It’s been a long time since I’ve made a video like this, and needless to say the
current Antiverse, the name given to my Ant Room, with our menagerie of different ant
colonies and pets, has gone through a major transformation especially since the pandemic.
Many new ant colonies have come, and even more have gone.
On top of this, as you may have seen in one of my previous videos, we’ll be soon moving
to a bigger, better, more high tech Ant Room in the new Ant House which is finishing up
construction now, so before the Great Transition from the current Antiverse to the New Antiverse,
I wanted to catch everyone up to speed on all the ant colonies I’m currently keeping.
Welcome everyone to the AntsCanada Ant Channel!
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Welcome to the AC Family!
Enjoy!
Guys, we’re going through a huge transition period, and you’ll see exactly what I mean
by the end of this video.
But before I get into that, I have to say, my ant collection has decreased in size considerably
from how it used to be pre-pandemic.
Last year, as some of you who follow the channel may know, our Antiverse underwent a very drastic
downsizing, due to lockdown in my city making it difficult for me to get the necessary food
for my ant colonies.
I call it the Great 2020 Ant Culling Event of the Antiverse.
Thankfully, I only keep ants that are caught from outside, so releasing some of my ant
colonies, which of course were native to my area, back into the wild, was both ecologically
safe and in the best interest of the ants at the time.
So if you’re a long time AC Family, and haven’t been up to speed with the latest
happenings of the Antiverse, just note that while watching this video, if you don’t
hear any mention of a particular ant colony you were a fan of in the past on this channel,
it means they were sadly part of the massive Ant Culling Event of 2020, and they’re gone
now.
I have also since started up some new small colonies, re-released a few more of my colonies
back into the wild, and am in the process of rehoming others, so I’ll be getting into
more detail on all that, as I go through each ant colony in this video.
And if that’s not enough, I also have a very major announcement regarding moving out
and what it means for this channel, at the very end of this video, and it may surprise
you, so stay tuned for all of that coming up.
So let me start our complete Antiverse tour with the OG’s.
First, my immortal Dark Knights, a supercolony of black crazy ants living in the Dark Forest,
semi-sealed bioactive terrarium.
They’re literally the perfect ant colony - unproblematic, non-stinging, and self perpetuating.
They are ready to move to the new Ant House, without issue and I’m thinking I’ll be
expanding their home, as well.
Next, the Phoenix Empire, my massive fire ant colony whom we watched grow up through
all of last year from just a single pregnant queen ant in a test tube.
They’re living in an Avatar-themed Floating Mountains paludarium diorama that we, the
AC Family designed together just for them, and as sad as it is, I mentioned a couple
weeks back that sadly, I won’t be able to take their massive tank with me to the new
Ant House.
It’s just too dangerous, and even the moving experts I’ve spoken with, have all said
that it is logistically not possible without a considerable risk of tank damage during
the truck or van transport.
The good news is, to my surprise, when I broke the news that they wouldn’t be coming to
the new ant house in a video two weeks ago, someone in my building left me a note at my
door saying they’d be willing to take the Phoenix Empire in for me and that they lived
just a few floors down in the same building!
What a relief that was!
The initial plan was to rehome them to a hobbyist friend’s place of mine, who lives just down
the street, by carrying the setup by many hand or wheeling the tank on a trolly, but
now I only need to bring the tank down a few floors, a much easier option!
I’m happy that the future owners of our Phoenix Empire said they’re willing to keep
in touch with me to keep me updated on how the fire ant colony is over time.
Pretty cool that we’ll be rehoming our fire ants to fellow AC Family whom I trust!
In terms of the Golden Empire, our big colony of Yellow Crazy Ants, they too won’t be
able to come to the new Ant House, but the future owners of the Phoenix Empire mentioned
they’re unsure if they’re able to take in the Golden Empire, too.
We’ll see.
Perhaps they may change their mind, but if not, this is one setup we’ll need to carry
by hand or wheel down the street on a trolly.
And now on to the Bobbleheads, our multi-queen supercolony of big-headed ants.
Some of you may be shocked to hear this news, but I’ve decided to release them back into
the wild in my area.
The main reason for this decision is that if you recall their setup was an open concept,
island-style ant farm with “floating” bonsai trees in pots.
