Help us decide which of our ant colonies should live in this new terrarium. Today we get an update on all the five ant colonies on the channel, and invite you to vote for who the new inhabitants of our vacant terrarium will be.
Which ANT COLONY Should Live in this NEW TERRARIUM? | NEED YOUR VOTE!
Greetings, AC Family!
Welcome to another ant video.
Many of you have been requesting an update video on the various ant colonies of this channel, so this week, we will take a look at our ant colonies, what they’ve been up to, and their progress.
Some of the stuff will amaze you!
It will also be a great opportunity for all of you newcomer AC Family members to get up to speed on all the different ant colonies we regularly feature on this channel.
Also, AC Family, I will be needing your help.
After an update on each colony, I will ask you to VOTE for who will be inhabiting this new tank!
Sadly, my bearded dragon passed away, and so instead of throwing his tank away, I wanted to use it for an ant colony, so I am taking your VOTES as to who you feel should move into this new ant home.
Don’t watch this video without voting!
Lots of interesting ant discovery ahead, so keep on watching until the end!
AC Family, gather around and let’s peek into the intriguing lives of all the ant colonies of this channel, on this episode of the AntsCanada Ant Channel.
Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the bell icon.
Welcome to the AC Family. Enjoy!
Alright, so let’s start with the ant colonies you guys haven’t seen in a while and have been asking about.
First, the Dark Knights, our great colony of black crazy ants, known scientifically as Paratrechina longicornis.
Nothing much has changed with this colony, which is why I haven’t done an update in a long time.
They are still holding their own, and I have been controlling their food provisions, so I believe I have established a happy equilibrium with this colony that is neither growing too much nor decreasing in population.
They have been the perfect ant colony!
One thing that surprised me was that upon peeking into their test tubes, I saw that there were several queens.
The colony used to have only 2 queens, plus one introduced one, but if you saw a previous video on ant reproduction, you know that this species is capable of double cloning, which allows males and their sister queens to breed without it being genetic incest.
So now the colony has not two, not three, but dozens and dozens of queens.
In every water test tube, I often catch queens enjoying the moisture.
As you may remember, the Dark Knights inhabit a 2-story ant setup with a tube that runs down to my first floor.
They still travel back and forth, mostly at night, and have even left some garbage in the tubes.
I have no idea how I am going to clean the tubes when the time comes.
Any ideas, guys? I’d be happy to take some advice.
Peeking into the Hybrid Nest downstairs, you can see it is full of brood and action.
This colony has been doing well, and I expect them to continue to thrive over time.
They’ve been easy to keep, easy to contain, and easy to feed.
Now moving on to the Trapjaw ant colony, which you guys have officially named the Jawbreakers.
Like the Dark Knights, not much to report.
The colony has grown to about 30 workers, and they still reside in this plastic takeout container.
They are feeding on a steady diet of lat cockroaches and honey.
Next, we have the Asian Marauder Ants, who officially have a new name!
AC Family, I’m excited to announce that these Carebara diversa ants are officially called the Titans!
For those of you who are new to the channel, this is our newest ant colony.
They are notoriously difficult ants to keep in captivity, but so far, after two months under our care, they seem to be doing well in this simple network of condiment containers connected with tubing.
They have concealed their large queen well, somewhere in these cavernous chambers.
I haven’t seen her since the move.
This species has the most impressive majors I have ever seen in an ant species, and I cannot wait for the colony to continue growing in size.
Let’s hope they continue to do well.
And now on to what arguably is the most famous ant colony on this channel, the Fire Nation, our colony of red tropical fire ants, known scientifically as Solenopsis geminata.
They’re still as ravenous as ever in this huge setup of AC Outworlds and Rubbermaid bin.
Peeking in from the top, you can see them feasting on cockroaches from last night’s feeding plus bottles and containers which held jams and honey.
They pile dirt on these sweets to conceal them while they work on consuming it all.
Once a week, I go in and remove these bottles and containers, but not without a fight of course, so I wear gloves.
Not much to report on the Fire Nation as well, other than the fact that they have begun to produce fewer alates.
I believe their nuptial flight season has passed now, and so the queen will be producing more alates in a couple of months for the next round of nuptial flights happening later this year.
And now on to the Golden Empire, living within the ever-evolving Hacienda Del Dorado.
A lot of videos have been about this colony lately simply because of the constant changes that this colony and environment have been undergoing these days.
Two weeks ago, we watched as the ants dealt with the addition of carnivorous pitcher plants into their territories, a strategic move in hopes to help naturally curb the ants’ growing population.
But surprisingly, instead of the plant devouring copious amounts of ants, they formed a sort of symbiotic relationship with the ants.
They only ate a small amount, and the ants ended up enjoying the sweet secretions the plant provided.
The ants, in turn, began frequenting and nesting around the plants, offering the pitcher plants protection and soil movement!
In fact, want to hear something even more mind-blowing? AC Family, get this.
Two days after the pitcher plants were added, the ants began placing their leftover dead insect parts into the pitcher plants!
They began to actively feed the pitcher plants! Isn’t that crazy?
I am not ready for this kind of intelligence displayed by the Golden Empire!
Talk about mutualism to the max!
The plants fed the ants sweet goodies, and the ants fed the pitcher plants insect parts, which could possibly also mean fewer ants sacrificed! Unreal.
So those are the latest on all our ant colonies.
So now, on to this terrarium. Sadly, my bearded dragon, which used to live here, died.
