This is Pantdora, my giant 1000 gallon cloud
rainforest vivarium. It’s beautiful isn’t it? This rainforest construction took me months
of research, weeks of planning, and six days to construct, but though majestic in its current
natural splendour, it was still incomplete. You see, my idea was for Pantdora to be an
ecosystem vivarium, and with all its plants now in place, all it needed now was the animals. And here they were. I’ve waited months to execute this titanic
event I call “GAIA”, i.e. the Great Animal Integration Advent, where I will release an
initial team of animals to jumpstart the ecosystem. Many animals in holding containers were waiting
patiently to be set free onto Pantdoran soils, to each serve their function in the contained
ecosystem I was trying to create. But little did I know, my giant rainforest
ecosystem vivarium operation would not quite go as planned, and chaos would interrupt the
order I had set in place. This is the craziest story of how a war of
creatures broke out in my giant rainforest vivarium this week, in a way I could have
never predicted, and all I could do was watch it all play out, in nature’s signature raw
and often harsh way, leaving my jaw on the floor. Welcome to Part 5 of my Ecosystem Vivarium
series, where Mother Nature starts to take over the show, here on the AntsCanada Ant
Channel. Please SUBSCRIBE to the channel, and hit the
BELL ICON. Welcome to the AC Family. Enjoy! The giant hand of the Creator Worlds released
the house gecko into Pantdora. She was the first member to enter for the
GAIA event. At just the right moment, she leaped down
and fell into a pillowy bed of vining plants and moss. Sitting still, she couldn’t help but suddenly
take in the vast new world into which she had just been released. “Woah!” she thought to herself in awe. “Where am I?” This place was big. Real big, and ominous, as the clouds began
to roll in. But she knew better than to just start romping
around and mindlessly begin exploring. Her instincts were telling her that these
lands, though beautiful, were also hostile and dangerous. She had best watch her step. But she was the first animal to be placed
in. How dangerous could Pantdora be, right? Well, AC Family, turns out, she was right,
and I, too, discovered the truth about Pantdora, two days prior to GAIA. These lands were already a literal war zone,
and a Pantdora-wide race to domination of parties had already begun amongst the most
unlikely of creatures. The day before adding all the animals in,
I spotted a colony of ants hot in action. Ants? What kind of ants? I tried my best to identify their species,
as I watched them trailing energetically along the vertical facade of the Hallelujah Tree
Stump. They looked so familiar. I followed their trail and watched as they
came and went, from an inconspicuous hole in the driftwood. Were the ants living in this tree stump? I followed them down another trail they established
down the wood towards the mossy floor, and that’s when I saw it. A supermajor! No way! These were marauder ants! What were marauder ants doing in here? In disbelief, I had to double check on my
Leviathans, my long time colony of marauder ants, to see if they had somehow escaped or
something, but no. All was well and the Leviathans were all still
in their setup. These marauder ants were another colony, and
must have been introduced by way of the tree stump. When we first extracted the stump from the
ground, I do remember a lot of us getting bitten by marauder ants, but I just assumed
it was from an ant trail passing by the stump, because marauders usually nest in soil, not
wood. It never occurred to me that there were possibly
marauder ants actually living inside the stump. Furthermore, I was never bit once during the
installation of the stump into the tank. But now that I saw them in here, I had some
questions: Judging from their active trails and the size of the supermajors, this was
no young colony of marauders. How big was this colony? They had to be a colony in the thousands of
workers at least to have supermajors. Was the queen in here, too or was she left
in the ground at the site of extraction? I couldn’t help but wonder, but as I stressed
to think about what would happen if this marauder ant colony would completely grow to dominate
Pantdora, I was suddenly brought aback by the frightful sighting I made next. No way! Fire ants. What were fire ants doing in here?! I checked up on Volcania, my fire ant island
of the Crimson Knights, but they too were also inside and secured. So these fire ants were introduced, too, perhaps
through the soils of one of the plants? I watched as they worked vigorously to construct
their tunnels. There were a lot, perhaps not as many as marauder
ants, but enough. They had to be a somewhat smaller colony because
had they been bigger I definitely would have been attacked and stung during planting, and
would have surely noticed. It was just dismaying though to see that fire
ants had been introduced to Pantdora, because as many of you may know, fire ants are invasive
and are notorious at killing, displacing, and outcompeting native ants in the ecosystems
they have conquered. Furthermore, what I found crazy was how close
the fire ant nest was to the active trails of the marauder ants. Have a look. Fire ants were brave enough to start wandering
onto the mossy beds and just a stone’s throw away were the marauders. I felt it was only a matter of time before
the fire and marauder ant lines would meet. In fact, they already were. This was a classic scene of Team Native vs
Team Invasive Ants, and I couldn’t believe it was all playing out right before my eyes
within our ecosystem vivarium of Pantdora. At the summit of the Hallelujah Tree Stump,
