Now speaking of incredible workings happening
underground, there's a new plot of soil in the Antiverse which houses a few creatures
that I am positive you guys will truly marvel at, creatures that I have yet to feature on
this channel, and I can't wait to show our new incubating creatures. Please subscribe to my channel and hit the
bell icon. Welcome to the AC Family! Enjoy! AC Family, the utter beasts that lay hidden
within this container were unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life, gargatuans
creatures that I am certain will leave you in awe... either that, or make you grimmace
in disgust! Either way, I can't wait to show you these
true natural wonders of the animal kingdom, so keep on watching until the end, as we uncover
the secret lives of these major players of the world's forests. Khepri, Khepri, Ra, Ra, Ra
Soon to be this depicted god. In the soil, they wait and grow,
to become the creatures we all know, Make up more than a quarter,
of all we've discovered, In next week's video,
they shall be uncovered. This was the riddle I left for you guys in
last week's hidden video for anyone who wanted to take a stab at what our mystery creatures
were, featured in this week's video, and turns out... Many of you hit the nail on the head, as I
knew AC Family would! Beetles as a group of insects, form the order
Coleoptera with about 400,000 species, making it the largest of all taxonomic orders, making
up a whopping 25% of all known animal life-forms we've ever discovered! Can you believe that of all the animals we've
ever documented, a quarter of them are beetles? If aliens were to study and survey the animals
of the planet Earth, it wouldn't be surprising to me if they named Earth "Planet of the Beetles". So, I'm pleased to announce that the newest
inhabitants of the Antiverse are beetles, but not just any beetles. They happen to be my favourite beetles in
the whole world: Scarab beetles! Scarab beetles, belonging to the family Scarabaeidae,
consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide. Khepri, is an Egyptian god of creation with
the head of a scarab beetle. Chances are you've seen a scarab beetle at
least once in your life. Some of the well-known scarab beetles are
Japanese beetles, dung beetles, June beetles, rose chafers, Hercules beetles, and Goliath
beetles. But today, AC Family, the scarab beetles I'll
be introducing to you are nothing less than epic! But first, the reason they've come to the
Antiverse! I opened my superworm farm last week and discovered
that it was empty. All that was left was an adult superworm,
a.k.a. a darkling beetle, but looking at the darkling beetle crawling across my hand, something
came to me. You see I had been thinking of what I could
possibly feed my ants for Canadian Thanksgiving which recently passed last weekend. I wanted to give them something other than
the ordinary superworms they were used to eating, something fatter and much more meatier. So I called up some beetle friends of mine,
and low and behold, so arrived this ominous container, which was allegedly full of fattened,
scarab beetle larvae collected from native forest soils, a beetle known to locals as
"salagubang", the species: Xylotrupes gideon philippinensis, the Siamese Rhinoceros beetle! These beetles can allegedly reach a whopping
length of 3.5–7 centimetres, which is massive. They are sexually dimorphic. The females are smaller, while males are larger
and have big rhino-like horns which can vary in size and shape, used to battle each other
for females and territory. I bet, the larvae of these Rhinoceros beetles
were just fat and juicy, the perfect Thanksgiving treats for my ants. Ahhh! I was so excited and nervous all at once to
peek inside! Upon arrival I immediately opened the container,
and saw the container was filled to the brim with digging medium. But, no... patience... I wasn't going to harvest the beetle grubs
just yet. I promised myself to wait for Thanksgiving
Day before offering my ants, the fattened feasts they deserved. It was the morning of Canadian Thanksgiving,
and though I live in a completely different country on the opposite side of the planet,
I still celebrate Thanksgiving, and was eager to finally give my ants of the Antiverse their
fat, juicy turkeys, a.k.a. the scarab beetle grubs! But AC Family, I wasn't ready to see what
I was about to see upon opening their container. Look! Mushrooms had sprouted in just two days since
the container's arrival. And guys, it turns out those little black
pellets are the beetle grubs' frass. Their droppings, which are super nutrient
rich for plants and I suppose mushrooms... hey! Did you guys see that movement? There must be a beetle grub now! I took my tweezers and tried to sift through
the soil for a beetle grub. Nothing. Alright, seriously though it's time to dig
out these scarab beetle grubs! AC Family, let's do this! I put on some gloves because I was told these
beetle grubs can bite with their powerful mandibles and it can hurt! I carefully sifted through the surface. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit
scared scraping through the soil like this! Suddenly, I hit something! A grub? No, a piece of wood. False alarm! Now, while digging, I decided to also collect
and store some of this frass-filled soil, because I could use it in the future as a
growing medium for terrariums and plants. In fact, you can buy insect frass in bags
for gardening. As mentioned, insect frass is jam-packed with
nutrients for plants. Comes to show you these beetles are super
essential in the forests they are part of as they recycle dead plants to nourish the
living plants. I continued to dig. I wasn't sure how big these beetle grubs were
nor how many there were, but the whole time my heart was racing! Aside from the fear of being bitten, I'm also
mildly vermiphobic, and the sight of worms or anything worm-like, mini-snakes and legless