This setup isn’t the most travel-friendly, though I have considered possibly putting
the pots in big plastic bins with baby powdered walls, but I foresee a big mess and ants everywhere
in the bins.
As much as I loved keeping them over the years, I felt ok releasing the Bobbleheads into the
wild to continue the rest of their years living in freedom outside.
I also released the Bobbleheads because of this colony: A massive supercolony also of
Big-headed ants, just like the Bobbleheads, but a different species.
I later discovered that these big-headed ants, though collected from my city, were actually
an invasive species, so needless to say, I won’t be releasing this colony back into
the wild ever, and if I feel I no longer want to keep them, I’ll just rehome them, but
for now, they’ll be coming with me to the new Ant House, which is why I still haven’t
made them a terrarium yet.
And now on to the Black Panthers, my duo colony of Asian Bullet Ants.
I’ve successfully combined my two bullet ant colonies into one and they’re still
healthy, laying lots of eggs, and they eat a lot!
Because they’re in AC Setups transporting them to the new Ant House is easy as pie,
and I’m sure I’ll be able to find roving male Asian Bullet Ants in the yard of the
new Ant House, because I see them everywhere there!
My roach and superworm farm which was born out of necessity from the pandemic’s Great
Culling Event, is definitely coming to the new Ant House, too.
Thankfully, I haven’t had to buy roaches nor superworms ever since, and their yield
has been just enough to supply and feed the colonies and arachnids, I currently have.
Once settled into the new Ant House, I plan on completely revamping this setup, perhaps
make it even bigger so I can produce more ant food.
In terms of the young Carpenter Ant colony I tried to start up that were struck with
mites, as mentioned in a past video, I decided to release them back into the wild, because
the colony completely stopped growing in size, and no matter how much I tried to feed them
well and give them everything they needed, they just weren’t thriving in captivity.
I believe the mites might have been a factor at their stunted colony growth, so my hopes
were that they’d be able to bounce back, living in the wild.
The Golden Ants, my Polyrhachis colony, whom you guys officially named the Gilded Warriors,
are doing well and are still in a small setup in test tubes.
I’m not in a rush to move them out into a larger tank, just yet, because they’re
super transport-friendly in their current setup, so I anticipate they’ll be ready
to move into a terrarium once we move to the new Ant House.
As for the royal pair of Termites, I have sealed them away in the dark and can’t see
where they’ve established themselves but am trusting they are laying eggs somewhere
in their Hybrid Nest.
The moment I start seeing workers, I’ll be sure to inform you guys and make a video
of it!
Again, because they’re in an AC Setup they’ll be super easy to transport and take to the
new Ant House.
Finally, our two newest worlds, the Auricle containing our colony of giant tropical earwigs
and stag beetle, and the Isopodium, our new isopod farm are both relatively small and
easy to transport, so they too will be coming with us to the new Ant House.
And as for our various other pets, like python, horned frog, axolotls, and various arachnids,
they’ll all be coming with us to the new Ant House, as well, as their setups are very
transport-friendly.
My fish tank will not be coming, so I think I’ll be disassembling this multi-year old
tank, this week and rehoming all the fish and shrimp.
Although it’s quite sad that all of these changes are happening so fast, I attribute
it simply to the dynamics of having to move to a new location.
The year and a half journey of having to build a house and plan a major move, all while in
the middle of a global pandemic, has truly been one of the most challenging experiences
of my whole life.
We were supposed to be moved into the new Ant House by now but due to delays, caused
mostly by the pandemic, the move in date might be later this year.
But, AC Family, at the start of this video, I mentioned I had a major announcement regarding
moving out and what it means for this channel, and guys the announcement is this: I’m moving
out next week.
No, I’m not moving to the new Ant House just yet, as it’s not quite finished, but
rather to a place nearby, and it’s in this new place where I will have to stay for at
least the next three months or more until our Ant House is done.
Now I know what you’re thinking?
AntsCanada, What?
Why are you moving to this random location before moving into the new Ant House?
The reason I need to move to this new location is because of this new variant of the virus,
known as the Delta variant, which is allegedly spreading like wild fire in my region, and
the government where I live has already announced that there will be another lockdown in my
city, taking effect starting the end of next week.
