On this channel, sometimes we lose ant colonies. Death is a sad reality of life and the hobby. But sometimes, we get lucky, and one of our
lost ant kingdoms comes back to life. I have some great news, AC Family. One of our ant colonies is back, having returned
from the dead, and this time, I have a plan to make sure they stay with us forever. An Asian bullet ant worker, emerges from the
nest to smell the morning air, like she does every morning. But this morning was a little bit different. They had woken up to their new home, with
us. A few of her sisters also seem pretty curious
at the new world beyond their nest, and what a world it is! AC Family, you guys will get to see what we
created for this new colony of Asian Bullet ants in a bit, but first. There's a commotion at the foot of the ant
hill. One of the colony's early risers had found
a huge piece of superworm. Alright! She moves down to help her out. Together they lug the massive superworm up
their great ant hill cliff, but being intelligent ants, one of the ants decided to scope out
the best route up the hill in advance. Oops! Looks like this hill isn't as sturdy as they'd
thought. After all, they had just built this ant hill
fortress overnight and the grains of dirt still needed time to set. I can't even begin to describe just how happy
I am that we have these incredible ants back again, and I'm sure all of you long time AC
Family here are feeling the nostalgia, too! But if you're new to the channel, these are
Asian Bullet Ants, Diacamma rugosum and you'll get to see just how awesome they
are in this episode, as well as some pretty amazing things I managed to catch on camera! But to fill you newcomers in, earlier this
year, our star colony of Asian Bullet ants, we called the Black Panthers, had sadly died
out due to natural causes which I will get in to in a sec, but I'm pleased to say, I
managed to obtain another colony of these incredible beasts, and this time, I've come
up with an interesting way that theoretically should ensure history doesn't repeat itself,
a plan to ensure this Asian Bullet ant colony lives forever! OK, so in order to better understand things,
you guys gotta take a look at how unique Asian Bullet ants are. These ants live a curious life. They belong to a few of about 1% of ants that
run on what's called a gamergate system. And, this is how it works. In typical ant colonies, a single queen who
was born a queen with wings, mates with males, who also have wings, during what's called
a nuptial flight, which happens about once a year during their breeding season. After mating, she would then lay out a tonne
of eggs, which turn our to become worker ants which care for her and the colony, as she
continues to lay more and more eggs for up to 30 yrs. But the moment the queen dies, the colony
inevitably dies out, too, because each worker only lives for a few months and once the queen,
the main egg-layer is gone, there's no other ant that can lay eggs to continue the next
generation of workers. They can't invent a new egg-laying queen. But these Asian Bullet ants however, don't
follow this life cycle system! Get this! They run on a gamergate system which is 100%
queenless! Yes, every single member of the Asian Bullet
ant colony are worker ants, and one of these worker ants, the most dominant one, takes
on the role of egg-layer in the colony. This special worker is called a gamergate. She looks totally identical to the other workers,
but the only thing is, only she is allowed to mate with males and lay all the eggs. I've tried to locate gamergates in the past,
but it's really hard. I try to look for a swollen gaster or ant
butt, but I've never found her. But anyways, the advantage of this gamergate
or queen-less system, is that once this gamergate dies, a new gamergate, the most dominant one,
will take on this much-coveted position. I made an episode about the unique and amazing
life of Asian bullet ants and their gamergate system when I first introduced them to the
channel, which you might want to check out after watching this video. But now, as per how I believe our former Black
Panthers died out suddenly earlier this year, going from super well to disappearing into
extinction. My suspicion is that the gamergate had died,
and a new gamergate had assumed her throne, but the only thing she needed, was an unrelated
male ant to mate with. There were male ants present in the colony,
but they were all her brothers, so I suppose they weren't for Game of Thrones Style inbreeding. I feel in Asian Bullet ant society, much like
a pride of lions, males leave their birth colony and wander off to seek out an unrelated
colony with a gamergate in need of mating, and that's how new gamergates become official
egg-layers. And again once this gamergate dies, the cycle
continues over and over again. Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention that
these unfertilized gamergates awaiting for males to mate with them, can still lay eggs. But these unfertilized eggs grow up to be
males only. Weird, I know. Ant genetics! Gamergates absolutely need to mate with a
male ant in order to produce female workers. Alright, so now that you understand the life
cycle of Asian Bullet ants, AC Family, I have to share with you my epic plan to make sure
that these ants continually keep perpetuating. We are lucky to have a second chance at keeping
Asian Bullet ants, and this time, I'm determined to keep them alive and going on forever. AC Family, presenting to you the Black Panthers
2.0 Two containers, you ask? Yes, you’re right. What we have here are not one, but two Asian
bullet ant colonies. Collected from two different areas, so we
know for sure they're unrelated. Let's call them Colony A and Colony B for
now, but if you have better name suggestions for these two camps, let me know in the comments. So as for the basic premise of my plans, we
could essentially attempt something similar to cross-pollination. Theoretically speaking, we could technically
take males from one colony and allow them to travel to the other colony to mate with