lizards excluded, make me shudder, and TBH, based on what I imagined these rhino beetle
larvae looked like, I knew I was going to initially be repulsed at first sight. But before I knew it, something shiny and
white caught my eye. We found one! OMG! Look at it! My jaw dropped to the floor. It was huge, fat, and curled up into a ball. Wow! Look at its body shape, and check out that
red head and massive mandibles. Indeed, it was unlike anything I've ever seen
before. I checked the back and underside of the beast. My ants were going to enjoy this giant morsel! It was time to prepare the ant turkey. I washed the grub clean with water, and it
flinched at every squirt, I held the creature in my hand. For such a big and scary beast, it sure didn't
put up much of a fight. Alright, the grub was now ready for the execution
block. The first ant colony I planned on feeding
was my largest and hungriest of all, the Fire Nation. I knew this beetle grub would be enough to
feed my ravenous colony of fire ants for at least two days. I estimated that this fat larva had the equivalent
of at least two or three cockroaches. And as I do with all prey insects, I was to
put the creature out of its misery before feeding it to the ants. I took the execution scissors, still caked
with the dried blood and guts of previously killed prey insects. My plan was to split it in half so the ants
could easily get into the grub's insides. Here we go... 1... 2... 3... Sorry, guys. 3! No.... I stood there motionless for a moment. My hand was frozen and defiant, unwilling
to close down. I watched the helpless beetle grub, curled
up in fetal position, awaiting its fate at the blades of my scissors. Ahhhh my heart... I couldn't... I could not follow through with the execution. I withdrew my scissors and picked up beetle
grub with a heavy heart. I placed it back into the container. What was I going to do? It suddenly was no longer a vile beast to
my eyes, but in a strange way had become... well, cute! AC Family, how about you guys? Doesn't it suddenly look real endearing to
you. The shift of perception was completely unexpected,
and with this new context, my plans had suddenly changed completely. They were to join our Antiverse as inhabitants. Behold, a simple container I bought from a
department store. It was to become the sacred home and growing
chamber of our rhinoceros beetles. Apparently, these grubs need at least 10 cm
x 10 cm x 10 cm of space, and it is allegedly better to keep the beetles singly because
they may fight and lethally puncture each other with their sharp mandibles. This container was perfect. I also modified the cover to create a much
more open top and airy sides. Next, I had to add the beetle larva's food. Xylotrupes gideon philippinensis, happen to
be notorious pests in coconut farms in the Philippines where I live, as they prey on
the wood and roots of coconut trees, living or decaying, and it just so happens that my
neighbourhood is abundant in coconut trees. So, I took a walk down the street, found a
pile of decaying coconut wood, and harvested this favoured rhino beetle larva food. I couldn't wait to put our growing chamber
together, AC Family! I placed some decaying coconout wood at the
bottom of the chamber. It was amazing to think that these rhino beetle
larvae actually eat and grow into gigantic beetles, subsisting entirely on decaying wood. This blew my mind! It also meant that the larvae had within their
gut, the necessary microbiota to allow them to properly digest and acquire nutrition from
the cellulose in the wood, much like termites do! Many animals cannot digest this stuff! But these beetle larvae can. After this initial layer of decaying wood
was set in place, next I was going to add their main growing medium. This brick of coco peat, also purchased at
a department store, can be found in most home and gardening stores. It's really cool, because all you need to
do is soak the brick in water and it instantly expands and becomes great growing medium for
epiphytic plants, and well in our case, rhinoceros beetles! I packed this coco peat into the growing chamber. The beetle larva may also very well, find
this coco peat to be a tasty food, as well. I then added another layer of decaying coconut
wood, then pack it off with another layer of coco peat. And volia our new rhino beetle larva growing
chamber - a dedicated, double food layered catacomb in which the beetle larva can grow
and develop into adulthood in peace. What do you guys think of it? I placed the modified cover back on and proceeded
to do the exact same thing, to prepare 10 other growing chambers. I returned to the container and set the growing
chamber on the ground, removed the cover, and carefully went to pick up the larva we
had found, and place it inside its new home. The larva lay motionless. I admired the neat auburn hairs that covered
the larva's entire body, as well as those reddish spots running down the body, and that
rear end though, looking crazy extra-terrestrial to me! But it wasn't long before our rhino beetle
baby began to move, and began to move the soil using its head, mandibles, and front
legs. But watching it burrow now, my initial thoughts
were that it didn't seem like such an effective burrower. I mean, honestly at this pace, it seemed like
it would take at least a good half hour to get soil-deep! It even strangely began to burrow horizontally. What an ineffective burrower! Have a look! But AC Family, I was wrong! For when it finally found its preferred place
to really start digging, it quite effectively started using its legs, head, and powerful
body muscles to start excavating a nice tunnel downwards. Those hairs seemed pretty good at keeping
soil moved upwards in place, as it continued to dig deeper and deeper. In 5 minutes flat, the grub was completely
concealed deep within the soil. I had to move some soil aside to see it! AC Family, isn't that incredible? What amazing subterrarean creatures, right? I proceeded to cover it up, placed the cover