termites were quietly performing their important work. There were termites in here, too? I couldn’t believe it! These were Nasutitermes termites that live
in and eat wood. Looks like this tree stump brought in a lot
of cool creatures to seed Pantdora. Check out the soldiers! They have these special tubes that stick out
of their faces from which a noxious sticky chemical mix can be shot out at enemies, mainly
ants. So cool, right? I felt honoured to watch this colony of termites,
repairing and building their tunnels along the outside of this tree stump. These dirt tunnels by the way are made from
their poop and harden to form a protective tube through which the colony could navigate
around safely as they ate slowly through the wood. I began to wonder if the termites were the
reason the Marauders loved living inside the tree stump. There was a constant food source available
to them here, assuming they’re quick enough to dodge the sticky stuff shot at them from
the soldiers, of course. In two hours the tunnels were done and the
termites could continue on working and eating within the privacy of their concealed, darkened
poop tunnels, safe from any ants for now. Pantdora had become a place where new unlikely
animal life was springing forth. A little tiny reflection of light caught my
eye, like something was using a tiny mirror to morse code me a message. Do you see it? I looked onto a clump of some baby seedlings
and spotted a tiny creature. A small fly, that just emerged from its pupa
in the soils, looked out into the new world with its new fly body. It ran its legs through its unused wings to
get the hemolymph flowing through its veins in preparation for its first flight. It was interesting to see that even prey animals
like flies had unintentionally found their way into Pantdora. The marauder ants were really trailing now,
establishing clear lines to and from various places in Pantdora, even the majors dispatched
to protect the trails or perhaps chop things. Watching them make their way through the tall
moss was like watching a pack of wolves moving swiftly through the woods. I actually love marauder ants because of the
way they trail. They were still marching up the wood. But one such trail coming from the right of
the foot of the Hallelujah Stump, was especially active, and I followed it to see what all
the marauder fuss was about. Let’s see what these ants are up to. In fact, this path became so important to
the ants that they began clear cutting all living moss laying in the way. They were determined to make this a permanent
marauder highway, and the moss wasn’t their favourite track flooring to navigate. Piece by piece the workers worked hard to
cut the moss up and… Hey, what’s that? Amazing! I then discovered that these moss forests
through which our marauders were parading were home to these creatures. Tiny rove beetles. They crawled through the moss searching for
food. My guess was they were either hunting little
tiny creatures that live in the moss or were feeding on the fungi that attack the moss. Rove beetles depending on species can have
very diverse diets. But cool to see the marauders not interested
in bothering them at all. It was at this time that I also found something
else in the moss that the marauders didn’t bother with. See it? That little ant making its way through the
moss entanglement is no marauder ant, nor is it a fire ant. I’m actually unsure what species it is,
perhaps Calyptomyrmex, but let’s tentatively call them dwarf ants for now, and I watched
it come in contact with a marauder, and nothing. The marauder ant went on with its business,
knowing this dwarf ant was no threat. I guess a colony of these dwarf ants, too,
were introduced into Pantdora unintentionally, and they were actively foraging alongside
the marauders now. I have never ever seen this behaviour before
and would have never been able to in a captive setting where I never mix ant colonies together. Interesting to know that in the wild, not
all ants are enemies. OK, so why were the marauders so eager to
cut a trail through here. What were they after? Following the trail from the Hallelujah Stump,
through the moss, I noticed the ant trail extending to the Eastern lands of Pantdora
to here: The Cave of Wonders, whose dark and humid cavernous chambers extend into the moss
hills that surround it. Interesting. Were the marauders planning on relocating
from the Hallelujah Stump to the Cave? What was so special about this cave? I would soon find out, but I was suddenly
distracted by a commotion happening at the other end of Pantdora. A fight between a fire ant and 2 marauders! It happened fast, but this was the official
beginning of the war! The marauder ants now alarmed by the presence
of the fire ants, scrambled around in a bloody mission to kill. The marauder ants sounded the enemy alarm
by releasing a pheromone which would soon reach other members of the colony. Marauders began hunting the stray fire ants
down as they ducked and hid into the moss to evade the marauder forces. As tense as the marauder ants vs fire ants
drama was, I found the scene riveting. A major was informed of the fire ant forces,
and it came rampaging through to help defend. Oh it was over! Like an angry rhino she pushed forth through
the moss and appeared on the scene where she could smell the fire ant blood all around. “Where are they? Let me at ‘em!” I would hate to be a fire ant contending with
a worked up marauder major right now. The fire ants were too distracted to notice
how close they were coming to her, but suddenly, Bam! A fire ant ran straight into her jaws and
she chomped down with a force the fire ant had never known. Another marauder helped along, but the fire
ant escaped which enraged the major even more, as she rampaged around in search of more fire
ants. A wounded fire ant came out of hiding right
