunnels and chambers,

free of the limitations that bound them within their cramped birth test tube.

I couldn’t believe the Leviathans were finally in.

I’ve been waiting months for this moment!

This was a triumph for both the ants and us, AC Family.

I decided to come back later in the night to check up on their progress.

Late at night, I came back with a flashlight

and marveled at how busy the ants were.

The excavation of their new home had begun!

Check them out!

Just from the side, I could see all their extensive tunnel work through the digging medium.

These ants were determined to waste no time at all.

I loved watching the ants launching the biggest digging operation of their lives.

Again, none of this is time-lapsed.

This is normal speed.

The ants eagerly and swiftly grasped whatever chunk of coco fibre they could

and brought it up to the surface.

Huge chunks the size of boulders were lugged up from below.

It always amazed me how skilled ants are at digging.

This nest excavation process was happening all around the territories,

which meant the ants had already anointed these virgin lands as home.

Now I knew this digging operation would preoccupy the ants for the next couple of days at least,

and that foraging for food would not be on their list of priorities at the moment.

I believed their main priority was carving out within the ground

an extensive network of caverns and chambers into which they could safely move the brood.

So I resolved to let the colony be for the next couple of days,

covering the glass with a black bristol board

to encourage the ants to hopefully dig up next to the glass.

If we were lucky, they would—

and we could still see the workings of the inner colony and even see the queen again.

[3 Days Later – “The Feeding”]

AC Family, I placed some crushed insects down at the foot of the tongue.

After three days of no food, I was certain the colony was hungry now.

It was all a waiting game at this point.

Were the ants going to emerge from the sea dragon’s mouth as I had hoped they would,

and drag our food offerings back into the nest?

Only time would tell.

But guys—my heart was racing with anticipation.

I came back ten minutes later and saw this.

My heart nearly jumped with delight!

The stench of the rotting insect carcasses had made its way to the nest

and beckoned some curious and hungry scouts to the site to check it out.

AC Family—our plan was working so far!

Once the ants identified these roaches and mealworm as food,

they immediately began wafting “I Found Food” pheromones throughout the area.

A scout was now headed back home through the mouth of the beast.

Soon, a submajor emerged to come check out the smell and rumors of food.

It had a taste of a roach

and soon began to also fill the area with pheromones too,

to verify that—“Yup! Food’s here, guys!”

Ants communicate primarily by biochemicals called pheromones.

There is a distinct pheromone for every possible message the ants need to communicate.

And in this case, the submajor was covering the whole area with pheromones

to incite a feeding response.

Now instead of heading back home, the submajor began to have a taste of the other roach

and attempted to hack away with its powerful jaws at the legs,

determined to have a head start on the food.

It was amazing to see this submajor using its jaws

to attempt at chopping away at appendages that were still moving on the roach’s body.

I bet she knew help was coming soon!

But I knew there was one thing I really needed to do

in order to get the ants to come out from hiding.

I needed to turn off the lights—

since our Leviathans preferred hunting at night.

30 minutes later, after turning on the lights…

AC Family, this was what I saw.

Bam! A swarm!

The Leviathans had emerged!

Yes!

And as I’d dreamed, the trail extended out from within the mouth of the beast!

But the question now was: Would they carry the insect pieces back to the nest?

Yes!

The ants had decided to move in the mealworm first—

the lightest of the three carcasses!

So cool!

Our plans were working perfectly!

I watched in awe as the ants carried the mealworm straight into the beast’s mouth—

as if swallowing it.

I just love when ants do exactly what I hoped they would!

Next, one of the roaches was carried by the swarm

and carefully hauled up the sea dragon’s tongue.

Go Leviathans! Go!

As much as I felt a bit bad that I was making the ants work so hard for their food,

I knew that this was exactly what would be happening in the wild.

You see, marauder ants—once they get really hungry—launch these huge raids

where they form these massive trails which reportedly can reach over a kilometre in length

in really big colonies.

So having the ants trail and work for their food

was essential to bring out these very natural raiding behaviours.

The ants began to lug the third and final roach back to the nest.

Now guys—watch this!

I wanted to see what it looked like within the throat of the beast

as they carried the roaches back to the nest.

This is where things got really cool!

There’s a roach leg!

The ants chose to race back with appendages they managed to detach ahead of time.

And another roach leg.

And soon, the first roach!

Whoa!

Look at that coordination and cooperative effort!

Good job, Leviathans!

Peeking into the throat, the Leviathans were on their way, transporting their final roach home.

Again, such an amazing process to witness!

I was pretty sure these hungry ants couldn’t wait to get these carcasses below ground

to start gobbling them up!

Just a few moments more… and almost home!

Let’s timelapse this part a bit.

And finally, with one concerted lift and push over a little ledge,

the ants successfully carried the final roach onto Leviathan soils.

Boom!

And then it was down into the nest for the final roach!

Below ground, deep in the nest,

the colony had worked on expanding the tunnels ahead of time

in order to fit the insect carcasses within.

It was truly amazing to watch the ants in a more naturalistic setup now,

where the ants could better be themselves.

In fact, I was so impressed with the tunnels they had already excavated

on the exposed inner side of the terrarium.

But what I really couldn’t wait for

was to see the side of the terrarium that was covered with bristol board.

The Next Day

I took moss from the Leviathan’s old terrarium

and placed it in areas all over the body of the sea dragon.

I did this in order to cover the whole body of the beast with familiar home pheromones,

in hopes that it would get the Leviathans to wander further along onto the sea dragon’s body.

