OMG!
AC Family, there is so much going on!
We are truly creators of life!
Our new terrarium has begun to evolve and I can't wait to show you it's progress.
But first, we have a whole society of ants that are dying in their new terrarium setup,
our Titans, a colony of Asian Marauder ants so in a previous video you guys voted for
them to be moved out so they can recover.
I have an update on that later in this video.
And now the ultimate question remians.
Our new thriving world needs new inhabitants to rule over its domain.
Which one of our three remaining ant colonies shall we move into this new promised land?
In this episode of the AntsCanada channel we give you the ultimate power to vote on
which ant colony shall move into this new home.
Shall it be the Dark Knights?
The Fire Nation?
Or the Golden Empire?
We also will be voting for an official flag for one of these colonies so keep on watching
until the end and exercise the power of your vote!
AC Family, gather round and take a seat in our overlooking thrones, as we prepare our
ant ballots to let all AC Family voices be heard, for today we the creators of life,
choose the fate of one lucky ant kingdom to be the recipient of this new ant territory
which we will discover has interestingly begun to evolve its own set of lifeforms, in this
episode of the AntsCanada Ant Channel.
Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the bell icon.
Welcome to the AC Family.
Enjoy!
Within the darkness of night, we return to our ant room to behold a world that has flourished
since we created it several weeks ago.
As the custodians and creators of this new blooming world, we chose for the Titans, our
young colony of Asian Marauder ants to move in and enjoy the bountiful world of plants,
soils, and originating creatures.
We had high hopes and counted on this world to be fruitful, but to our surprise, the Titans
immediately showed signs of mortality within this alien home, and the ants began to die.
As soon as we learned this, you guys voted for the Titans to be moved out and returned
to their original setup and state.
So this is exactly what I did.
I picked up the three towers and reconnected them, but are you ready for the bad news?
I did not see a single ant anywhere.
Over the past few weeks while I was gone overseas, my house keeper has been placing food into
the setup but for days, there hasn't been a single ant in sight.
Not a worker, supermajor, nor the queen.
No signs of life.
But let's not lose hope, AC Family.
I will keep this setup in tact and hope the queen is somewhere in there, alive, and regenerating
her royal family.
Now while death has plagued our Titans, it seems our terrarium has gone on to produce
it's own forms of life.
Various new plants have begun to burst through the soil's surface and open its small leaves
to the skies, enjoying the rays of sunlight.
Check out these new grasses which have sprung forth in various places.
The plants were cute and it was very promising to see that our new world here was culturing
its own set of life forms which would soon grow and depend on eachother for survival.
It was a fledging biological community in the making!
In certain areas of the damp soils, various forms of algae and baby mosses began growing
their patches of green carpet.
And look, I do see communities of Springtails, enjoying these new fertile grounds.
This was great!
As you may know from previous videos, the presence of Springtails is awesome because
they help break down waste and eat up molds which can be harmful to ant colonies.
I was happy to see the Springcleaners have jumped and propagated themselves in this new
territory, as well.
In the soils, we could see a variety of other miniature creatures including terrestrial
mites and if you look carefully a miniature gnat, all fat with food and eggs which it
will lay into the soil, to provide a home for the maggots which would hatch forth from
it!
The gnats stand perfectfly still hoping we don't see it, but we do see them, for we are
the creators of this world.
We see all, including those that are below the surface.
For we know that within this terrarium, there is a bustling colony of earthworms.
They were in fact the very first life froms we introduced into this world.
We see evidence of their tunnels here, in the exposed areas of earth which were beneath
the Titans' towers.
It's good to know, they're still around, tilling the soils and eating decaying plant matter.
So now the question remains, AC Family?
Who should get this new terrarium?
Let's take a look at our candidates.
Our latest ant, a trap-jaw queen ant is still new, and resting in the dark in our drawer.
She still hasn't laid eggs, but let's hope she does.
She cannot move into here yet as she is still a solo queen and I fear she wouldn't survive
in here if we release her inside.
Let's keep her in this AC Test Tube Portal setup so we can monitor and feed her properly.
First up, we have the Dark Knights, our colony of black crazy ants.
The Dark Knights has been under my watchful eye these past few weeks because I was suspecting
that the two satellite nests which were separated by 40 feet of tubing were starting to go to
war with each other.
So I added red dye to the food of the Southern colony to see if they were going to war with
their northern counterpart.
Turns out, they weren't.
Our Dark Knights were still united and not warring with each other, thankfully!
They were seizing and killing any wild, savage black crazy ant stow-aways that entered their
territory from the outside.
These stow aways by the way, were the cold-blooded murderers of our Jawbreakers.
Lately, the Dark Knights have been increasing in numbers steadily, more so these past few
weeks when I allowed them to have this large pot and aloe vera plant.
When I give them water, I see how grand the Dark Knights are, as they transport sections
of the colony to drier locations in the pot.
