Competing rhino beetles show their stuff in a stridulation face-off, in which you get to vote for the scariest performance. We also watch as our rhino beetle Gladiators race to get to food. Who are you rooting for?

YOU ARE THE JUDGE | Singing Beetle Competition

Oh man! Guys, we’ll be needing your input today! AC Family, do I have a video for you! We’re back with the Rhino Beetle Games quickly approaching the finals, and today we’ve got two rounds of Rhino Beetles competing for the chance to win a beetle paradise, complete with food, shelter, and the right to breed with females and pass on their genes. Prepare your voting fingers for this episode because, for the very first time, you at home watching—yes, YOU, AC Family—will be able to fully participate in the games by actually VOTING off one of the Rhino Beetles in a judging round. You get to decide which of the remaining Rhino Beetle Gladiators stays and which one fatefully gets sent home, out of the Ant Room and back into the wild from where they were collected. So keep on watching until the end for the ultimate at-home voting round! This action-packed, interactive, and educational episode will blow your mind as you, the AC Family, cheer on your Rhino Beetle Gladiators in a race for food, as well as a beetle performance of sorts. Ladies and gentlemen, gather round once again, take your seats in the Antiverse, and let’s marvel at the world’s most amazing rhino beetles for another week of Beetle Love, here on the AntsCanada Ant Channel. Please SUBSCRIBE to the channel and hit the bell icon. Welcome to the AC Family! Enjoy! For those of you who are just joining us, these Rhino Beetle Games have been continuing now for the past few weeks, with two male Rhino Beetle Gladiators already eliminated. We, the AC Family—subscribers to this channel—have each selected our favorites. See the comments section for the team hashtags, and you’ll notice that Rhino Beetle Games fever has gotten quite intense. I consider these last rounds to be the semi-finals of the Rhino Beetle Games because the next episode will feature the final two elimination rounds. If you’re new to the channel, first off, welcome to the Antiverse, our Ant Room ruled by kingdoms of ant colonies, which include other beasts connected to the real-life stories of these various ant kingdoms. The great Rhinoceros Beetles participating in these games, for instance, came to the Antiverse at Thanksgiving last year. The initial plan was to serve the beetles—then just grubs—as delectable Thanksgiving feasts for the ants. But when that fateful moment came to slaughter the giant fattened larvae, I changed my mind at the last minute. I simply couldn’t bring myself to kill the poor grubs, so we kept them and raised them. From the repulsive, naked, and helpless larvae grew majestic and powerful rhino beetles, with males fully equipped with mighty horns, thorny legs, and loud hisses, while the females were rounded, beautiful, and sweet. This new collection of adult male Rhino Beetles became the Gladiators we’ve been watching compete in these Rhino Beetle Games—our great Beetle Olympics. By the end of it all, one final male will win the chance to live with all the females in beetle paradise for the rest of his remaining month or two of life. Now that we’ve all been caught up, let’s have a quick look at our remaining five Rhino Beetle Gladiators and how they’ve been doing so far. Good evening, Antiverse, this is DJ VW… And DJ LadyB… Let’s have a recap of the remaining Rhino Beetle Gladiators who have fought for their spot to remain in the games this far into the competition. #TeamAres, sound off in the comments! Ares has proven to be a very good contender so far. He isn’t the largest male, but has managed to prove that he’s got the skill and strength to make it to the finals. He placed 3rd in last week’s event. Yes, I think Ares still has a lot of fight in him to take #TeamAres into the finals next week. Let’s see how he does today! Next up is #TeamPoseidon. Sound off in the comments! Poseidon, one of the largest and perhaps one of the most popular of the Gladiators, has shown us how easy it’s been to wash away the competition. Ohhhh, I see the crowd out there doing the wave for him! Haha! #TeamPoseidon is an enthusiastic fandom! Poseidon was the top winner of the Pyramid of Hera for the first RBG event, and has never been in the bottom elimination rounds. Next up, #TeamDionysus! Sound off in the comments for your Gladiator! You know, Dionysus has impressed me greatly! He’s the oldest of the Rhino Beetles but has always proven to be one of the top contenders in these games, placing second last week, and second place the week before! A toast to Gladiator Dionysus and him taking first place this week! Up next, #TeamHephaestus! Hephaestus fans, sound off in the comments! Woah! Wow! Listen to those fans! Such a contrast from when Hephaestus first hit the stage. He had the least amount of support in the games but it seems he’s managed to strike while the iron was hot, and win over the fans of eliminated Gladiators. Yes, and as the top winner of last week’s event with the Pyramid of Hera, he earned himself immunity from this upcoming event, and gets to sit out, safe until the following event. That’s right, so sit tight, #TeamHephaestus, as you will get to see your Gladiator compete soon. And finally, we have my ultimate favorite! #TeamHades, let’s sound off in the comments! Now, Hades, being the youngest in the competition, is also the biggest of all the male Rhino Beetles, but LadyB, it seems neither of these has helped him, as week after week, Hades has ended up in the bottom elimination rounds every time. How fitting as the god of the underworld! Hehe! Oh no, you didn’t! I’m just teasing you. You’re just mad he eliminated Zeus last week. Hades is the hottest of the beetles, and he’s probably calculating all of this for added drama. He will, after all, get into acting after this! Haha. Ok. AC Family, now the time has come!

