Searching for the Legendary Blue Ants | FULL MOVIE

[Music] the warm beams of morning sunlight streamed down onto her pretty face and for this female stag beetle life was pretty sweet as she sat perfectly still blissfully catching a tan on this giant tanning bed if she lay still enough perhaps the humans might not see her masterfully camouflaged with the furniture or so she thought hello mrs stag beetle and nice to meet you this morning ma'am don't worry i won't hurt you risking her life to bask in the warming morning sun before heading underground for the day was imperative after another very cold night here in the cloud rainforest of mount banahao in southeast asia this is where my ultimate adventure began deep within this mountain expanse of untouched rainforest millions of years in age the locals believe this ancient mountain rainforest is enchanted a place of supernatural occurrences i figured it was all just folklore talk that was until as you will see later in this video i had one of the strangest experiences in my life that i can't quite explain while staying for two nights in this lush rainforest speaking of which see that big tree below it was our chalet a rustic and gorgeous two-story home we booked through airbnb that was built right smack in the middle of the rainforest at the foot of the ever majestic mount banajao which towered before us like a living breathing behemoth looking down at us through the golden morning haze i came here with my dogs and a few friends but what was supposed to just be a nice getaway out in nature turned out to be one of the most profound and incredible experiences with mother nature i'd never forget guys i've come to learn that this mountain is truly alive cradling an army of the most amazing creatures that make up its living parts in the trees in the flowers in the fungus hunting dying with menacing weaponry stunning colors so out of this world and the unfolding of everyday ant drama that this channel has never before seen but one creature in particular truly captivated me like no other animal has in my entire life look i saw it quietly scurrying by then disappear on my very first day in the rainforest and when it did i literally couldn't breathe no way my favorite ant species of all time were native to this rainforest i had only previously seen them in books and photos on and taxonomy websites and have mentioned them a few times on this channel fantasizing about how i wish i could own a colony of them and though i had heard that they were found in my part of the world i was unprepared to actually see them in real life for the first time one thing's for sure i absolutely needed to find them and capture them on film and hopefully even find a queen or young colony to take home for all of us to actually keep on the channel i was prepared to search every corner of this rainforest every nook and cranny high and low for this rare unicorn of an ant and i only had 48 hours to do it ladies and gentlemen this has to be one of my favorite episodes i've ever created on this channel so sit back grab some popcorn and experience with me in 4k uhd a mind-blowing exploration through the mystical rainforest and this epic story of how i found the legendary blue ants of mount venajao [Music] please subscribe to my channel and hit the bell icon welcome to the ac family enjoy a giant polyrhachis ant pauses in the morning sunshine before entering the grandiose expanse that was this dense rainforest before her and ac family when i say it was a dense rainforest i mean dense rainforest check it out there wasn't a single square inch of space that wasn't populated and bursting with life and the aggregated sounds of the rainforest resounded when quietly standing in place to look around [Music] every surface was exploited by mosses plants critters fungi and other bizarre life forms which you'll definitely see later in this episode but it all seemed like the perfect stomping grounds for the mythical blue ants but ac family before we start on our search for these mythical blue ants i wanted to mention that i have a big surprise for you all waiting at the end of this video which i'm sure will get some of you screaming at your screen i'll also be needing your help making a pretty big decision so be sure to stay tuned for all that i still couldn't get over that sudden blue ant sighting there's a reason these blue ants and more so their blue color are extraordinary you see blue is actually kind of a rare color in the biological world it's particularly difficult for most organisms to produce blue pigment for reasons that scientists still don't understand but even structural blue produced by refracting light i.e metallic blue is fairly rare in nature but mother nature managed to masterfully achieve it in these metallic blue ants of mount banajao making them a total unicorn in this rainforest a unicorn i absolutely needed to find plus i'm part of the alleged 40 of the world whose favorite color is blue how about you guys but there was just one problem i had no idea where to start looking for their nest you see blue ants are members of the genus polyrhachis a diverse genus with over 600 species including the huge black one you just saw earlier and the young colony of polyrhachis golden ants were already keeping on this channel but the challenge was polyrhachis nests are just as diverse as the genus falling under four categories arboreal meaning in the trees in carton and silk nests among leaves and twigs lignicolas meaning nests in the cavities of plants terrestrial meaning nests on the ground under a rock or log or subterranean like most ants we know meaning nests dug out in soil