My option was to either dispose of this tank or use it as a new home for one of my ant colonies.
The tank itself was a neat enclosure. Its substrate is a Zoo Med product called Vita-Sand, a mixture of vitamins and beta carotene.
It also had some attractive driftwood. A few of the bearded dragon’s last droppings were also left behind.
I wanted all of these elements to be incorporated into the new ant environment we were going to build.
The vitamins and minerals, as well as the organic matter in the feces, would add some great initial nutrients to the soil, so I didn’t want to clean out the substrate.
Surprisingly, I did find some silverfish-looking insects inside the terrarium.
I wanted to keep them inside as well. Perhaps they would prove beneficial to this enclosed system.
I removed the driftwood and began adding bags of organic humus and fine sand and spread it upwards to form a slope towards the back to aid in visibility.
I knew, though, based on our experience with the Hacienda Del Dorado over time, that no matter how we designed this terrarium, it was destined to change and take on its own shape over time.
What I hoped for this terrarium if it was to become an ant home was for it to be a community of interconnected organisms, much like the Hacienda Del Dorado, but this time, instead of adding the ants before all the other organisms, I wanted to add the ants last, just so we don’t run into the same problem we had when we tried adding millipedes in the Hacienda Del Dorado.
As an update regarding that, I haven’t seen a millipede since, so I’m not sure if they are still alive or not.
So, first to be added into this terrarium, creatures which are super important to a terrestrial community – earthworms.
Lumbricus terrestris, also known as night crawlers.
These were still young night crawlers, but there were enough of them to start living within this terrarium and hopefully start breeding soon.
And now, what we add next will be based on your votes.
AC Family, here’s where I need your help!
Let’s decide which colony we should add to this terrarium.
Let’s review our options:
Adding the Dark Knights is a possible option, however, the ants are small enough to fit through the spaces of the mesh, so I will have to be diligent at regularly making sure a band of baby powder is kept thick and effective along the top.
One thing which may make the Dark Knights a less fun option is that they don’t usually dig, but rather occupy cavities opportunistically. However, as we saw with the Golden Empire, perhaps they may surprise us!
Moving the Jawbreakers into this new tank would also be a great choice, and in this case, the ants are too large to fit through the mesh holes, so we may not need to worry too much about a baby powder barrier until the colony gets huge.
One thing, though, is that the colony is still quite small for this huge terrarium, and it may take a long time for the ants to fill it out, so we may not see much action inside the terrarium for a long time still.
This is not a bad thing if you guys are patient, but we won’t be seeing many videos about this new terrarium at first, if the Jawbreakers are the lucky ones to move in.
Moving the Titans is another option, and they are at a good size to start living in this terrarium, but my fear is that because the tank has corners, we will have to deal with frequent escapes, and I heard the majors can chew through almost anything.
I would hate for them to chew through the mesh.
If we choose the Titans for this tank, I will really have to be diligent at regularly ensuring the barrier of baby powder is strong and working.
The tiny minors are also small enough to fit through the mesh holes.
Another option, which I am sure a lot of you have been thinking, is the Fire Nation, our fire ants.
These would be a good choice because we know how well these ants do in soil, and I could easily attach a long tube from their current setup to this terrarium. However, the bad thing is that these ants are also escape artists, and they will easily also grip up the corners of the tank, making an escape very easy for them.
They are also small enough to fit through the mesh spaces, so the barrier would need to be regularly fortified.
If I were to make the call, I would say no to the Fire Nation moving into here.
Finally, the Golden Empire, which has completely taken over the Hacienda Del Dorado.
I could easily attach a tube from their current tank to this new terrarium, and I am sure they would do well in this new territory. However, care would also need to be taken to ensure the baby powder barrier is kept strong and working.
They are also large enough not to be able to fit through the mesh spaces.
So, AC Family, please take a moment now to click this iCard poll here and vote for which ant colony you feel should move into this terrarium.
Thank you, AC Council, for your input!
The plants, organisms, and decor we end up adding to this setup will greatly depend on which ants we decide inhabit this terrarium.
In an upcoming video, I will make the announcement of which ant colony you guys ultimately decide will move into this terrarium, and I will make sure to design the terrarium accordingly.
So stay tuned!
AC Family, thank you so much for watching another episode of the AntsCanada ant channel and for your valuable participation in this ant video. I can’t wait for what lies ahead for all our ant colonies on this channel, as well as this new ant terrarium!
This is AntsCanada signing out!
Alright, AC Family!
Make sure you vote!
Let’s turn this new terrarium into a cool ant home, shall we?!
Which colony do you think should move in here?
AC Inner Colony, I’ve placed a hidden cookie for you here if you would just like to watch extended play footage of our ant colonies in their various homes all to some cool music.
And now it’s time for the AC Question of the Week.
Two weeks ago, we asked:
What is the technical name given to the lip of a pitcher plant on which insects can find sweet secretions?
Congratulations to Banana Ba, who correctly answered:
The “lip” is called the peristome.
Congratulations, Banana Ba! You just won a free AC Test Tube Portal from our shop!
And for this week’s AC Question of the Week, we ask:
What amazing thing did the Golden Empire start doing to the pitcher plants in the Hacienda Del Dorado?
Leave your answer in the comments section, and you could win some free tubing joints from our shop, which by the way, are now all clear so you can see everything!
Hope you can subscribe to the channel as we release a brand new ant video every single Saturday at 8 AM EST.
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It’s ant love forever!