any gamergate needing fertilization, and vice versa. Both colonies could technically keep each
other going, hopefully forever. But AC Family, in order for all of this to
work, I needed to create the perfect set up for this biological engineering execution! It's time to create some new ant worlds! To begin, I will need these materials. AC Family, it's time to take us back to classic
ant keeping, and after all the complex vivariums we made this year it's very refreshing for
us to go back to the fun basics! Don't you think? An AC hybrid Nest 2.0. This, in particular, is the Formica version,
but any version could have worked. This AC Ant Tower Large. These two AC outworlds. These tubing to connect them. Coco fiber, plants, and the nucleus. Now if you're new to these Hybrid Nests, they
come with a cover to allow the ants to remain in the dark when you're not watching them. It also has pre-made chambers and tunnels
for the ants to inhabit and use as desired. The bottom has microholes at one section to
allow for hydration of the nest. You can put cotton in this hydration tub here
or any type of hydration medium you want. Lately, I find coco fiber works really well
because it doesn’t mold and it’s water absorbent. This amount is sufficient. And, on goes the nest like so. My hope is they'll discover the darkness and
moisture of the Hybrid Nest and decide to move the colony in here to be their new nest. By the way, shameless plug, these Hybrid Nests
are available at 20% off on my website AntsCanada.com just for the holidays, so go get yours today. It also comes with a free ant keeping handbook
so you can become an ant keeping pro! Next, is the Ant Tower Large. These two ports will allow the ants to be
connected to other setups but for now I've got them blocked up with plugs, so the ants
remain in here to nest. Like the hybrid nest, this, too, has a hydration
tub at the bottom. This centerpiece here forces the ants to dig
their tunnels and chambers near the glass. But since our Asian Bullet Ants are large
ants, I can remove this outer layer here to give them more space to dig tunnels. Alright so now, let's prepare this ant tower. Some coco fiber in the hydration ring. Again, you can use sand, sponge, cotton, or
your preference. Then I reattached it to the ant tower. Let’s proceed with these AC Outworlds. They will act as the outer world of the ants. So I wanna decorate them to look more natural. I used silicone caulking to glue this bottom
plate on because it can actually come off in case you wish to stack multiple outworlds. The cover has a double inner lip where you
can put a barrier to keep the ants inside. And if you need access to the nest, you can
easily remove this cover. Also, there’s a feeding chute here. For now, I will apply baby powder as my barrier. The same goes for the other one. Now, before we start decorating, let’s bring
in the Nucleus, the creational furnace which houses epic populations of soil biota and
microorganisms, as well as our manufacturing facility of awesome fertilizer. I got some of the earth and mixed it with
coco fiber. Now we've seeded a good soil creature population
and blended in our fertilizer for the plants. I put in a thin layer of the mix into the
outworlds and Ant Tower. Oh, hey, look at me touching these worms. It only proves that you can overcome any phobia
with time and patience. There perfect. Now, these plants are ready to be planted. And after two hours of work, this is what
the Black Panthers' new epic setup looked like. AC Family, behold! The new double kingdom of our Black Panthers
2.0. Let me show you around. The lands were an entanglement of vines, ground
plants, and stones. Both outworlds needed to be simply decorated
with low soil level, so that the ants wouldn't end up moving into these soils. We want them to move into the formicaria. The Ant Tower was ready and set for the bullet
ants to inhabit it. I used a stick to start a burrow in the Ant
Tower. Let's cross our fingers and hope the ants
find it. Right now these two setups which will become
the homes for Colonies A and B are not attached, but I'll get into how I will attach them later. You see, I can't allow the two colonies to
mix as they'd go to war, but I had a super cool way to make sure only males could move
to the other colony's nest. That's coming up in just a moment, but for
now, it's time to move the ants into these new homes we created for them. You guys will truly love this! It was just sooo cool! Here we go! Putting on my gloves. These ants aren't called bullet ants for nothing! They have a painful sting and I'm not about
getting bit tonight! Let’s begin with Colony A. Ready? And into the Ant Tower they go! And there you go. The ants immediately surveyed the land and
began seeking a space for shelter. Some ants were tasked at carrying the brood. And great news: they immediately found the
starting burrow I created for them and began digging into the Ant Tower. Meanwhile, the outworld attached to the Hybrid
Nest was ready to welcome Colony B. There! A swarm of ants immediately roamed around
their new territory. They climbed the vines and plants of their
new home. And, in no time, some courageous ants traveled
the tube and discovered the Hybrid Nest. Yay! It wasn't long before the ants decided that
yup the Hybrid Nest would be their new home, and check out how cool the ants looked up
close! Whoa! The Asian Bullet ants looked magnificent this
close, and huge! Checking on Colony A in the Ant Tower, the
colony had decided to start moving in the brood into the tunnel. It was officially their new nesting chamber
which they would start expanding outward. It was just so satisfying to see the ants
were loving these new homes we made for them. One thing I noticed though, while analyzing
the close up footage of Colony B, I saw no brood, except for a couple of eggs. There were no larvae or pupae. Could this mean Colony B had newly appointed
a gamergate and she was just starting to lay? Could she have mated already or was she still