Yes, the ants were willing to forage at the edge of the beast’s tongue,

but what I really wanted to know was

if the ants would wander further—

perhaps to the other end of the beast’s body,

and even to the beast’s tail.

Guys—you won’t believe this—

but 2 hours later, I came back,

and through the streams of hydrating vapour

along the path I had hoped the ants would venture onto…

was a foraging trail!

Alright! It worked!

I was astounded to see how far the ants were willing to trail on this night.

Have a look!

All the way from the mouth

to the opposite end of the terrarium,

the Leviathans had learned from the night before

that if they wanted food,

they needed to come here onto the body of the beast to find it.

And so, I placed another roach here for them to find.

It would only take one ant to make the discovery,

and hopefully we would witness a repeat of last night’s feeding procession.

And eventually, one ant did—

which soon attracted nearby ants to the site

and sent news crawling back to the colony.

I came back a few minutes later

and sure enough, a swarm had gathered to the site,

and the ants began to lug the pieces on a long journey back to the nest.

They needed to pull the food here, up here,

all the way across, and to the beast’s mouth.

Again, this was a very long journey,

but not something they weren’t naturally capable of.

It was even mind-blowing to see some small majors coming out to trail!

This was special—

and meant the colony was definitely hungry!

In fact, upon closer inspection,

I noticed the ants were foraging all areas of the sea dragon’s body—

along the beast’s arms,

and I could see foragers eagerly running all over the place—

even the tail.

And so, I decided that tonight,

I would leave them various insect treats all around the lands

for them to find on their own—

mealworms, mealworm pupae, and roaches

tucked into various places of the beast’s long and winding body,

including at the very end of the tail.

This would be the real test

to see if our setup was truly suited for our Leviathans!

I noticed the ants danced within the hydrating fumes of fog

as they enjoyed their brand new grand kingdom.

I initially was worried the fog coming out of the beast’s mouth might disturb the ants,

but no.

They seemed to not mind it at all

and could be seen traveling through it unbothered.

They continued to forage and form trails through it,

savouring the moisture in what would otherwise be quite dry lands.

It was amazing to know that our sea dragon of rock

was being fully embraced by the Leviathans

in a sort of incredible yet artificial symbiosis.

I just loved this new home for our ants

and truly hoped our Leviathans did, too.

Overnight, the ants took the time to drag all the hidden goodies

they found during their night’s raid back to the nest,

and I watched for hours in the dark

as they moved these pieces back to the nest.

Have a look at them carrying this mealworm pupa down into their lair.

And down the insect pieces went into the Leviathan’s nest.

Just so cool!

By morning, I came to check on the dragon’s body,

and all the insects that I had hidden for the ants to discover

had been found and brought back home.

Not a single insect treat was left behind.

The ants made use of every single bit of nourishment!

Now AC Family,

there was one last thing I needed to do

to fully complete this Leviathan setup.

I placed in the Leviathan’s old castle,

taken from their former terrarium,

at the foot of the great sea dragon.

To me, this completed the entire look of the terrarium,

because in my mind it symbolized the Leviathan’s very humble beginnings.

And suddenly, without warning,

the sea dragon’s lights turned on,

illuminating its body like the mystical force that it was.

Wow!

Our rock beast was now alive,

and as I stepped back to admire the beauty of our ever majestic creation,

my ant-loving heart was completely full.

Seeing the small castle completely dwarfed by the huge rock beast

formed such a juxtaposition

that I couldn’t help but realize

that this entire Leviathan setup and story gave us an important message.

And that message was this:

It doesn’t matter how small you start or where you begin.

What truly matters is where you are going on your amazing journey.

And that was what this epic setup and ant kingdom meant to me.

Speaking of which, AC Family—

at the start of the video I mentioned I’d be asking you a very important question, and it’s this:

What should we name this new Leviathan-themed terrarium?

Leave your name suggestions in the comments,

and I will choose my top 5 favorites

for all of us to vote on in a future video.

Thank you, guys, so much for always being so involved in these videos—

helping me with making decisions, participating in polls,

and caring for these little miracles we call ants.

It means a lot to me

that you guys seem to love the Leviathans as much as I do,

and I know together we can grow this Leviathan kingdom further

into the true rulers of the Antiverse.

So if you enjoyed this episode,

please remember to hit the LIKE button

to let YouTube know you enjoy these ant videos

and that they’re worth sharing to new audiences.

And if you haven’t yet,

do hit the SUBSCRIBE button

to continue following this ongoing story of our Leviathans

and join our ever-growing AC Family!

I can’t wait to see what’s next for our beloved colony!

Oh yeah—and as for the remaining ants in the old terrarium,

by now they had all gathered in the remaining water test tube,

as it was the only place suitable for them to nest.

I just took this

and placed it into the terrarium,

collecting with a cotton ball any remaining stragglers.

Now what I found remarkable was again,

the tunnels that were made on the exposed side of the nest.

Even though light was fully hitting that side,

the ants still tunneled on that side.

No brood or queen in sight,

but they still did create tunnels up against the glass,

where we could see them doing their thing.

And AC Family—that’s when my mind wandered over to the other side.

I wondered…

All this time, the Leviathans had been given the chance to dig to their hearts’ desires

and perhaps dug out some impressive chambers and tunnels on the covered side of the terrarium.

They had several days already to do so.

What would we find behind these covered walls?

Would we see an amazing network of tunnels and chambers full of brood?

Would we see the queen—our Titanic Empress—again behind these walls?

The idea filled my heart with excitement and anxiousness!

It was time to open it up.

First, this side bar…

Wow!

And now for the main large wall…

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