but as for blue ants i truly had no idea what kind of nests they made nor were to start looking for a blue ant nest in this massive rainforest i mean there were just so many different niches everywhere it would be like locating a needle in a haystack and it would have really helped me out if their nests were a bright metallic blue as well but i decided to simply start right where i was and where i had spotted the blue end at this lengthy tiled ledge of the chalet's balcony i noticed that a lot of insects were using it like a highway to get around including various ants i figured if i were a blue ant perhaps living close to such a highway might be advantageous so i checked the columns below the ledge ac family have a look at what i saw it was incredible to see that life was so opportunistic here that it was literally growing in the most difficult of spaces mosses and tiny epiphytic birds nest ferns grew from the tight grooves between the tiles and regardless of how difficult the space i knew that where there are plants there are ants a trail of dollar taurus hands were buzzing by along the middle bar work these girls seemed like they were in such a rush imagine running along this bar with no safety guess you can't be afraid of heights if you're an ant in mount penahau i was curious to see where the ants were traveling to and why they were in such a rush my guess was food but before i was able to follow the ant trail to find out where these ants were rushing to i was suddenly distracted by a low and droning buzz from above it was coming from the trees ac family check it out a massive beam about the size of a golf ball buzzed around the bouquets of ambrosial flowers bursting from the trees foliage collecting sweet nectar from the blossoms i watched it navigate like a masterful drone as it decided which flowers it would try and feed from next it was actually quite entertaining to [Music] watch [Music] it was clear that this was a symbiotic relationship that was millions of years in the making the tree would provide nectar for the bee to feed from while the bee would help pollinate the tree's flowers hence allowing the tree to produce seeds to create more trees it was a beautiful dance between two organisms that i couldn't help but watch in delight speaking of flowers this rainforest had the craziest flowers i'd ever seen check out this stunning heliconia also known as a lobster claw plant due to its shape looking like lobster claws i had only previously seen them in expensive floral arrangements but here they were growing abundantly in the wild but if you think this was gorgeous check out these flowers ac family meet thunbergia mysorensis a vining flower that hung with brightly displaying ketchup bread and banana yellow colors to advertise its sweet nectar to pollinating insects like this wasp again it was a valuable trade-off between two organisms but not an exclusive one the thunder flowers also attracted ants a dollar chatura's sand was licking the sweet nectar then pausing to rest it was another valuable pollinator for this flower but it seems in the business dealings of this rainforest not all contractual terms are the same because lying still and patiently in the thunbergia was another creature with a very different arrangement with this flower a white crab spider lay in ambush awaiting for insects hoping to visit the thunbergia flowers to come close enough to pounce on and eat and it seemed the ants were getting dangerously close to the white specter which i assumed were invisible to the ants ac family check out the crazy thing that happened next i held my breath as an ant came up from behind it stopped to clean itself the spider was just so patient and i figured it was waiting for the most perfect opportunity to pounce the ant began to move around the spider [Music] and then came so close ac family watch this the ant touched the spider from behind the ant crawled on top of the spider the spider still not moving the ant crawled towards the spider's face and continued on its way what in an unexpected turn of events the spider chose not to eat the ant hmm perhaps the spider was waiting for a meteor meal like a butterfly or hoverfly perhaps prey that wouldn't be so dangerous who knows but it did seem the crab spider and the ants had a benevolent business agreement of their own to not bother each other and ultimately share the thunbergie of flowers so i'd search the trees vines and flowers of the area and still no signs of blue ants anywhere it was time for me to check the ground i wandered over to these mossy stairs at the side of our chalet and what i saw there was just incredible and i know you guys will find it pretty crazy too [Music] i thought they were ants but nope there was something else and on a mission of epic proportions termites and they were on some sort of crazy raid all coming from the base of this coconut tree my eyes followed up their trail and suddenly came upon a striking sight a huge swarm of termites busy doing something i looked closer to see what all the termite fuss was about it seemed the termites were preoccupied with a thick carpet of fungus that was covering an unbarked part of the tree [Music] the termites were eating this fungus they seemed to just love the stuff this termite species must belong to the group of termites that feed and farm fungus as a food source i watched as hordes of determined termites carried huge chunks of this fungus down the tree back to their main nest to continue growing underground fungus farms much like leafcutter ants do this site was pretty mind-blowing to me because first off it was a very good reminder that not all termite