This is my new starting colony of carpenter
ants and they don’t know it yet, but I’m about to give them an awesome new place to
live, and you guys will love how they reacted to it. Welcome to the AntsCanada Ant Channel. Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel and hit the
BELL ICON! Welcome to the AC Family! Enjoy! The ants within this test tube are up for
quite a treat, and I think you will love how our ants react to the special new home I’m
giving them. Watching ants move into a new home is truly
one of the most gratifying things in the ant keeping hobby, and by the end of this video,
you’ll see why. But one of the things I managed to catch on
my 4K camera was a shocker I completely didn’t expect. I’ll be needing your help, so stay tuned
for all of that coming up. Now before we go ahead and give our growing
ant colony their new home, let’s have a look at the progress of our ant colony since
we last saw them a week ago. This here is the colony’s founding test
tube, in which the colony has been living since the moment they were born just a few
months ago. The colony has about 30 or so workers now,
all huddled into this founding test tube, and the only member of the colony who has
ever known the outside world is the queen. Can you spot her? It can be tricky. There she is. See the wing scars of her back? Though some of the major workers are quite
large and look similar, only the queen bears these wing scars left behind from when she
mated during her nuptial flight a few months ago and broke off her wings before being placed
into this test tube to birth this starting colony. Her Royal Highness has been gracious enough
to come out and allow herself to be seen by us. Isn’t she gorgeous? She still needs a name so please leave your
name suggestions in the comments. Let’s make her name a great one! I just love her caramel-cherry colour, and
check out the detail of her compound eye! One thing I noticed about her that makes her
unique, is that she seems to have lost half an antenna, perhaps from a past fight or injury
during nuptial flight? Not sure, but I’m happy it’s not negatively
impacting her too much from fulfilling her very important role in the colony, which you’re
about to see here. In the clearing of ants, what we see now is
her latest batch of eggs. What a miracle, right? These eggs were laid just over the past two
or three days and some have even already hatched into larvae. Amazing to think that in just a few weeks,
each of these eggs will be an adult ant. Now, AC Family, this might surprise you. Huddling nearby, is this black wasp-like member
of the colony. If you’re new to ants, guys, this is a male
ant, and no, it’s not the queen’s husband who fathered this colony. Daddy ant died many months ago after mating
with our queen, also why there are technically no “kings” in the ant world. This handsome devil is actually the queen’s
first born son. He’s just waiting around to breed during
this year’s nuptial flight later in the year. As time goes on, our queen will produce more
and more male ants, like him, as well as a fleet of virgin queen ants with wings, who
will all be leaving the nest together on nuptial flight day to breed, and start the ant life
cycle all over again. But as cute and promising as this ant colony
of ours is, there are a few problems. Look here. As you can see, the cotton of their test tube
is molding. Though the ants have tried to keep as clean
and sterile as possible, the cotton eventually does mold. The ants create garbage sites, which end up
further feeding the mold, and on top of that, the first born ants have already begun to
die off. There’s a dead ant there, and here. The ants have placed them together to create
a graveyard corner, and this has also led to more mold in their test tube. Now check this out, AC Family! This will become important later on. If you look into the mold mass, you will see
that there are tiny creatures living in it. These are mites and they’re eating up decaying
matter and mold, which is a great thing! These mites are like the ants’ biological
janitors, but even the mites can only clean up so much. I knew our carpenter ants needed a new home
at this stage of their evolution, and I had the perfect plan! It’s time we give our ants their brand new
home. AC Family, behold this highly useful contraption! This here is called an AC Test Tube Portal
from antscanada.com. For me this is an absolute must-have for ant
keeping of starting colonies, because it serves two very important functions, which you will
see in a moment. It has four openings, two on both sides, and
comes with a perforated lid for ventilation, with a very handy feeding chute, also with
its own lid so you don’t always have to lift the entire lid off. For this move, I’ll also be needing two
AC Test Tube Adapters also from antscanada.com. This one with a more constricted end, and
this one with an open end, both of which fit right into the Test Tube Portal like so. For the other two holes, I’ll be plugging
them up with AC Plugs which are also perforated for ventilation. And finally, it’s time to show you their
brand new epic home! Another test tube. OK, not the hugest change, but it’s definitely
an upgrade! This is an AC Test Tube, specially designed
for ant keeping, as it’s super spacious and has these special teeth that keep it from
rolling around on a table and unnecessarily disturbing the colony. This is a cleaned, reused AC Test Tube that
