We ant keepers usually have that one dream
ant colony, that one species of ant that fills an ant-loving mind with excitement and wonder. I've owned dozens of species of ants in my
life time, but there is one species that stands out in my mind as one of my ultimate favourites,
and at one point, I actually managed to get a hold of a colony of these majestic and titanic
ants, with massive majors ready to take anything on with their crushing jaws, but sadly, tragedy
befell them, as they were ripped apart by a series of life crises, eventually leading
to their extermination, reduced to mere exoskeletons. But this week, AC Family, I've been quite
preoccupied, building what has to be one of my greatest ant worlds yet, because this week,
the Titans have returned to us from the dead, and you're about to find out that these Asian
Marauder ants are now stronger than ever. Join me, as we populate this new ant world,
with the most epic and majestic ants in the world. Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the
bell icon. Welcome to the AC Family! Enjoy! Before me sits an empty glass aquarium, into
which I was to construct a setup for a very important ant colony. My Ant Room is completely full of ant kingdoms
now, which is why when a friend called me up and told me he had an Asian Marauder ant
colony that needed a home, I was forced to find a spot for this new ant kingdom, as it
was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I resolved to place the setup at this corner,
which happened to place it at the center of the Ant Room. Little did I know, this Ant Kingdom was going
to be one of my favourite ant farms of all time, and the colony moving in would shock
me, especially when I saw the colony's queens. Yes, queens plural! Do keep on watching until the end, guys, as
you too need to see this! If you're new to the channel, one of the ant
colonies we've lost in the past, was the Titans, a great Asian Marauder ant colony, a species
best known among ant enthusiasts for having the most impressive polymorphism of any ant,
meaning these girls have crazy sizes of worker ants. They had the regular tiny and fast-moving
minor workers, as well as larger majors, but everyone's favourite has to be, these enormous
1 inch-long supermajors with massive heads, packed with ant muscle to provide the colony
with any needed jaw-force. You'll be seeing all of these worker castes
in a bit! Asian Marauder ants are hands down, one of
my favourite ants, I've ever owned, and I know many of you have felt the same. Because when our beloved Titans passed away,
a great number of you grieved their death with me, as the video of their passing trended
on Youtube around the world, and since their passing, you guys have continually requested
for me to bring them back and try again. A few weeks ago, I managed to bring back the
Jawbreakers, another previously lost colony, and that proved to be a great return! So today, when I got the call to provide a
home for this huge Asian Marauder Ant Colony, I thought about it for a moment, and decided
YES! Ant colony accepted. I went to my aquarium builders, and asked
them to fashion me a 40 cm long by 40 cm wide by 70 cm tall aquarium, but this aquarium
had to have very specific specs. I needed four ventilation holes of two inch
diameter, drilled at four corners of a sliding glass top. The tight sliding glass top, instead of mesh
or open-air, ensured no spaces to allow for invasions from wild ants. I was not going to allow history to repeat
itself. I also needed a port hole drilled into the
side here. Once the aquarium was stationed in place,
I went straight to work! I dumped tonnes of new rich, virgin soils
into the enclosure. I wanted the ants the have a lot of digging
medium, something the Titans didn't quite have living in the Garden of Eden, their setup
at the time. I feel if the Titans had more digging medium,
they may have been able to dig deeper chambers, and better protect their queen and brood from
outside invasions at the surface. Plus, Asian Marauder ants dig very deep tunnels
in the wild, so I was determined to provide this new colony that luxury. Three hours later, the ant kingdom was complete. AC Family, behold! I am proud to introduce to you Olympus, our
new Mountain Castle ant world. I found Olympus a fitting name for this terrarium,
because Mount Olympus from Greek mythology was a mythical home created by the new gods
after the Battle of the Titans. Let me show you around Olympus! The first thing you might notice is that it
is a sloping ant world. I wanted to create a sort of mountain-side
feel to this terrarium, so that it could provide a lot of digging space for the ants but also
offer them a greater amount of above ground foraging space. Viewing from the side, you can see that there
