Greetings Ant Lovers,
My fire ants are getting their first ant farm! My 12 week old pet fire ant colony, named the Phoenix Empire, is so large now, it was finally time for them to move into a proper ant farm (an AC Ant Tower), where they could satisfy their natural urge to dig and create tunnels. I will miss seeing the queen fire ant, but inside I knew we were doing the right thing by giving them a better, more natural ant nest. Hope you enjoy this week’s episode!
FIRE ANTS REACT TO THEIR NEW ANT FARM | Their First Time Digging Tunnels
It’s Moving Day for the Fire Ants!
Meet the Phoenix Empire, our 12-week-old fire ant colony that we’ve raised on this channel from just a single queen fire ant, named the Ember Empress.
But in just 12 short weeks, the Ember Empress, in her humble test tube chamber, has amassed an utterly explosive fire ant army that I felt was ready for their next big step in life—receiving their first proper ant farm!
And you guys will love their reaction to their new home, as they get to experience the act of digging tunnels for the very first time.
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Enjoy!
Phoenix Empire Update
They don’t know it yet, but the inhabitants of the City of Ashes are about to get the living space expansion of their lives!
Be sure to watch until the very end to see how the fire ants like the new ant farm you guys actually voted for and chose for them in last week’s video.
Plus, see how happy they are to finally have the opportunity to dig tunnels!
The queen also does something super funny during the move, so stay tuned for that coming up!
Now before we go ahead and introduce the Phoenix Empire to their brand-new ant farm, I first want to see if any of you can spot what amazing thing I saw this week in the colony.
Did you see it?
AC Family, the supermajors have arrived!
Check her out with that massive, oversized head!
It’s packed with muscle for brute jaw force for when the colony needs it.
She is one of two supermajors the Phoenix Empire now has walking among them, and she’s definitely not the last.
Now, the Phoenix Empire’s brood has been constantly increasing every single day.
It’s almost mind-boggling to imagine that the workers are tending to each egg, larva, and pupa, providing them the care they need, leaving no fire ant baby neglected.
The queen has been super prolific with her egg-laying since last week.
The brood pile practically reaches the end of the test tube now!
Water Contamination Issue
In last week’s video, we saw that the colony’s water source was contaminated by a sudden and strange pink microbial outbreak.
And by the way, about that—one of you AC Family commented, saying the unidentified pink “microbe” was actually Serratia marcescens bacteria, which occurs when there is pet or animal waste in the water.
One or several of the ants must have disobeyed the colony rules and went to the bathroom onto the cotton!
My guess is, the colony bathroom areas have become too full, because they’ve set up another bathroom site here.
And so, some ant decided to ruin it for everyone else and went to the bathroom on the cotton!
Booo!
Just kidding!
Contaminated water is rich in phosphorus, which can breed other harmful bacteria, so we gave the colony a fresh new test tube.
And thankfully, today, the Phoenix Empire will be moving out of here!
So let’s give the Phoenix Empire what they need right now!
New Ant Farm
Behold, their new ant farm—an AC Ant Tower from AntsCanada.com!
You guys chose this formicarium for the Phoenix Empire in last week’s vote!
I can’t wait for you guys to see how the Phoenix Empire reacts to it once it’s connected!
Let’s remove the red film for now.
Now before we watch the ants move into this Ant Tower, we need to quickly prepare it.
First, we’ll add some hydration medium to the bottom ring.
This is coco fiber.
You can use cotton, sand, or even leave it empty and just fill it up with water.
But I prefer coco fiber because it’s highly water-absorbent and doesn’t mold easily.
The ants won’t be able to get into this layer, but it will help hydrate the entire nest and can be replaced if needed.
I trimmed off the flyaways with scissors.
Next, time to add the digging medium!
More coco fiber, pressing down lightly with tweezers to ensure the ants have some integrity to their nest structure when they dig.
Today will be the colony’s first opportunity to dig, and I knew they’d love digging into this coco fiber!
I always see them trying to dig tunnels in the Fire Forest, so they’ll surely love digging here.
I appreciate that most of you out there felt it was important for the fire ants to satisfy their innate need to dig.
I’m sure if the Phoenix Empire could, they’d be thanking you today!
Alright, and now for a quick water pour to hydrate the medium.
And though not necessary, I created a starting hole for the colony so they could begin the digging process sooner.
I popped the lid back on, and now all was set!
The Move Begins
Now all I had to do was detach the colony’s test tube from the AC Test Tube Portal and connect it to this port.
Here we go, guys!
Let’s do this.
Carefully detaching the test tube.
I used my finger to plug up the nest hole of the test tube and placed a plug in the test tube portal.
I then placed the test tube into the new Ant Tower.
The Colony Reacts
AC Family, let’s watch!
The ants emerged from the test tube hole and cautiously inspected the new territories beyond.
“That’s funny. This doesn’t smell like the Test Tube Portal they were used to.”
Time to inform the colony!
It called for nearby ants to come check things out!
At this point, the colony had no idea they were in for a big move soon!
Come-hither pheromones were beginning to build up at the entrance of the test tube, attracting curious ants to join the inspection party.
Finally, some courageous ants made the brave move and stepped onto the virgin lands of their new nest, and so began the awesome process.
“OMG, guys! Come check this awesome place out!”
The scouts shouted with pheromones, which brought a wave of ants pouring into the Ant Tower.
This message made its way back to the colony, bringing forth a barrage of workers coming to inspect the rumors.
Final Move & Next Steps
It was amazing to see how quickly the Phoenix Empire adapted to their new home.
Tunnels were dug.
The queen moved in.
And just like that, the Phoenix Empire had taken their next big step.
But we’re not done yet!
In next week’s episode, we’re introducing the Phoenix Empire’s new biological clean-up crew!
Be sure to SMASH that SUBSCRIBE button and BELL ICON now, so you don’t miss it!
Also, LIKE the video if you enjoyed this episode—it really helps a lot!
And finally, time for the AC Question of the Week!
Last week, we asked:
Why do we need to push the cotton in quickly when making a test tube setup?
Congratulations to Riley Marimla, who answered:
“To prevent air bubbles!”
Congratulations, Riley! You just won a free Ultimate Ant Keeping handbook from our shop!
This week’s AC Question of the Week:
What was one sign that indicated the Phoenix Empire’s move was official?
Leave your answer in the comments, and you could win a free eBook handbook from our shop!
Thank you for watching, and as always—It’s Ant Love Forever! 🐜❤️