I used for our Phoenix Empire from back in the day, so it’s a special test tube for
me that I hope our carpenter ants will love, as well. I’ll need to create a fresh, new test tube
setup for them so I filled the test tube up to this guideline, popped in a cotton ball,
and done! The ants’ new home was ready. Now, in any ordinary circumstance I would
connect this new test tube to the test tube adapter with the wider opening, but in this
case, because we’re trying to encourage the ants to leave their old home and into
this new test tube, I’m going to connect it to the test tube adapter with the smaller
opening because ants like their nests enclosed with less air movement, so with the new test
tube having a smaller opening, and their current moldy test tube having the larger airy opening,
we increase the likelihood of the ants wanting to move out and into their new test tube. And now, AC Family, we’ve come to the moment
of truth! Let’s attach the ant colony’s dirty test
tube to this test tube adapter, leading to their new AC Test Tube Portal and clean test
tube setup. Now remember, the test tube they’re currently
in is the only space the ants have ever known, so this will be the colony’s first taste
of the outside world and freedom. Are you ready? Wish me luck. Here we go! Removing the first cotton blocker… And now for the big challenge. It seems there are ants and a cocoon attached
to the remaining cotton, so I slowly and carefully pulled the cotton out but for this last bit,
I had no choice but to pinch off a bit of it with the cocoon attached. And done! I wasn’t worried about this cocoon, though
as one of the ants would surely come pick it up. But let’s watch the ants explore. Immediately the ants emerged from the opening
and into the big space of our Test Tube portal with curiosity and awe. The ants wandered around and headed back into
the nest to tell the others. They stopped to frequently clean their antennae
which ants do to improve their sense of smell, especially in new spaces, kind of like picking
your nose to smell things better. Back at the nest, news of the new outside
world was beginning to cause a bit of a buzz at the colony. The queen however was instinctively staying
put for now but was made aware that some of her workers had left the nest for the very
first time of their lives, but the entire colony as a whole wasn’t completely convinced
the news of the outside world was worth getting excited about just yet. As expected a worker came to bring the lone
cocoon back into the nest. And then it happened, a curious ant found
the small opening to our newly prepared test tube setup, and it instantly went back to
inform the others. Just when I thought the move was about to
become official, strangely, five minutes later, it seemed the hype of new territory had died
down. In fact, the colony had moved deeper into
their moldy test tube. Now AC Family, here’s where I’ll show
you the second useful function of this AC Test Tube Portal: a place for food! How about a tasty morsel to lure out our ants? I bet they’d love this freshly cut up superworm,
which they’ve never had before! I placed it into the Test Tube Portal. A worker smelled the superworm and emerged
but didn’t seem to notice it. A few came out to check out the funky smell,
but the ants didn’t seem interested in it. OK, so it seems the superworm was a bit of
a flop plan at luring out the ants. The colony was determined to stay put, and
the queen was certainly not going anywhere! I decided to leave the colony alone for the
night, and head to bed as it was late, and hopefully we would find the ants all moved
into the new test tube by early morning. I set my alarm for 4AM, and came back to check
up on the colony. The ants were awake. It seems these carpenter ants are crepuscular,
i.e. mostly active at dusk and dawn, and I caught one ant taking a quick taste of our
superworm, but again, not too fond of it. I get it, too gamey for you girls, right? I watched as a worker carried one of the dead
ants into the test tube portal and placed it right next to our superworm. OK, got the message loud and clear, girls. The ants actually felt our superworm gift
was literal trash! I took out the superworm… and the dead ant,
and wiped up the mess. In its place, I tried putting in another option. No ant can resist a good old roach head! Let’s see how the ants like the taste of
that! But one of greatest things, I noticed at this
point, was the ants were now finally checking out the new test tube and seemed to be very
excited about it. A few hours later, right as the sun was rising,
the ants were out and about! They were now feasting on the roach head (sweet!),
and best of all, I saw that the ants were carrying batches of eggs into the new test
tube! Yay! The ants were officially moving now! I even was lucky enough to catch the queen
moving to the new test tube. The old test tube was still full of ants and
brood, but this was about to change, especially now that the queen moved. Please excuse the tape, guys, as the test
tube was a tad larger than our AC Test Tubes, so it wasn’t exactly a perfect fit, and
I was afraid it would would pop off in the middle of the night. I watched excitedly as the ants shipped the
brood batch by batch out of the old test tube and into the new home. Here’s where it all gets so satisfying to
watch, guys, so sit back and enjoy the process. All remaining brood were gently picked up