is just so much moist, rich soil for the ants to build their tunnels and chambers in. It measures a soil depth of 40 cm at its deepest
point and 10 cm at its lowest. A large and gorgeous winding piece of driftwood
gives the mountain structure and integrity, holding the territories together. But what I love the most is the mountain-side
plant life. I've carefully planted two species of Peperomia
plants along this sloping terrain, including this Peperomia puteolata, and this ever cute
related species of Peperomia caperata "Rosso". When planting these plants into the setup,
I made sure to check the foliage and accompanying soils to ensure there were no stow aways,
like tiny ant baby-eating Brahminy snakes which happened to come with one of the plants
in the Garden of Eden in the past, and could have been one of the reasons the Titans failed
to proliferate. I made sure all these plants, were snake-free. Growing at the apex of the mountain, we see
the outstretched needle leaves of a beautiful 'Blue Carpet' conifer tree, Juniperus squamata. I find the tree gives the entire territory
a mountainous feel, along with rock cliffs at strategic places. But what completes this entire mountain castle
terrain, is this mountain castle, which stands solidly from the mountain's eastern escarpment. I chose this castle decor because of its neat
ruins look, as a sort of representation of the Titan's turbulent past. Now I rarely do themed ant setups, but I felt
this ant world would be sort of different and special. What do you guys think of this mountain castle
setup, called Olympus? So, AC Family, now for the moment we've all
been waiting for. It was time to move in the ants, and witness
the epic return of a beloved ant colony from the past, back to the Antiverse. To prepare, I needed to add my barrier. This baby powder barrier would not be needed
once the enclosure was completely sealed, but I wanted to add it anyway, just to keep
the ants concentrated on ground activities and not on climbing to the topmost parts of
the enclosure. I rubbed baby powder all around the sliding
glass door holes, and along the top edges of the tank, and slipped the sliding door
back onto the terrarium. Done. And now, to meet the colony, our new Titans. Inside this green paper-wrapped container
lies what I was told, was an epic Asian Marauder ant supercolony with thousands of workers
and four queens. Yes, four royal egg-laying queens! I was surprised by this because I had no idea
this species was polygynous, meaning they tolerated more than one queen per nest. This was great and I couldn't wait to meet
them! Now here was my plan on how to move this supercolony
into Olympus. I was going to need the help of a long tube
to allow the ants to move in on their own. The next step was, I needed to remove the
paper covering. Exposing the colony to light will make the
colony uneasy and elicit the urge to relocate out of their current container. All I needed to do now was connect these two
tubes to allow the emmigration into Olympus to take place. AC Family, are you ready? 1 - 2 - 3. I pulled out the cotton blocker and inserted
the portal tube, but I quickly realized the portal tube was not snugly fitting into the
larger tube. There was a space through which the ants could
escape, so I taped it up. And finally the last step, was I needed to
fix a bright LED light at the opposite end of the container to get the ants to emmigrate
towards the portal tube. This LED light produces very little heat,
so I wasn't too worried the colony was going to cook in their container, but the light
alone would be enough to do the job. You see ants are naturally photophobic when
nesting, and will do anything to find darkness. In fact, I could already see the ants getting
'antsy'. But despite the sudden hi-jinx, it seemed
there were no ants interested on leaving yet through the portal tube. Hmmm... Moments later, some ants came close, but never
dared to venture off onto the foreign surface of the portal tube. And soon, to my surprise, the ants were beginning
to bring dirt out into the tube as if to build a barrier and seal it off. How odd! But then, after the timer shut off the lights
of all the ant setups of the Ant Room, it was then that the Titans decided to initiate
their exodus. Of course! The Ant Room needed to be dark. I should have known. Gradually, the ants began to wander out into
the portal tube, including a major. If you're new to these ants, that's nothing! Wait until you see the epic supermajors and
the minor workers riding them like mounts! I knew it wouldn't be long before these inquiring
ants would head back to their colony to spill the tea, that there is a much cooler place,
figuratively and literally speaking, just beyond the borders of their container. But another strange move on the ants' part. They began to bring chunks of soil into the