species are domestic pests that destroy homes these fungus feeding and growing termites being an example in fact i realized that these termites were essential to other trees in this rainforest because if ever a tree were to suffer exterior damage to its bark thereby exposing it to dangerous fungal infections these fungus-collecting termites could help take care of that for the trees thereby giving the trees a better chance to heal again it was yet another clear example of how different organisms in this case tree fungus and termites were interconnected and dependent on each other for survival a biological pact that was surely ancient in provenance within this rainforest but at this time the day was coming to an end and i decided i would wake up early for day two to continue my search for the elusive blue ants but ac family i couldn't have possibly imagined the complete madness that the mount panaja rainforest had in store for me the next day [Music] waking up at the chalet early in the morning was pretty eye-opening i realized just how much i actually didn't even need to try going out looking for wildlife because life was just so condensed in this rainforest the wildlife was literally just spilling out and coming at us from everywhere the mesh door to our chalet acted like a net trapping so many unlucky critters an alien looking cicada a blue and white harvestmen [Music] a bright colored wasp and a yellow beetle a fuzzy peach-colored moth scuttled about trying to get back into the rainforest after successfully entering the chalet in pursuit of the lights that were on the night before and will you believe a huge and beautiful swallowtail butterfly landed randomly to drink from our table centerpiece at breakfast this rainforest was truly something else [Music] but it seemed the morning had also brought with it an abundance of new gift offerings particularly for the ants dead corpses of insects that had died the night before were greeted by the morning sun opening the mesh door i was shocked to see the floor littered with dead and dying termite alates the dolochadaris hands were taking full advantage of the feast so this was what they were eating when termite elates meaning young kings and queens have mating flights for some reason many of these termite kings and queens fail to survive the night and clearly these dolla charteris ants are grateful for such a failure rate but as for the ants it seems success rate as far as feeding goes all depends on how many fellow ants you can rally up to actually help you collect the food a lone yet determined ant struggles to drag this huge dead male marauder ant back home towards the nest i also noticed that two other ants of a different species had died perhaps trying to seize and kill this male ant while it was still alive but now that it was dead with two other dead ants latched onto it this ant knew it had hit the jackpot a three for one alright oh dear it had a long way to go it seemed mornings were the best feeding times for ants as they picked from the plethora of dead insects that had died in the night like this odonto panera ant working on taking this dead bee home but i very quickly discovered that this ant breakfast buffet was a cut throat industry now ac family i don't think i was prepared for the drama i witnessed next [Music] male ants like this die after mating it's just how things work in the ant world and sadly this male was unlucky enough to be discovered at his death bed by a couple of yellow crazy ants as the male ants struggled to die in peace the pair of cackling yellow crazy ants circled eagerly around him attempting to speed up his death process by spraying him with formic acid so they could take him home for food the male ant made a valiant attempt to get up and run away but it was no use nature had sentenced him to death and the formic acid sprays of the yellow crazy ants would soon finish him off but again this total breakfast buffet is a cut throat business for ants where as you're about to see now things could go awry in a split second watch this surrounding equally hungry odonto panera ants could smell both the formic acid sprays of the yellow crazy ants and the dying male ant one pops in from the right the male ant makes a second attempt to break away another adonta panera ant moves in but is shoot away by one of the yellow crazy ants these yellow crazy ants were determined to defend this food prize another adonto panera ant advances in only to be met with yellow crazy ant acid spray but just when i thought these yellow crazy ants had won this match things took a very interesting turn watch this and just a reminder none of this footage is time lapsed these ants are moving at real speeds the yellow crazy ants were at this point confident that this male ant had been conquered and claimed their property and that soon they'd be feasting upon it within their nest but as my mom used to always say never celebrate too early watch this guys out of nowhere an adonta panera ant popped in and joined the mail and while the yellow crazy ants weren't on guard hey give that back the yellow crazy ant exclaimed as their prize was dragged away soon the odonto panera end had successfully dragged the male ant so dangerously close to their nest the yellow crazy ants thought twice about trying to further retrieve it and it abandoned the chase entirely the male ant was dragged into the odento panera nest where it would feed the colony it was for the better as these aldonta panera ants are endemic and yellow crazy ants are invasive in these rainforests what a scene i continued to search for the blue ants and it was still a bit unfortunate to