Last week, we welcomed a new ant colony to the channel, some golden-gastered Polyrhachis
ants who moved in to El Dragon Island, but we were shocked to discover the ants were
gravely infected by a plague of mites.
Together we, the AC family, decided to keep the ants and go ahead with treating them with
lemon therapy.
A bold move for us, but a choice I think we were confident to make because just beside
this infected colony quarantined on El Dragon Island, stands a kingdom of ants who actually
managed to overcome and survive a mite plague in their past, reminding us every day of the
power of perseverance and never giving up.
Today, we visit the majestic Hacienda Del Dorado, and check up on how the Golden Empire,
our yellow crazy ant supercolony has been doing, along with their pet water beast/undertaker
living in their communal pool, and AC Family, you will be shocked to see what our water
beast looks like today!
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Welcome to the AC Family.
Enjoy!
The Hacienda Del Dorado stands tall and mighty at the heart of the Antiverse, towering high
above all other ant kingdoms in the ant room.
Admittedly, it is one of my top favourite ant farms ever created on my ant keeping journey.
The Hacienda Del Dorado is a paludarium, which means it is part terrarium and part aquarium.
Peeking into the terrarium portion, the ants of the Golden Empire are busy going about
their various usual tasks peacefully, constructing nest tunnels, cleaning and upkeeping the territories,
and hunting for food.
I could watch these ants all day, as they construct some of the most impressive ant
hills in the entire Antiverse.
One of the things I love about the Golden Empire is that they're stingless.
They don't have stingers and their formic acid sprays are too weak for me to feel, so
I can work around them without having to worry about pain.
Aside from that, I also love their gorgeous translucent golden colour which sparkles like
droplets of honey in the light.
It makes for a beautiful sight to behold as they move about in orchestra.
Here is their feeding pit, the location I place most of their food.
And speaking of which, AC Family, it's feeding time.
Placing in a roach, and the Golden Empire is happy to accept the day's feast offering.
Take a look at them swarming that roach.
That's some great protein, that will eventually make its way mouth to mouth to all members
of the colony through a process called trophallaxis, and end up nourishing the eight queens, as
well as the colony's larvae who need the valuable protein the most.
If you look carefully, you'll see the Golden Empire's symbiotic co-inhabitants, a colony
of springtails we call the Spring Cleaners, who live mutualistically with the ants.
They feed from the Golden Empire's leftovers and molds that grow from their bathroom areas
and food scraps.
Essentially, they need each other, a perfect example of symbiotic mutualism, a biological
pact of interdependence between members of the Hacienda Del Dorado.
Don't you just love when two organisms become allies?
It's also great the Spring Cleaners are around because I don't need to worry about spot cleaning
so much, except maybe for things like this huge mango pit.
Sorry, ladies.
Just cleaning up!
But perhaps one of my favourite things about the Hacienda Del Dorado is the communal pool,
you guys called the Golden Springs, a planted rock face from which a spring feeds a pool
of water, within which lives the great water beast of the Hacienda Del Dorado.
If you're new to the channel, we moved a crayfish into the Golden Springs to feed on dead ants
drowning in this pool.
This pool in fact was set in place as a form of population control for the Golden Empire,
because imagine having eight egg-laying queens and no predators.
The Golden Empire's population needed some curbing, so this spring pool was perfect as
some ants would fall in and drown, so we released a crayfish into the pool to eat these decaying
ant bodies.
And AC Family, it turns out this crayfish recently shed its skin, which means it had
grown in size, but when you see just how big the crayfish is now, you guys will completely
trip out!
But hmmmm it seems to be rather shy at the moment, hiding somewhere there in the shadows
of its back cave.
Let's add some fish pellets and try to coax the beast from its darkened aquatic den.
Alright, any moment now...
Or not...
Hmmm...
Still shy.
Alright maybe if I turn off the spot lights, it'll be much more at ease to emerge.
Let's try.
OK this water beast is still reluctant to come out.
I know it's in there staring at us from within the shadows.
Alright, while waiting, AC Family, the time has come to finally announce this crayfish's
official name!
In our last video featuring this water beast, we ran a poll on the top name suggestions
by you the AC Family, and the winning name was "Empress Sapphire".
Quite a beautiful name, actually, but it turns out some of you crayfish experts were able
to analyze the footage, and determine that this Empress was actually an Emperor!
It was male!
What a surprise that was!
I had purchased the crayfish as a youngster and the man who sold it to me had told me
that it was a female and that I could mate it with the white male crayfish you saw it
dueling with in that last video.