portal tube. Hmmm... Why? This energetic one was determined to bring
soil deep into the portal tube. Why? What were these ants up to? Finally, after 3 hours of moving soil into
the portal tube, creating some interesting soil piles, the ants finally began to venture
out of the portal tube and setting claws onto Olympus. This was the first ant to discover their future
kingdom. Look at how excited it is as soon as it realizes
what it's found. She explores the area before heading back
to the colony to inform them of the new promised land. This began the chain reaction of more and
more curious wandering ants to exit the tube and explore Olympus for themselves. More and more ants were traveling through
the portal tube now, still laying out these peculiar piles of soil. I began to notice that there was suddenly
an established trail of ants exiting the portal tube. I tried to see where the ants entering Olympus
were going, and it seemed the ants were excited about some dark space behind the driftwood. How cool! This meant that the Titans had found a suitable
place to setup shop and nest, and AC Family, this is where things get real interesting! But being the bonehead that I am, I fell asleep. It had been a long day, and I just couldn't
keep my eyes open any longer. I woke up in a panic at 6 AM. Oh no! I was so worried I had missed the entire move,
even missing the chance to see the supercolony's four royal queens! Peeking into Olympus, I saw that the ants
were in full out brood transport mode! They were moving in the young, which meant
the emmigration into Olympus was official and full steam ahead! Watching the ants moving in all that brood
was just magical! So awesome! Behind the driftwood, ants were busy constructing
barricades to help usher and protect the highway of ants marching in to their new home base. Check out that highway, AC Family! These ants are all so in sync and committed
to the move. I guess these ants here are starting early
with nest construction. They after all, have a very important task. They need to ensure there is a suitable fortified
subterranean space, large enough to house a supercolony of thousands of ants and their
four huge queens, not to mention, in a short time period before the arrival of the royals! Speaking of which, here comes a supermajor
now! This one is one of the smaller supermajors,
but trust me, they get bigger! Let's look out for the big ones, the ones
the minor ants love to ride! The supermajor made its way up the highway
and into the nest. It did seem like there was a lot of brood
for the colony to transport. After all, with four queens each constantly
laying eggs, it meant the ants were caring for a lot of young, and... oh! AC Family, what I saw next left me utterly
speechless. No, it wasn't that supermajor. And nope it wasn't that supermajor, either,
but cool to see minors riding it... but these supermajors were mere security guards, because
emerging into Olympus air space, I watched wide-eyed as the clump made a grand entrance! AC Family, as if hearing angels singing, I
was spellbound as one of the colony's queens made her way down the tube towards Olympus. Wow! The hairs on my arms stood on end! She was just huge! And look at that amazing royal procession,
workers carrying babies behind her like a long regal veil, as she sort of slid down
the tube. What a sight and opportunity to witness! The supermajors who moved ahead of her, and
all surrounding ants, clumped up together, so that their queen could slowly and safely
descend down the steep smooth slope of the tube, and onto the driftwood, as they escorted
her down. Following behind her another royal guard supermajor
ensuring her safety. Isn't this crazy, AC Family? It was like watching a president proceeding
down a parade! Haha! I was unsure if the queen was even using her
legs, as it did seem her workers clumping around her were the ones moving her. Wow! This was definitely their monarch and empress,
whose precious royal legs they didn't even want to be used. But then another commotion caught my eye. OMG! AC Family, another clump! A second queen was making her way down the
portal tube into Olympus! Awesome! I was happy we at least got to see two queens
moving in. This second queen was moved along the highway
into the darkened retreat of their nest! But now I wondered could we possibly be so
lucky, to have not missed the other two queens from moving in? Yup! I shouted for joy as a third queen, catered
to by a major made her way down the tube. And here she comes, making her way down As
they approached this steep part, I would always brace myself because I felt like the queens
might lose their grip and fall. It didn't seem like the queens were the climbing