back on, and continued to dig out the remaining beetle larvae! I carefully sifted through the soils, I didn't
want to injure the delicate grubs during excavation. I felt as though their bodies could pop with
a single puncture. Wait! Yes, we found a second grub! I dug some more... a third grub! Alright! This was actually fun! It was like we were digging for gold! I hit something solid and pulled it out. It was a large piece of decaying wood. This was what the larvae were eating in here,
I guessed. I found a fourth grub and a fifth. Woah this one was huge! Could be a male, perhaps! I placed each grub in its own growing chamber,
and boy was it ever satisfying to set each grub in its own, special home we made for
them. Have a look! I felt like we were bees, placing our larvae
into cells in which they were to grow for their whole larval lives, until they emerge
as adults! Each one of these growing chambers had all
they needed to develop into adult rhinoceros beetles. All I needed to do was water them periodically. And look! One grub already blessed its chamber with
a frass pellet. How cute! I made sure to enjoy looking at the grubs
now that they were visible, because I knew that once they were below the surface feeding
on our decaying coconut wood, they would be completely concealed in the soil away from
view. Alright, it was time to keep digging! I wonder how many more were left. I dug, and I dug, and I dug, and managed to
pull out four more huge beetle grubs. Just look at those cute babies. Now I also realized that I should space them
out a bit when setting them down so they don't bite each other. I placed them each into their own growing
cell. It kinda felt like I was planting a tree or
something. Haha! When I had found the final beetle grub, I
held the huge creature in my hand for a bit. I just couldn't believe Nature had fashioned
such a spectacular and beautiful creature. I wanted to take a final and good look at
the larva before setting it into its growing chamber. I loved watching it move around. When I was ready, I picked it up. AC Family, I feel we made the right choice
by saving these beetle babies from becoming ant food. Alright, our baby is squirming now and just
wants to be buried. I placed it into its growing chamber and watched
it burrow into the soil. The process took 8 minutes. Eat well, our beloved beetle larva. I can't wait to see what you look like when
you emerge. When all was settled, the growing chambers
were arranged neatly behind the Plateaus of Gaia. A total of 13 beetle larvae were collected,
so I had to create two more extra chambers. All the larvae had long burrowed deep into
their growing chambers and were nestled deep in darkness, where they would remain for the
next couple of months, feeding on the decaying coconut wood we had prepared for them. So it turns out the larvae are expected to
pupate and emerge as adult rhino beetles by Christmas! Oh man, won't that be quite the Christmas
gift in the Antiverse?! I have decided to call these incubating beetle
catacombs, the Chambers of Sudan, as a tribute to Sudan, the last male northern white rhinoceros,
who died earlier this year on March the 20th. Though I realize, keeping carnivorous wild
animals like ants, as pets, often requires the killing of living prey animals like beetle
larvae and roaches, but having said that, I am happy we chose life for these beetle
grubs. For Thanksgiving, I just gave my ants some
extra roaches. So, what should we call these new beetles? Leave your name suggestions in the comments
and I will choose my top 5 favourites for us to vote on in a future video. The Chambers of Sudan are placed right next
to my closet, so I will make sure to check on our beetles every day, for on a random
day in December, we, the AC Family, shall be ready and waiting in celebration, for the
arrival of the great rhinoceros beetles into the Antiverse, and boy, do I have some epic
plans when they do! Yes, AC Family! Did you enjoy this week's episode? I seriously can't wait for the adults to emerge,
can you? Imagine seeing huge rhino beetles emerging
from the soil. So you know the drill! Hit that Subscribe button and bell icon now,
so you don't miss out on their grand emergeance, and hit the Like button every single time,
including now. And hey, if you're new to the channel, and
want to catch up on all your AntsCanada Lore, feel free to binge watch this complete story
line playlist here, which traces the origins of all the ant colonies of the ant room, so
you can follow their stories and better appreciate how these ant kingdoms came to be, and why
we love them so much! AC Inner Colony, I have left a hidden cookie
for you here, if you would like to watch extended play footage of the beetle larvae! They are incredible creatures to look at,
despite their scary demeanor! And before we proceed to the AC Question of
the Week, I'd like to plug my daily vlogging channel, daily vlogs which have become a full
out bird dad channel, as I am now raising a baby African Grey parrot! If you love birds, I'd love for you to meet
my new cute little bird! She's quite the character, loves to cuddle,
is quite chatty, and is fun to watch grow up! Hope you can subscribe when you're there. And now it's time for the AC Question of the
Week! Last week we asked: What made it easier for
the ants in this video to dig more tunnels? Congratulations to Arnav Singh who correctly
answered: The moisture from the watering made
it easier for the ants in this video to dig more tunnels. Congratulations, Arnav, you just won a free
e-book handbook from our shop! In this week's AC Question of the Week, we
ask: Why did we have to separate each beetle larva? Leave your answer in the comments section
and you could also win a free e-book handbook from our shop! Hope you can 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!