I am all for the Dark Knights moving into the new terrarium, as I feel they are at a
nice size and have been waiting patiently for an expansion to their territories.
Another kingdom, the arch enemies of the Dark Knights, is the firey army, we all know as
the Fire Nation, our ferocious red tropical fire ants.
This colony is as active and aggressive as ever, but I have managed to control their
population growth by limiting their food in take.
At anytime, they are prepared to move into a new world and whenever we so choose, accept
greater amounts of food to strengthen and explode in numbers.
I have expressed in a previous video that I am happy with where the Fire Nation is now,
and that moving them into this new territory will be quite scary for me, because this terrarium
does have corners which the ants will be able to grip up and potentially reach the top of
the tank.
This makes escapes a major area of concern, and truth be told, I would hate to wake up
one day covered in Fire Nation workers in my bed, so I would vote NO to the Fire Nation
moving into this terrarium.
However, despite what I feel, you guys, the AC Family are the boss, so if you want the
Fire Nation to move into here, your wish is my command, and if they win, I'll just have
to figure it out.
If not, I do have some interesting plans for this ant colony soon to be revealed in a future
video.
And now on to the Hacienda Del Dorado, home to the Golden Empire, our colony of yellow
crazy ants.
Their home is now unrecognizable, having transformed into the thickest, most dense jungle terrain
I have ever seen in a captive vivarium.
The Hacienda Del Dorado has become a wild, untamed rainforest, harbouring several microclimates
and niches for its inhabitants.
Check out all the different plants!
In fact, the lush plant life almost migitates the presence of the Golden Empire which work
quietly beneth the plants that tower above them.
It's mind-blowing to think that the Hacienda Del Dorado started off looking like this,
when now it's booming real estate for the plants, creatures, and ants that inhabit its
lands.
The ficus has completely taken over every unoccupied space in the Hacienda Del Dorado.
And this plant here is perhaps the most impressive botanical inhabitant.
It sprung out of nowhere one day as a small seedling and I eventually had to start cutting
it back every few weeks, but if I ever forgot to remove these trimmings, the amputated leaves
and twigs would miraculously take root in just 24 hours and grow from their new spot.
As a result this plant can be found in various spots of the terrarium and is now one of the
key monopolizers of the sunlight space.
They grow so fast that I need to check every day to make sure these plants don't touch
the top and provide a venue of escape for the Golden Empire.
I am very OK with the Golden Empire moving into the new territory, as this can be done
quite easily by simple attaching a tube covered in baby powder from the Hacienda Del Dorado
to the new terrarium.
The Golden Empire is also easy to contain and aren't escape artists like the Fire Nation.
By the way, AC Family, please take a few moments now to vote on their official flag, finalists
chosen from entries provided by talented members of the AC Family.
Click on this icard poll here!
Thank you AC Council for your vote.
So there we have it.
3 very deserving ant colonies, only one will call this new terrarium home.
Which ant colony shall it be?
In next week's video, I will move the chosen ant colony into this new territory and give
you the AC Family an opportunity to give this new territory a name.
As the sun rose and illuminated the various ant kingdoms within our AC ant room this morning
with its life-bringing rays, I couldn't help but admire the beauty of the flourishing worlds
we have created together.
With our channel now creeping up to 1 million subscribers, it fills me with so much joy
to know that out there in innumerable places in the world, lays an AC Family member, you
looking out for the well-being of these ants, caring for them, and ensuring their worlds
are safe.
Sometimes there is death, but in most cases, we made way for the creation of life.
How does it feel, AC Family, to be the omipotent creators of worlds?
It's ant love forever.
Alright, AC Family!
We do have a big task on our hands.
Don't leave this video without casting your vote for an official Golden Empire flag, and
for which ant colony should move into the new terrarium.
Next week's video which by the way will be on time, will be the grand welcoming of the
winning ant colony into the new territories.
So who do you think should move in, guys?
Let me know in the comments section!
AC Inner Colony, I have left a hidden cookie for you here if you would just like to see
some extended play footage of the homes of our three ant colonies to the sounds of some
relaxing music.
And now it's time for the AC Question of the Week!
Last week, we asked:
What is 1 reason why carpenter ants would
make a great species for beginner ant keepers?
Congratulations to Grant Van Gompel, who correctly answered:
They're big and very active.
Congratulations Grant you just won a Deluxe Test Tube Pack complete with adapters for
raising your new ant colonies.
And for this week's AC Question of the Week, we ask:
Name one reason why the Fire Nation would not
be an ideal candidate for our new terrarium?
Leave your answer in the comments section and you could win a free ant t-shirt from
our shop!
Hope you can subscribe to the channel as we upload every saturday at 8AM EST.
Don't forget to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, & SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed this video so we can keep making
you cool ant videos like this.
It's ant love forever!