Now, this is a big problem, and not because the Ant Room is in danger of a second Ant
Culling like that of 2020, because as mentioned, I now have a roach & superworm farm so I have
all the ant and critter food I need, but the regional lockdown restrictions may prevent
me from visiting our Ant House, which is outside of my city.
And to make a long story short, I absolutely need to visit the Ant House construction site
on a weekly basis in order to supervise and coordinate the construction process, just
so our Ant House can be done ASAP, but a regional lockdown would prevent me from doing this.
In light of this, my only solution was to book a cottage somewhere near the Ant House,
where I plan to stay permanently over the next few months, until the Ant House is finally
completed and ready for us to officially move in.
In this way, I’ll still be able to visit the Ant House construction site despite any
regional lockdown, since the cottage and the Ant House are in the same region.
Does this make sense?
Alright, now here’s the complicated thing, guys: I’ve thought about it for a long time
now, and sadly, I’ve decided that it would be best to not bring the ants and other creatures
with me to this cottage I’ll be staying at.
All the ants and creatures of the Ant Room will be staying in the Ant Room for now.
I figured it would be much easier and less traumatic for the ant colonies and critters
to move all the setups in one fell swoop, i.e. directly to the Ant House when it’s
ready, as opposed to transporting all the setups to the cottage, then moving them again
later from the cottage to the Ant House.
In the meantime, I have a caretaker who will be able to come into my place, and make sure
all the ants, creatures, and setups of the Ant Room are fed every single day and taken
care of while I’m away, busy getting our Ant House ready.
And so AC Family, it’s such an understatement to say that this is such a transitional time
in the history of the Antiverse and this channel, but it means a lot to me that you guys are
standing by with me, embarking on this epic new journey of change, so thank you.
To all the subscribers of this channel, you AC Family who have supported all the ants
over the years in the Ant Room, I know some really exciting times are ahead for us, and
for our ants and beasts of the Antiverse.
Now, the next question you might be asking is: So if all your ants and creatures will
be in the Ant Room, and you will be away at this cottage, what will you be filming for
the next three or four months worth of episodes, since a regional lockdown will be in effect
and you won’t be able to get to the Ant Room for a bit?
Well, AC Family, the answer to that, may surprise you.
One detail I forgot to mention was that the cottage is actually in a place that I’ve
featured before on this channel, a place you guys might already know about, if you saw
the video where this place was featured.
It’s a wonderful haven for wildlife, just full of incredible ant species, and other
amazing creatures, that we can discover together, and even try capturing to keep and join us,
along with all of our current ant colonies and creatures, when we finally move into the
new Ant House, and AC Family, I can’t wait to show you our new temporary home!
AC Family, did you guys enjoy today’s episode?
This next series of videos coming up until we move to the new Ant House will surely be
a fresh new era, so be sure to follow along on this adventure at our new mystery cottage,
by smashing that SUBSCRIBE button and BELL ICON now, and hit ALL so you get notified
at every upload.
Also don’t forget to hit the LIKE button every single time including now.
It would really mean a lot to me, guys.
Thank you!
And guys, did you know that it’s anting season in the Northern Hemisphere, and you
don’t even need to leave your home to start an ant colony?!
You can catch pregnant queen ants from the safety of your own backyard, balcony, or open
window starting this month!
Be sure to visit AntsCanada.com for all your ant keeping and collecting gear shipped to
you in a special package from our ant-loving facility in the USA, so you can get the most
out of your ant keeping experience.
We ship worldwide and also offer full email support if you need our help!
We also have a helpful forum and ant colony trading marketplace on the site.
Visit AntsCanada.com today.
And now it’s time for the AC Question of the Week.
Last week, we asked:
Which was your favourite team of isopods and why?
Congratulations to Amgad Medhat who answered:
The koi isopods were my favorite as they look distinct and
Japanese which I admire!
Congratulations Amgad, you just won a free Ultimate Ant Keeping Handbook from our shop!
In this week’s AC Question of the Week we ask:
Where do you guess we are moving to next week?
Leave your answer in the comments section and you could also win a free Ultimate Ant
Keeping Handbook from our shop!
Hope you could subscribe to the channel as we upload every Saturday at 8AM EST.
Please remember to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, and SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed this video, to help
us keep making more.
It’s ant love forever!