know that they weren't so common where i was at the chalet or maybe there was a specific time of day they emerged it was morning when i first spotted them the day before so if they were going to emerge it would be now around this time as i looked around i continued to pay witness to just how intricate the circulation of nutrients was in this rainforest on the ledge i spotted a massive ants feeding on bird poop it was amazing to think that one organism's waste was like a mcdonald's feast for others the ants delightedly dissected the bird droppings of its various edible constituents and took them back to their nest in the chaos of plants and textures i tried to train my eyes to look for anything blue and moving and sure enough suddenly a pop of blue did appear scuttling through the foliage whoa what was that it made its way onto the ledge ladies and gentlemen like a comical wind-up children's toy a big black and neon blue weevil strutted down the runway with a bravado of a 90s supermodel it stopped and turned to my camera to strike its hottest blue steel pose take a look at this beauty perfect legs amazing exoskeletal structure and the most old couture iridescent cyan and turquoise dotted elytra looking exquisite against the pvc black it seemed the ultimate fashion designer mother nature nailed the bright blue shades on this beetle as well it turned for a profile shot then continued its strut down the catwalk i watched in amazement as this beautiful creature continued down the ledge turned to crawl down the side fell i looked to the ground to see if it survived yep it was fine that is some tough exoskeleton it continued its strut up the beam to model its colors and as it did i was surprised to notice how its seemingly loud colors might actually make a good camouflage against the right backdrop the supermodel beetle then disappeared out of view backstage now one of the things i did discover was that not all the creatures of this rainforest looked as friendly for what appeared on the scene next was truly menacing in demeanor earwig but this was no ordinary dinky little earwig that i grew up with knowing in canada this was some huge tropical jungle species of earwig i didn't dare touch it as those pinchers looked crazy scary i've been pierced before by canadian earwigs as a kid to the point that it drew blood so i definitely didn't want to try my luck with this black beauty as it scoured the ledge for edibles but something on its back drew my attention ac family what do you guys think that fuzzy white stuff is could it be fungus was it harmful could this be the beginning of some zombifying parasitic fungus like cordyceps maybe just some debris that got stuck to the earwig as it passed by i could only speculate whatever it was it was clear that there were truly innumerable secrets that were integral parts of this rainforest left to be discovered including the whereabouts of the blue ants i had been searching for for two days now where could they be when night came and there was still no sign of blue ants on my last night in the rainforest i pretty much accepted the fact that i'd probably never get to see the blue ants again that i had just been lucky the morning i'd spotted it perhaps it was truly a rare and elusive species in this rainforest and that a blue ant sighting was truly like spotting a unicorn my friends and i enjoyed our final night at mount banahao with a few beers at the chalet and after everyone went to bed and i was the only one awake the most inexplicable thing happened to me [Music] sure a voice spoke out to me in the night i was instantly sober what who's talking i called out into the night we are the trees it answered back i was terrified and stood in place wide-eyed i paused to think what on earth to say to the trees of mount banajao i i love you and i love all the amazing creatures and plants that are part of you there was no response but i could somehow feel the trees were listening nocturnal bees were now taking their turn fluffing up the royal blossoms like servants with the imperial gown of an empress but i do wonder i continued this was my chance i'm looking for what i find to be the most gorgeous of your creatures i would like to find your blue ants i listened to the night for the trees to respond suddenly a clap of thunder resounded in the night sky a storm was approaching so i knew i couldn't stay out here all night chatting with trees the trees were no longer responding to me and i found myself just standing there in the freezing cold night looking up at the forest okay seriously i realized i was just being totally crazy now and clearly had too much to drink tonight so i decided to head to bed and figured perhaps i could book this airbnb again sometime in the future to hopefully get lucky enough to find blue ants again i went to bed as the night storm floated over mount banajao [Music] and ac family you won't believe this but the next morning check out what i saw scuttling down the ledge [Music] a blue ant [Music] i actually spotted several of them scuttling around and wow the sight of them took my breath away have a look guys i was truly spellbound by their beauty have you ever seen an ant so blue aren't they just magnificent i don't think i can recall another ant species more beautiful than these in my books these ants were the most beautiful ants in the world one actually stopped to bask in the morning sun allowing me to get a great shot of it what a spectacular creature its exoskeleton was smooth with a few spines the curves and angles on this ant were stunning with a body color and shine so perfect it was like admiring a supremely designed sports car