in the major’s path and again the major went down to finish the fire ant off, but
suddenly the major recoiled in pain. The fire ant had stung it, probably right
in the chin. The major retreated and stationed behind a
boulder of soil. Was this sting fatal? Not yet. I watched as the major brushed herself off,
still clearly in pain, to return to the site to continue finishing off the fire ant, but
before she could get to it, it escaped into a darkened hole in the soil. I couldn’t believe the battle I had just
witnessed, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for how this great war between
ant superpowers would soon end, and what other superpowers were waiting in the wings to join
in on this fight. A tiny baby grasshopper began making its way
up the glass, moving ever so slowly. It needed to move leg by leg like this, in
order that predators wouldn’t easily spot it. From afar, one could hardly see that it was
moving, ever so slowly, and ever so smoothly. This grasshopper must have been introduced
here, too, through one of the plants, and it seemed it, too, was well aware that Pantdora
was full of dangers. But just as I began to become entranced by
the grasshoppers slow-mo trot, an ant appeared on the scene. It was a black crazy ant. What? Nooo! There were black crazy ants in here, too? How? Black crazy ants are another invasive species,
and here was a scout inspecting the lands. It could smell the trail of marauders and
moved away at a safe distance to study what the marauder ants were up to. It followed the path of marauder ants safely
above their trail, and when it felt it had gathered all the information it needed, it
turned back to head home to the colony to share what it had learned. Where in Pantdora were the black crazy ants
camped out? I was determined to follow it. A jumping spider, who we saw in the last video,
was actually misgendered by me as a male. Turns out she’s a female. Guess I should have asked for her pronouns. She sat contently eating the fly she had just
caught. Guess the fly we saw early had a short flight. It was awesome to know that the predators
were already managing to hunt and find prey. But then I spotted another jumping spider,
but this time it was on the outside of the tank. This was a male and you’ll see why in a
sec. Hey there, little guy. I bet he could smell there was a female inside,
so I captured him, and put him inside. He landed onto the asparagus fern. The jumping spider stood still for a second
but then moved to look around. Enjoy Pantdora, little one! Welcome to your new home. I was pleased to discover how stunning and
handsome he was. See those two bulbous organs on the sides
of his face. Those are emboli and how you can tell he’s
a male spider, but what amazed me was how intelligent and aware he seemed as he assessed
what had just happened and where he was now. He then turned to explore his new surroundings
with his multiple eyes which give him some amazing powers of eye sight. Jumping spiders are some of the coolest spiders
around, that don’t make permanent webs, but are always on the move stalking their
prey. I hoped he would find the female and help
seed a new generation of jumping spiders within Pantdora. It was then that I decided to name these two
jumping spiders, Adam and Eve. He leaped and landed onto a nearby vine, where
he could smell his Eve’s lifeline silk somewhere nearby, and continued on his search for her
running up the vine. It was finally the big day of GAIA, the day
more animals would be moving in. I couldn’t help but stop and stare at the
beauty of Pantdora at sunrise as the misty clouds blew through the lands. It was all so beautiful. How on Earth did we create this AC Family? The mist formed a morning dew on all the plants,
and it was as if we were given this blessed, unique opportunity to watch how a rainforest
prepares for its day of biological action. I can honestly say, creating this ecosystem
vivarium with all of you has been one of the best experiences of my life. I mean, it’s crazy to think that this entire
thing began as our idea, and watching it all come together and manifest before our eyes
now, has been my greatest honour. I continued to spot new creatures at every
corner. A small millipede wandered the vegetation. It only preferred to emerge when the mists
blew through. It searched for vegetation and rotting material
to chew on, before retreating into the shadows during the drier parts of the day. The shoulder of the Hallelujah Tree Stump
was the chosen location for a young orb weaver spider, who lay in its web waiting patiently
for a catch. Little, delicate mushrooms poked out from
the soils overnight to spread their spores throughout the area. A weevil beetle up on the moss wall emerged
to greet the morning mist, before heading back into the moss wall when the mist ended,
but that’s when I spotted a black crazy ant! This was where they were stationed! From what I could see they were gathering
within one of the larger tillandsias on the moss wall. They had probably set up a station somewhere
behind the wall, and look! They were full. In fact, I began to wonder, what were all
these ants even eating? While inspecting marauder ant trails, whose
dirt roads through the moss were now pretty defined, I did also catch one ant feeding
a major through trophallaxis. Were the ants managing to find an ample food
source I didn’t know about, despite it being prior to me adding creatures in? Where were the ants finding their food, or
was it drink? AC Family, this question led me to a pretty
amazing discovery. At Pantdora’s pond area, I spotted a couple
snails, probably introduced through the floating water lettuce, but more interestingly, I spotted
ants. Marauder ants, on the water lettuce with social
stomachs full of pond water. Wow! I had no idea marauder ants were so proficient