AC Family, now the time has come! It’s time for the next RBG event, called the Amazing Food Race. Adult Rhino Beetles feed on tree sap and rotten fruit, and their ability to find food—and more importantly, the best quality food—is critical for a rhino beetle’s success in the wild. Tonight, the beetles have emerged to feed and are likely surprised there isn’t the usual rotting banana piece waiting for them in their Sudan Suites. Little do they know, they’re in for a special feast they’ve never had before. AC Family, I’m pleased to present to you—beetle jelly! A specially made, delectable beetle food for rearing adult scarab beetles and sap-sucking insects. It’s packed with tons of amazing vitamins and nutrients. The juices from these delicacies alone will be enough to get these rhino beetles running. The females will be dining on this beetle jelly tonight, as they’ll need it for egg production soon, but as for our males, they’ll have to do a bit of traveling for it.

Behold, the racetrack for this race of the century! This event will be a simple race to the finish line, where a vat of beetle jelly will be waiting for them. The rules are simple. The beetles must make their way to the finish line with the guidance of my hand to ensure they remain on track and constantly moving forward. The winner, who gets to the beetle jelly first, wins the Pyramid of Hera for this week, which will earn the top Gladiator beetle jelly meals every night for the remainder of the games. The stakes are definitely high! A line of beetle jelly juice will also be laid down on the track to guide the rhino beetles to the finish line. There will be no elimination round this week, so the Gladiator who takes the longest to finish or doesn’t finish at all will be the one who gets eliminated from the games. The pressure to perform well is definitely on for every Gladiator in this round. Good luck to all competing beetles, and may the best Gladiator win!

Inhabitants of the Antiverse, gathered here are your remaining Rhino Beetle Gladiators. Sound off in the comments for your champion Gladiator! Let the Rhino Beetle Games begin! On your mark, get set, go! The beetles are off, and already in the lead is Dionysus, followed by Poseidon, then Hades, with Ares lagging behind. And oh, now in the lead is Poseidon, but Gladiator Hades is quickly catching up! But no, Poseidon remains in the lead! And oh, Hades is sprinting and catching up! Who will it be, AC Family? And… oh! Gladiator Hades touches the beetle jelly first! And in second, Gladiator Poseidon, followed by Gladiator Dionysus, and finally Gladiator Ares coming in last for this event. #TeamHades, congratulations on winning the Pyramid of Hera this week!

As the winner of the Pyramid of Hera, Hades will benefit from the boost in nutrition provided by the beetle jelly, which he will now eat for the remainder of the games. The other beetles will continue to be fed their rotting banana, as usual, but this beetle jelly may give Hades an edge over the other Gladiators in the remaining competitions. It looks like he’s already loving his new prize! Let’s see how he does for the rest of the games.

But as for the bottom Gladiator of the Amazing Food Race, #TeamAres, I’m so sorry, but unfortunately, your Gladiator will be leaving the games this week and the Antiverse. Gladiator Ares has proven to be a very worthy contender in these games and has amassed a great following over the past several weeks. Now he’ll be able to enjoy the freedom of the wild. Ares, we bid you farewell and thank you for gracing us with your rhino beetle talents!