and shipped out to their new pad by the workers. There wouldn’t be a single baby left behind. The final cocoon was brought to the new nest
location. This process of a colony moving to a new home
by the way is called emigration. So at this point, though most of the colony
had already emigrated to the new home, there were a few stubborn ants who weren’t so
thrilled about moving. This major replete here, who clearly had volunteered
to be the living storage of all that consumed roach meat from outside, was suffering from
‘food coma’ and understandably didn’t wanna move right now. Though fellow sisters attempted to urge the
replete to get up and move to the new nest, this replete was adamant about staying. And here’s where things get quite hilarious! Check this out guys! The ants tug at the stubborn major replete,
to get it moving. Alright! She attempts to move forward. She emerges from the nest, but instead of
heading to the new test tube, she makes a wrong turn and kind of gets lost, hangs out
with this gang for a bit, then decides, you know what? I’m going to sneak back in and hope nobody
notices! What a sneaky one! Oop! A quick scolding from a sibling, but ah back
into the shadows of the only home she’s ever known. I mean, I don’t blame her. Nothing beats familiar surroundings. But just as she was about to get comfy again,
along came another ant and took her by the mandible! “You are coming with me, young lady!” “Ow, ow, ow!” She cried. “Ok, I’m coming!” And the strict ant made sure to leave a clear
pheromonal trail this time, so the replete could follow and not lose her way! What a hilarious ant scene! The lazy male, too, was dragged out of the
old test tube to join the rest of the fam bam, until the only ant left was this sleeping
ant, who probably had no idea the colony had completely evacuated while it was snoozing. It’s about to wake up in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
and realization! Hey, where’d everybody go? 12 hrs later, this is what the carpenter ants’
new living space looked like. Their old test tube was long gone, and all
the ants were nestled in nicely in their new test tube home, clean and mold-free. I think they rather like their new home, wouldn’t
you say? It was great to know, they no longer were
in danger from the mold, and also had a new place outside the nest to dump all their garbage
and dead for me to clean up, so I could drop their food in, come feeding time in their
Test Tube portal. This colony was well on their way to becoming
a flourishing and awesome carpenter ant colony! I couldn’t wait for them to get into the
thousands as carpenter ants have always been among my top favourite ants to keep as pets. Just a side note: if you would like to keep
a carpenter ant colony of your own, well, I’ve got some good news. You’re in luck, because carpenter ant nuptial
flights start in the US, Canada, and Europe this month and continue all the way until
June and even into July, depending on species and location, so keep your eyes peeled for
a queen ant! Also, be sure to pick up all your ant keeping
gear at antscanada.com. I look forward to keeping ants together with
you guys. Alright, so at the start of the video, I mentioned
that I would be needing your help. It’s time we give this new carpenter ant
colony of ours a name. Your AC Senate and I have chosen from all
of your awesome names suggestions from my last video for this colony, and now I ask
all of you watching to cast your vote! In the comments, I’ve pinned a post, under
which all you need to do to VOTE is simply give a THUMBS UP on the reply post corresponding
with your favourite of the five names. The name with the most number of votes will
be the official name of our carpenter ant colony. Thank you AC Council for your input! I can’t wait to see what name you guys vote
for! Alright, and now for the not so good news,
guys. Also at the start of the video, I mentioned
that I caught something crazy on camera while filming this episode! Have a look at this ant here! Do you notice something peculiar about it? There, under its head! When I saw it, my heart dropped into the pit
of my stomach! Oh no! A mite! A huge one, and one unlike any other I’ve
ever seen before! Oh, no! Let’s not panic, guys! I’m not sure yet if these mites are bad,
as it’s a new type I’ve never come across before. Any acarology experts out there wanna take
a stab at whether or not these mites are a danger to our ants? Are they the adults of the garbage-eating
mites we saw in the colony’s old test tube? Anyway, I’ll be getting to the bottom of
this mite problem by next week’s episode, so if you haven’t yet, follow this on going
saga by SMASHING 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 have a better look at the mites that are on our carpenter
ants. It’s crazy! Go check it out! And guys, did you know that it’s anting
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 is a replete? Congratulations to Spiders Lair 2 who answered: A replete is an ant that acts as a living
food storage, collecting food in its social stomach, and feeding other ants as needed. Congratulations Spiders Lair 2, you just won
a free Ultimate Ant Keeping Handbook from our shop! In this week’s AC Question of the Week we
ask: What happens to a male ant after it mates? Leave your answer in the comments section
and you could also win a free Ultimate Ant Keeping Handbook from our shop! Hope you could 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!