around water, but how were they getting here? Surely they didn’t swim? Nope. Turns out they were climbing the vines. What? Marauders were capable of going arboreal? Now this was new info! Furthermore, check this out! Our pond water was tinted a dark brown colour,
but don’t panic. This was all totally normal, as the tint was
from tannins leaching from the wood that was in the water. It actually made these waters very healthy
for animals living in it and highly nutritious for animals drinking from it. It was like a natural tea for animals, and
that’s when I realized: Aha! That’s why the marauders had established
a highway to and from the Cave of Wonders! They were sourcing this nutrient-rich water
from the pond! This water system was a valuable natural resource
for the marauders, hence the highway, and even the black crazy ants who were also visiting
the pond for the precious, nutrient-rich tea water. But AC Family, after making this cool discovery,
then came what had to be the saddest scene I witnessed in Pantdora. A fire ant and a marauder major in a deathlock. It was hard to tell exactly what was happening,
but from the looks of things, the fire ant had chomped down on the waist segment of the
major, who had probably been stung in the head or thorax. The fire ant had also been badly injured,
but why weren’t the other marauder ants helping their large major sister? You would think they would all be swarming
in there to help her out, but no. It was as if the major was shouting for the
other marauders to stay back. The major knew she would be dying today, and
felt it wasn’t worth losing another marauder on her team to a possible sting from the also
dying fire ant. This was a one-for-one battle, and both ants
would be dying now. The marauder sisters watched from the sidelines,
not even other majors jumping in, and then in a shocking turn of heart-wrenching events,
the marauders began to bury both the major and the fire ant, until they were completely
concealed in soil. This truly sad scene stayed in my mind over
the next few days and affected me greatly for some reason. As a personal rule, I don’t intentionally
war my pet ant colonies together, but this was different. I didn’t meticulously raise these ants as
my pets from just their queens. These were wild ants, with a wild understanding
of the world, and wild intentions of survival. It was actually one of the reasons I created
this whole ecosystem vivarium in the first place. I wanted to study just how ants truly live
out in nature, in a way that I couldn’t through my ant farms, including the real dangers
they would contend with in their natural habitat, like living among other species of ants. I had learned a lot so far, but I knew this
was all just the beginning. It seemed the marauders had come out victorious
in the end, though. The fire ants had retreated, completely sealing
up their nest holes. Not a fire ant in sight now. But I knew better than to think this was the
last we’d see of them. I knew this strategy all too well. Protected below ground, assuming there was
a queen in there, the fire ants would focus on amassing their numbers, only surfacing
to forage for their food in safer areas away from the marauders, then once a larger colony,
emerging strong to fight them. The power of fire ants lies in their numbers,
and the fire ants knew exactly what they were doing. Only time would tell if the fire ants would
return to seek vengeance one day to wipe out their adversaries and claim Pantdora and all
its resources theirs. Inside I hoped not. I also wondered how the black crazy ants would
come into play with all this. But the reality is, invasives are also part
of many ecosystems. An ecosystem is what I sought to design, and
it turns out, an ecosystem was exactly what we got. Everything was pushing the limits of survival
in this tank! I mean, have a look at this. The banyon tree vines, I strung all around
the vivarium, thinking they were dead, were indeed not. New air roots were starting to sprout from
them both underwater and in the air. The vines were alive! Did this mean that a whole banyon tree was
about to grow in Pantdora? Crazy to discover that even an entire tree
was secretly conspiring to clone itself into existence, to become alive within our rainforest
vivarium. The marauders were using these vines, now
too, as highways to access all areas of the forest. Pantdora had indeed taken on a dynamic energy
and soul of its own, and all we could do now was watch the system take shape. To quote my favourite movie of all time, “If
there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it's that life will not be
contained. Life breaks free, it expands to new territories
and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously…” OK, let’s just omit that last part. I spotted Eve, our jumping spider, now feasting
on one of the marauder ants she caught travelling along the vines, and I was reminded that though
danger was at every turn in these vast lands for the creatures, so too, was life. Pantdora, our cloud rainforest vivarium, was
already a functioning ecosystem. “Life found a way…” But it’s time we kick it up a notch. Greater biodiversity in an ecosystem means
a healthier ecosystem. Now, imagine how much more epic Pantdora would
be when we add more creatures inside it? It was time to find out. The moment of GAIA has arrived, and after
adding in our first house gecko, who seemed to be deep in thought as she stared into the
vastness of Pantdora’s misty lands, I proceeded with the addition of the other animals. This was going to be so much fun! Hope you can subscribe to the channel as we
upload every Sat at 8AM EST. Please remember to LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE, and
SUBSCRIBE to help us keep making more. It's ant love forever!