Alright, now as promised, it’s time for you, AC Family, to be a part of these games like never before. One week has passed since the Amazing Food Race, and with Gladiator Hephaestus now back in the competition after enjoying an extended period of rest during his immunity from the last event, we now have four Gladiators ready to partake in this next round of the Rhino Beetle Games, called Stridulation Idol! A rhino beetle’s ability to hiss, or stridulate, can help it survive by scaring away a larger creature that might decide to eat it. In this event, our remaining four Gladiators will wow and scare us at this microphone with their most intimidating stridulation sounds. All you guys at home need to do is vote for whichever Gladiator you feel had the most intimidating performance. Kind of like at-home voting for a Rhino Beetle Idol or The Rhino Beetle Voice.

The results will be announced in the next Rhino Beetle Games episode. The Gladiator with the most votes will win the Pyramid of Hera, earning them a move to the quietest and darkest region of the Antiverse for the remainder of the games—ultimate Rhino Beetle peace and quiet! However, the Gladiator with the least votes will be eliminated, leaving only three Gladiators to compete in the finals. Are you ready for this? Let’s do this! Can we have some quiet, please?

First up to the mic is Gladiator Poseidon! OK, thank you, Gladiator Poseidon, for that number! Next up, we have Gladiator Hephaestus! Alright, thank you, Gladiator Hephaestus. Next, we have Gladiator Dionysus to show his stuff! Thank you, Gladiator Dionysus! And finally, we have Gladiator Hades to gift us with the power of his hiss. Go! Thank you, Gladiator Hades.

And there you have it, AC Family, your four remaining Gladiators showing you how intimidating their stridulation is. Now please take a quick moment to click here and VOTE for the Rhino Beetle Gladiator you think had the most intimidating performance. Thank you, AC Council, for your votes! Be sure to remain SUBSCRIBED to this channel so you can keep updated on the final results to be announced in our next Rhino Beetle Games video. The stakes are high as we get closer to crowning the ultimate winner of the games—all happening in the next and final Rhino Beetle Games episode! I’m super excited to see who wins!

But hold on! It seems there’s something about the Selva de Fuego, our massive paludarium kingdom for our mighty fire ant colony, the Fire Nation, that’s been bothering me lately. It’s actually causing me some real concerns. Oh boy, AC Family! You know what? I think—no, correction—I know we’re in for something extremely crazy ahead!

Alright, guys! So, what do you think? We’re getting closer to crowning the ultimate Gladiator as the winner of the Rhino Beetle Games! It was sad to say goodbye to Gladiator Ares this week, but as you can understand, only one can remain as the winner. Were you happy with the results? Is your Gladiator leading in the polls for the Stridulation Idol event?

In other news, there’s something that needs to be reported about the Fire Nation in the Selva de Fuego, but I won’t be able to get to that until next week’s episode. So, guys, be sure to smash that subscribe button and bell icon now so you get notified with every upload and stay with us for these continuing epic stories within the Antiverse. Hit the LIKE button every single time, including now. Trust me, you’ll want to be part of this super fun and educational experience!

Also, it’s officially nuptial flight season for ant keepers in the Northern Hemisphere! I’m super excited for you ant keepers in North America, Europe, and Northern Asia because queen ants are starting to fly! Not sure if you know, but we’ve got top-of-the-line ant-keeping gear for beginners to advanced keepers. Head on over to AntsCanada.com and browse through our shop. We ship worldwide and offer full email support if you need us. We also have ant colonies with a queen available in most regions, so check us out and pick up your ant farm kit and ant gear today!

If you’re new to the channel and want to catch up on all your AntsCanada lore, feel free to binge-watch this complete storyline playlist, which traces the origins of all the ant colonies in the Ant Room. Follow their stories and better appreciate how these ant kingdoms came to be and why we love them so much!

AC Inner Colony, I’ve left a hidden cookie for you here if you’d like to watch extended footage of the Fire Nation in the Selva de Fuego. You’ll find out soon what’s been bothering me if you don’t notice it in this hidden video!

And now it’s time for the AC Question of the Week! Last week, we asked: Which of the three different scarab beetles is your favorite and why? There was no incorrect answer, but congratulations to Mr. Wiggles, who answered: My favorite beetle is the Dynastes Hercules beetle because of the hair on the bottom of the upper horn. It’s super unique and adorable!

Congratulations, Mr. Wiggles, you just won a free eBook handbook from our shop!

This week’s AC Question of the Week is: What’s so special about beetle jelly? Leave your answer in the comments section, and you could also win a free eBook handbook from our shop!

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It’s ant love forever!