type and I began to regret fixing the tube so steeply. But this third queen was nimble and had a
great clump of ants ensuring her safe transport. It did seem like the supermajors were having
troubles managing the angle, as well. But, AC Family, I began to wonder if perhaps
the fourth and final queen was still left to move in. And AC Family, emerging from the container,
I saw the huge silhouette of our fourth queen making her way through the tube. Yes! AC Family, it seems I woke up right on time
to catch all four queens moving in! Talk about perfect timing! The queen entered Olympus and made her way
down the steep slippery slope of the portal tube. The queen emerged from the tube, and what
happened next was totally unexpected and made my heart jump into my throat. The queen suddenly lost her footing and plunged
down the mountain. No! Where was her Royal Guard when she needed
her? There she was lagging behind and looking for
her. I looked down for the queen and spotted her. She was unmoving, and had fallen from quite
the height! I hoped she was OK. But how was she ever going to make it up this
huge climb to rejoin the colony? She needed to at least make it to this rock,
under which the colony was nested. And then, the queen began to move. OMG! She was actually going to attempt to make
the climb! Workers clumped around her and even helped
pull her up the great driftwood surface. She climbed steadily upwards, and the whole
time I worried she would slip again, but gladly, she made it safely up the wood, and surprisingly,
took an interesting turn through this space, which happened to be the shortest pathway
to the nest! Wow! The ants had calculated the quickest route
and guided her to the nest! Thank goodness! And AC Family, that was it. I resolved to allow the rest of the colony
to move in and transport their remaining brood into Olympus. I watched in amazement at all the awesome
brood they were transporting! I caught the ants carrying some really huge
larvae, perhaps young supermajors? They delicately carried these larger larvae
down the driftwood and into the nest. I even caught the ants carrying queen alate
pupae! Wow! The colony was producing reproductives already? Man, that's insane! And look at how huge that queen pupa is! It took several ants to safely transport this
virgin queen-to-be down the tube. I even caught them transporting a newly eclosed
queen alate, freshly emerged from her pupa! She couldn't even walk yet, but her sisters
were more than helpful at transporting her into the new home. If that's not ant love I don't know what is! I assumed this hardening queen alate will
feel much better in the moist soils of Olympus. There were more supermajors that again seemed
to have trouble with the slope, but thanks to some helpful minors, were able to make
it down safely. I never ended up finding out what the piles
of soil were for, but my guess was that the ants were trying to block off the pathway
and help keep the route to Olympus comfortably humidified, just as the colony likes it. These ants hate dryness. But AC Family, are you ready for the shocker
I was talking about at the beginning of the video? Suddenly, I was caught off guard, when I saw
this. A fifth queen was making her way down the
tube heading for Olympus. How on Earth? This super colony had five queens?! No way! My friend who gave me this colony must not
have realized he had actually collected five queens! Wow! This fifth queen majestically marched into
Olympus with her entourage and descended down the tube. When she emerged, I braced myself. Was she going to fall? No, thank goodness! AC Family, that's not all. Are you ready for the next shocker? A dark mass caught my eye making its way to
Olympus. There was no way! Get outta here! I couldn't believe my eyes. A sixth queen was fully entering Olympus! She emerged from the tube, and don't fall! Don't fall! The workers clumping around her carried and
guided her down side ways to safety. Haha! Anything to make it down safely, I guess. And that was it! Believe me AC Family, I waited for more surprise
queens but saw that the ants eventually were transporting out bits of garbage and food
left behind. I did however manage to finally catch a huge
and true supermajor! Was there really only one in the colony? This Titan made its way down the tube with
minors riding her like a loyal steed. Over the next four hours, the colony completed
their move into Olympus. When they were done, I removed the tube and
checked up on how the new Titans were settling in. To my surprise, the ants had already begun
to form impressive trails all around Olympus. With vigor and excitement they traveled up
and down the mountain to and from the place they were nesting all the way to the top,
where I was surprised to see that the ants had already covered the entire space where