Well, that was my fault for trusting him, because the two crayfish were both male and
two different species!
I truly apologize for that video, by the way.
Thankfully both crayfish were unharmed in the end, but from now on, this water beast
living in the Golden Springs of the Hacienda Del Dorado shall be called "Emperor Sapphire".
Alright Emperor Sapphire, please come out so the AC Family can marvel at how beautiful,
I mean handsome and dashing you are.
No response.
It was then that I noticed there seemed to be something odd about the rocky spring climb.
It looked a bit stagnant.
I moved aside the vegetation and roots growing around the spring, and yup, just as I suspected.
Water wasn't flowing from it.
There was a bit of water movement so I knew there was still a connection to the filter
below but the tube from it was definitely clogged.
Moving down to inspect the filter, it looked like water was reversing out through some
holes which were supposed to suck in water.
Not good!
I needed to locate the clog and remove it, because currently, without this spring functioning
properly, this water was not being filtered.
Water entering and leaving the filter, failing to cascade down past the plants, moss, and
algae was not being purified, and dirty, poisonous waters are bad news for the Golden Empire
who drink from the Golden Springs and Emperor Sapphire who lives in it.
So, it was time to put on my gloves and assume the role of royal plumber!
I went in to inspect the filter, and unplugging it from the Spring tube, I saw that the water
was still flowing properly from it, which only meant the spring tube was clogged up.
So, I gathered my highly sophisticated tool, a piece of wire...
and I tried my best to stick it into the hole from the top of the spring,
but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to get in through the top.
Golden Empire ants were crawling all over my arms at this point, tickling me, but still
quite the disruption.
My next attempt was to try to stick the wire in through the bottom!
I pushed the wire as far into the tube as I could, and surprisingly it went in pretty
far, and when I felt I had gone far enough, I pulled the wire out and with it came all
the gunk that had clogged the Golden Springs.
Take a look at how much gunk I managed to pull out.
Pretty gross.
And after reconnecting the tube to the filter, voila, the spring was restored.
This was awesome!
Water once again cascaded down and around the rocks and moss, and past the roots of
the plants, biologically purifying in the process.
The waters could once again be clean enough for the Golden Empire to drink, and Emperor
Sapphire to live comfortably in.
And since I was successful as a plumber just now, I might as well take on the title as
Royal Gardener, too.
I rearranged some of the vegetation back into place, and cut back some of the leaves of
the philodendron and bird's nest fern.
Now I bet all this work around the Golden Springs really spooked out Emperor Sapphire.
Let's leave the Hacienda Del Dorado alone for the night, and revisit in the morning.
Man, I just love this kingdom so much.
Lights off...
By morning, the Hacienda Del Dorado is alive with the onset of morning sun.
The Golden Empire relishes their day's cockroach meal in the feeding pit.
Still no sign of Emperor Sapphire emerging for us.
He's quite the recluse isn't he?
We'll see him eventually!
I love how alive the Hacienda Del Dorado is all the time, workers of the Golden Empire
always on the move, constantly changing the shape and look of the Hacienda Del Dorado.
Can you believe these lands once looked like this?
These territories have evolved massively to become the paludarium extravaganza it is today.
If you haven't followed the Hacienda Del Dorado story and the epic history of the Golden Empire,
it's truly one of my favourite story lines on this channel.
Feel free to watch the Golden Empire's entire journey here after watching this video.
It's full of ant wars, creatures coming and going, carnivorous plants, mites, and of course,
ant pets like Emperor Sapphire.
I say Emperor Sapphire is the Golden Empire's pet because I do feel the ants keep their
crustacean co-Del Doradan somewhat contained in the Spring Pool.
Surprisingly, Emperor Sapphire has made no attempts to escape or crawl out of the Golden
Springs ever, although he techincally could at any time.
I do believe Emperor Sapphire genuinely loves the Golden Springs, but I am also confident,
the Golden Empire has made sure to let their Emperor Sapphire pet know that he is not to
leave his aquatic palace.
It looks like over night the waters have improved due to the plumbing fix, and have trickled
down a neat new path along the leaves, creating surface water disturbance, which was excellent
because it increased oxygen in the waters, a great thing for Emperor Sapphire.
Speaking of which, AC Family, no sudden movements.
Emperor Sapphire is in our presence.
Do you see his antennae?
Look at how wide they stretch, from one end all the way to the other!
Isn't that amazing?
Alright, let's try again to coax him out of hiding.
Adding some fish pellets, and oh, here he comes!
AC Family, look at him.