awaiting fertilization. No worries though because, I will now show
you the final addition to these setups which will allow males from Colony A to mate with
any existing unfertilized gamergate from Colony B, and vice versa. The next day, I had given both colonies some
chopped up superworm in the morning, which they took home to their colonies (Music only). Colony A had completely transformed the lands,
and overnight had created a vertical ant hill. They piled it all up grain by grain. Let's peel off this red film and see how the
ants are doing inside. Whoa! Check out the extensive tunnels. Wow! They're eating! The colony and their larvae are having a feast
today. Let's have a look at them using red light. Just amazing right, guys?! So cool how with the red light, we can see
them, but the ants still feel like they're in the dark, seeing as they can't see red
light. Now peeking into the Hybird Nest of Colony
B. Awesome! They were loving the nest. They certainly have a lot of space to expand
and grow into. They were huddled in groups munching on superworm
pieces. So as for the final touch to my ultimate plan. The whole reason I chose to house these Asian
bullet ants in formicaria, as opposed to huge vivariums, is because I needed to be able
to monitor them. I needed to see when each colony was producing
male ants and once the male ants did arrive, I could then go ahead to do this. Check it out! As you know, our AC outworlds are stackable,
and if I stacked both outworlds but kept the barrier on the lid of the bottom outworlds,
it would be enough to keep workers ants in the bottom outworlds, while allowing male
ants who could fly up passed the barriers into the upper worlds, to use this tube here
which I'll attach now to form a bridge between the two upper outworlds, and voila. Our bullet ant colonies could live forever. So check out the system: Colony A would produce
males who will have the natural urge to find another colony, it will leave the nest and
smell the pheromones released by Colony B's gamergate, travel up and through the bridge
tube, enter Colony B's outworld, enter the Hybrid Nest and mate with the gamergate. Conversely, males from Colony B could do the
same only the opposite way. And that AC Family, should theoretically work
for us to keep both colonies alive forever. Once gamergates die and new gamergates rise
to power, unrelated males could come to the rescue and mate with them. In my mind this should work, but only time
will tell if it does. For now, I'll keep the colonies disconnected
just in case the pheromones stress out the opposing colonies. Again, we can't forget the colonies are technically
enemies, even if they need each other to perpetuate. Hey, would Ying and Yang be cool names for
our two Black Panthers? Should we keep the names Black Panthers, or
should we just completely rename them? Also, do you guys think this setup work? Let me know in the comments! If this does work, we can apply this setup
to all ants operating with a gamergate system from here on in, perhaps even revive our Dracula
Ants, the Blood Legion! As always, I'm on a constant quest to provide
my ants with the best lives possible. In my heart, I want nothing more than all
the ants under my care to be the happiest pet ants, providing them all things they need
to live their best lives. I've learned that this requires close observation
and study, and at times a bit of experimentation, some trial and error. Over the next few days, I marveled at and
was reminded of how amazing Asian Bullet ants are. I sat and watched them for hours, and it was
actually cool to able to see them like this due to the visibility of the formicaria. You see, the old Black Panthers were housed
in vivariums and though I could peek into a y-tong cement nest they had, every time
I peeked in, the ants would move the colony to darker areas of the nest away from the
glass. But here, the ants were okay with letting
me watch them in plain sight. I also love seeing what the ants do underground. It was great having the Black Panthers back. I learned today, that though deaths are part
of the ant keeping hobby, sometimes death makes it possible for life. I'm happy that these incredible Asian bullet
ants have returned to our Antiverse, leaving a legacy that never dies and lives on forever. AC Family, aren't you happy the Black Panthers
are back? Should we rename them, though? Let me know. There is still so much ahead in the Antiverse,
and we've started uploading two videos a week for the month of December anyway. You don't want to miss out on all these great
and inspiring stories of nature in our Ant Room, so hit the SUBSCRIBE and bell icon for
notifications now so you don't miss out! And please remember to hit the LIKE button
every single time, including now! If you're new to the channel and want to catch
up on all your AntsCanada Lore, click here for our complete story line playlist, so you
can follow all stories and colonies, as well as the various creatures we have in the Antiverse,
so you can better appreciate why we love them all so much! AC Inner Colony, I've left a hidden video
for you here, if you'd like to watch the full construction and landscape designing of these
Bullet Ant setups. It was a fun process, and I think those of
you AC Family who actually have any of our AC ant farms or need ideas on how to landscape
your ant farms at home, would truly find it helpful. And now it's time for the AC Question of the
Week! Last week we asked: What is your favourite thing about the new
Hacienda Del Dorado design? Congratulations to Jack Hay, who answered: I love the water/marsh part, and how the crabs
can get in and out of the water as they please, living symbiotically with the ants! Congratulations Jack Hay, you just won a free
ebook handbook from our shop! In this week's AC Question of the Week, we
ask: Why would it be a bad idea to mix our two
bullet ants colonies together? 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 and Wednesday 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!