the highway used to be. I looked around for some kind of nest opening,
and low and behold, there was the highway. Wow! They had actually built an entire dome over
this highway to obscure the nest entrance! All of this in just four hours! And now AC Family, it was time for AC Family
tradition and offer our house-warming gift, a hard boiled egg, which according to my friend,
these ants love. I felt it also was a great symbol of new life,
a new beginning for the Titans, in the new ant kingdom of Olympus, their lush territory
with plenty of space to dig and create tunnels for their growing colony. But provision of soil and digging space wasn't
the only important provision for life in Olympus. To avoid the same crises of the past, I made
sure to fill the top holes with lots of filter wool, to keep any invading wild ants from
entering the land of the Titans. And speaking of which, AC Family, there was
one final thing I needed to do. As a memorial monument to commemorate the
great and fallen colony we lost in the past, which helped us learn how to better care for
this new colony of Asian Marauder ants, I hung this pendant, within which lay a preserved
Marauder ant supermajor. Something that was given to me as a gift many
years ago, which started my entire fascination for this species, and caused me to dream of
keeping them one day. It would forever remind me that death is never
in vain and that sometimes it takes a few tries to get a thing right. This pendant was also actually glow in the
dark! And as the new Titans began to work their
way into their new giant egg, carrying little tiny bits of it, piece by piece, back to their
nest to nourish the colony, my ant-loving heart was so full. I had decided that Olympus was going down
in Antiverse history, as one of my favourite ant colonies of all time! AC Family, what do you think of this six queen,
polymorphic supercolony? Isn't this the coolest ant kingdom and colony
ever?! Alright, I will always love my O.G. ant colonies
and emerging ones, as well, but this colony is just so epic I can't even begin to explain! Let me know what you think of the new Titans? I look forward to updating you all on their
progress over time. Let's hope they succeed, AC Family! So be sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button and
BELL icon now, so you don't miss out on this continuing ant story, and hit the LIKE button
every single time, including now! And 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 just like to watch some extended play footage of the ants moving
into Olympus! It's pretty amazing and super satisfying to
watch! Hello six queens! And before we proceed to the AC Question of
the Week, I'd like to plug my daily vlogging channel, daily vlogs which often include a
lot of nature stuff so do check it out! If you love birds, I'd love for you to meet
my new cute baby! And now it's time for the AC Question of the
Week! Last week we asked: Name one neat fact you learned
about mealybugs in this video. Congratulations to E. who correctly answered: Ants drink the mealybugs bi-product: honeydew. Congratulations, E. You just won a free e-book
handbook from our shop! In this week's AC Question of the Week, we
ask: Name one precaution taken
during Olympus' construction, aimed at avoiding mistakes
from the past Titan colony? 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!
i was subbed to this channel for about 2 weeks. his style really wears you out.
This is one of the best channels on YouTube hands down.
I love and hate this channel.... The footage is great, information is interesting etc., but man I get effing dizzy from the constant cutting and the dude talking like advertiser at every turn. If this was JUST ants and some educating facts then it would be the perfect channel, but the "spinning" of each episode into some kind of drama is lame.
Very very interesting content but I can't fucking stand the way this dude talks.
A year ago I built a farm out of a sliding glass door I turned on its side. Built a glass terrarium across the top for feeding and exploring. But I have found it tough to find me a colony. None of the new queens have ever started a brood. I'm in a holding pattern.
His narration made it fun. I wish I could get that excited about anything
This is without a doubt the most excited YouTuber I'm aware of. Came across this channel a minute ago and instantly subscribed. It's endearing when people are friggin giddy over their thing.
thanks for posting this ac family.
That was amazing, I can't believe I just watched the whole thing!
This is the closest you can get to feeling like Discovery/NatGeo Channel. He uses the same words, annotation, same cuts and even same sound effects during the cuts.
It's interesting but as hard to watch as those channels are.