Oh, he didn't come all the way out, and I don't think we could appreciate his size from
what we just saw, but let's hope comes out a bit more later.
It really amazes me observing Emperor Sapphire living within the Golden Springs, as he will
randomly decide to show himself, or body parts.
I know he has great vision and waits for me to leave the Ant Room before emerging to do
his thing, and the few times he did emerge in my presence, my camera was not on or nearby,
or I was too slow to capture his brief appearances.
I even tried different tactics to get him to come out entirely for the camera, like
bribing with lettuce.
It worked, sorta.
Emperor Sapphire is no dummy.
He grabbed the goods and retreated into the darkness of his cave.
I even tried placing in a superworm treat, but that seemingly disappeared when I blinked.
Emperor Sapphire is smart, fast, and elusive.
I actually don't mind this and I want him to know that I respect his need for space
and privacy at all times.
I do feel he trusts me, and so I would never go in and force him out of hiding.
If there's one thing I've learned about all this nature videography, it just takes a little
patience.
While waiting, I was often distracted by the Golden Empire traveling through their various
established trails and pathways around the Golden Springs.
AC Family, have a look.
I loved how proficient these ants were around water.
They had regularly traveled wooden bridges, plant roads, and Great Wall Highways all around
and through the Golden Springs, and despite all this slippery terrain and fast-flowing
water all around, most ants generally did not slip in.
And AC Family, take a look at this!
I also loved watching the ants drink from the Golden Springs.
Because of the Golden Empire's semi-translucency, you could see which ants were carrying water
in their social stomachs to deliver to the rest of the colony underground.
These workers were like living water servants, collecting water from their communal pool
and distributing it throughout the kingdom.
Isn't it amazing how ants are essentially like a real human kingdom?
And AC Family, here we go finally!
Have a look at the face of the kingdom's giant pet water beast.
Emperor Sapphire has finally agreed to come out and say hello!
Look how big he is!
And look at that gorgeous blue colour!
His claws were adorned with ruby-coloured hair and he was emerging to pick at stuff
from the filter.
Isn't he just so adorable?...
I mean, ok manly, and emperor-ish!
Awww...
I think I offended him.
Having the Hacienda Del Dorado and all its inhabitants has truly been an incredible journey.
The Golden Empire, though perhaps not the most popular colony on this channel, perhaps
because they get overshadowed by some of their more aggressive counterparts, has still stood
the test of time.
They've persevered and problem-solved and have learned to establish a great balance
with the inhabitants sharing their territories.
It's a feeling that most ant keepers who've had ant colonies that have survived with them
for many years can attest to, but perhaps can't quite explain.
In ant keeping, I do feel like I grow with my ant colonies that have been with me the
longest.
I wonder if you guys who have been following this channel for awhile feel it, too?
Don't you guys feel the Golden Empire has become family, much like we were accepted
by them into their fold, to walk among them in their territories, to watch and be part
of their every day lives and challenges, and even care for their village pet.
Well, that's how I feel, and don't at all feel like I am their master.
I feel more like they let us in, and I am grateful to have been able to experience the
Hacienda Del Dorado with you guys again today, and hopefully for more Golden days to come.
Long live the Golden Empire and the Hacienda Del Dorado.
It's ant love forever.
Shhh... here he comes...
Oh, Emperor Sapphire...
I am not worthy of your might and strength!
I cowar before your powerful crayfishlyness!
I think I offended him.
Alright, AC Family, did you enjoy today's walk through the Hacienda Del Dorado?
The Golden Empire is truly one of my favourite ant colonies ever and the Hacienda Del Dorado,
simply a joy to watch and care for.
But there is so much more news coming up with my other ant colonies and even non-ants, wink-wink,
so be sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button and BELL ICON so you don't miss out on our weekly
ant videos, which are always full of discovery and ant goodness!
And hit the LIKE button every single time, including now.
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 Golden Empire in the Hacienda Del Dorado.
Before we continue with AC Question of the Week, I would like to plug my new daily vlogging
channel, daily vlogs of my travels around the world, which often includes a lot of nature
stuff.
Please feel free to subscribe when you're there!
And now it's time for the AC Question of the Week!
Last week we asked:
Why do we hope these mites are phoretic mites?
Congratulations to Keri White who correctly answered:
Because phoretic mites do not suck insect blood.
Congratulations Keri, you just won a free ebook handbook from our shop.
In this week's AC Question of the Week, we ask:
Why was unclogging the spring pool in the Golden Springs
an important thing to do?
Leave your answer in the comments section and you could also win a free ebook 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.
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