with an awesome paint job ac family i was in disbelief but was hands down utterly grateful we had found the legendary blue ants here in mount banajao it's possible the overnight rains raised morning humidity levels which caused the blue ants to emerge i mean either that or the mystical trees i had spoken with actually granted my wish just in case i thanked the trees out loud that morning for their kindness and help i would never forget this moment ever now ac family as i allowed one to crawl onto my hand and even proceeded to take some stories for instagram i suddenly found myself rethinking my initial intentions for these blue ants at the start of this video i mentioned that i would be needing your help and opinions on something and it's this after all that we've seen in just the two days within this rainforest after being witnesses to how closely dependent and interactive the species of this rainforest star with each other do you think collecting a colony of these ants to keep in captivity was still a good idea i was beginning to think twice if i could locate a nest of these rare blue ants and somehow get them into a container and take them back to my condo i began to question whether or not i'd be able to amply provide them a quality of life that was anything remotely close to the one they get here in the wild i thought about how many specific species habitats environmental conditions and circumstances unique to this forest that it might depend on for survival and it made me wonder if i was capable of simulating that in a captive setting perhaps finding a blue ant queen might be a more ethical and a better opportunity at trying to keep them but ac family i ask you guys now do you think we should still try keeping these blue ants from mount banajao in our antiverse i could always ask the locals to contact me if they ever find a queen or even a nest of them at one point i tried to contain a blue ant to better film it but seeing it in a critter crawler almost didn't feel right anymore seeing them in real life in their element at this very moment was already very gratifying do any of you guys feel the same way i had to think about it some more but i'd love to hear your opinions on the matter so let me know in the comments overall these past 48 hours in the rainforest were truly awe-inspiring and mind-opening i'll never forget the crazy things we saw and of course we'll never forget our rather supernatural interaction with the trees that night i am convinced that ancient rainforests like this throughout the world are each living dynamic entities of their own with the sum of their multitudinous organisms giving each forest its own unique characteristics it's sad to think that ancient rainforests like this one here at mount are disappearing at a rate of 6 000 acres or 4 000 football fields every hour to make way for human activities and with these disappearing rainforests also disappear they're armies of amazing creatures that make up their living parts in the trees in the flowers in the fungus hunting dying with menacing weaponry stunning colors so out of this world as well as their unicorns unseen and undiscovered thankfully these rainforests here in mount banaja are protected and our airbnb was actually located in a nature reserve which made me happy because it meant i could continually come here and spot the legendary blue ants for years to come i left mampanajo with a newfound respect and reverence for these natural beings of life we call rainforests i also left with a small container of these so after thinking about it for a while i figured why not rise to the challenge and try keeping the very neat creatures that now lay within this container these were creatures that indeed appeared somewhere in this episode and ac family i truly couldn't wait to welcome another new colony to the channel [Music] ac family did you enjoy today's extra long episode man was it hard to film and create but so gratifying and fulfilling and an honor to share with you all let me know if you think we should go ahead and try to keep some blue ants and i'd love to hear your guesses as to what new colony we are welcoming to the channel you won't want to miss the grand reveal of our newest members of the antiverse in next week's episode so be sure to smash 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 ac inner colony i have left a hidden cookie for you here if you would like to watch extended play footage of the blue ants in this week's episode go check them out and guys did you know that it's anti-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 what substance do plant insects bribe ants with in exchange for protection congratulations to jojo chase fleming who answered honeydew congratulations jojo you just won a free ultimate ant keeping handbook from our shop in this week's ac question of the week we ask which was your favorite creature shown in this video leave your answer in the comment section and you could also win a free ultimate ant keeping handbook from our shop hope you can subscribe to the channel as we upload every saturday at 8 a.m eastern standard time please remember to like comment share and subscribe if you enjoyed this video to help us keep making more it's ant love forever you

Channel: AntsCanada

Views: 1,000,368

Keywords: ants, pets, terrarium, ant farm, antfarm, antscanada, animals, insects, exotic pets, myrmecology, 2021, science, education, nature documentary, ecosystems, blue ants, philippines, rainforest, mountain, termites, spider, beetle, bees, trees, conservation

Id: YbtMaLn1Dkk

Length: 34min 52sec (2092 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 03 2021