Now on to a neighbouring ant kingdom, that I've been dying to update you all on.
They've truly been pioneering hardcore, and I feel are well on their way to becoming a
successful ant kingdom.
I have some key updates on our huge, aggressive, and queenless Diacamma ant colony, whom I
call the Bullet Ants of Asia, living quietly in the Shire, and AC Family, I can't wait
to show you how they've been.
Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel, and hit the bell icon!
Welcome to the AC Family.
Enjoy!
The Shire has had a couple months now to develop and blossom into a land of its own, with lush
nerve plants growing in thickened adolescent soils, and arms of solid driftwood twisting
through the kingdom of our young Diacamma ant colony.
The territories might look abandoned and unoccupied right now, but don't be fooled by the stillness
for any moment now, the colony is set to emerge.
It's hunting time!
Surfacing from an opening in the nest moves a mighty ant warrior, to greet the misty morning
air, waving her long antennae!
She smells food.
Fellow ants emerge from a number of openings in the nest to begin foraging the premise
for the day's meal.
AC Family, you will see in this video just how crazy these ants are at stalking and hunting
their prey, but man, what I managed to capture will totally blow your mind!
Stay tuned for the grand arrival of some uninvited but welcomed guests!
If you're new here, and you're wondering what is keeping these aggressive stinging ant warriors
inside the kingdom, a band of fluon which is super slippery for the ants, keeps these
girls inside and my mind at complete ease.
But before we go ahead and feed these ants, which I've since been referring to as the
Bullet Ants of Asia, this warrior Diacamma colony needs an official name.
Please take moment to leave your vote here, for your favourite from my top 5 picks from
name suggestions from you the AC Family.
Thank you AC Council for your input.
So on today's menu: a roach nymph.
I love watching the colony find food and take it back to the nest.
The degree of cooperation is just amazing!
Have a look at them!
Since our last update on this colony, it seems the nest has expanded from its original layout,
now with multiple entrances and exits.
Each exit is inconspicuous, likely for security purposes.
After all, you wouldn't want to advertise for a predator where your nest entrance is.
Speaking of which AC Family, let's peek into nest, shall we?
Alright.
Moving this rock rampart to the side, and wow!
We see ants in there and they're busy eating.
It's hard to tell how many are in the colony now because we can only see into two and a
half chambers.
The colony has decided to completely block out all other rooms from our view by piling
soil against the glass.
No worries.
These ants want their privacy, too.
It also does seem that the colony has extended their nest into the surrounding soil around
this main nesting area.
But because they've cut off most of our access to viewership inside the nest, I actually
have a bit of a problem now, and it's this: I don't know if the gamergate is alive.
If you haven't seen our last video on this colony, and don't know what a gamergate is,
in short, these Diacamma ants are super unique in the ant world because their colonies are
queenless!
Yes, you heard correct.
This colony here is composed of all workers, however, the way they reproduce is by a gamergate.
A gamergate is one dominant worker ant who takes on the important task of egg-laying,
giving birth to new workers.
It's a highly coveted rank in the colony, but this gamergate defends her egg-laying
throne by wrestling with young worker ants that dare to challenge her, and even more
crazy, by physically plucking off special body parts known as gemmae, which keep the
ants of this species fertile and capable of bearing young!
In other words, as soon as adult ants emerge from their cocoons the gamergate is there
along with helpful workers to castrate the new ant so it doesn't become a future gamergate
challenger.
Isn't that totally Game of Thrones-ish and super cut-throat?!
It's all part of the normal Diacamma social system.
So far, I have never personally seen the almighty gamergate, but I know she was in here back
when they first moved into the Shire, because there was a tonne of brood in one of the rooms.
Now, I see no brood at all, so I don't know if the gamergate has passed away and new potential
gamergate candidates are waiting for a male to come along to mate with so the colony can
continue growing, or if the gamergate and her brood pile are still around, but just
hidden away somewhere in one of the many concealed chambers of the nest.
The only thing I can do now is, try to find a male Diacamma alate every now and then,
and release him into the nest, so he can locate any gamergate-to-be if the initial gamergate
died.
We'll just have to see.
I've gotten to know more about these ants over the time they've been under our care.
First, I find these ants love their home damp and humid at all times.
In fact, I find the ants will not emerge from their nest if the territories are too dry.
I've also added more soils to help maintain this desired wet environment.
They also like their nest constantly humidified.
These clumps of moss are awesome because they turn brown when they dry up, so when I do
see them browning out, I simply water them.
They're like natural moisture indicators reminding me when it's time to water the nest.
The nest itself is made of a highly absorbent brick material called ytong, used for building
human homes, but commonly used as nests by some ant keepers.
These ants are actually quite meticulous with their home.
I always see workers going over all areas of the nest making sure all is perfectly maintained.
These ants seem to pride themselves at nest grooming.
Look at how they survey the nest exterior making sure everything is perfectly in place.
And AC Family check this out, they're even picky with the particular clump of dirt used
to set around the nest, and they travel to other areas of the territories to get the
perfect piece!
Careful where you're putting that.
They're even fussy about where they place their dead!
This particular ant here has started searching before sunrise for the best place to lay her
deceased sister.
Several hours later... still searching...
and Still looking...
Still looking!
and looking still...
...finally, it wasn't until afternoon that she decided... here!
In the corner.
But this isn't to say this will be her final decision.
She may change her mind again for the nth time.
You know, I often wonder if ants feel sorrow when their family members die.
After all, ants like humans are extremely social animals and must experience some kind
of bond with one another, even if on a simplistic insect level.
Now placing a superworm inside.
You would expect the colony to pounce on every little bit of meat I place inside, but what
you may find interesting is that even with food, this ants are extremely choosy!
Seems they're not interested in superworm meat today.
Like some humans, they don't like to eat the same thing two days in a row.
They just had a superworm yesterday so, now they kind of gathered around it only to eventually
leave it behind for the springtails.
Fine!
Let's just give it to a colony that isn't so picky.
Golden Empire, enjoy these leftovers, I mean, untouched superworm meat.
Here's something else you might find funny.
Check out this ant that is taking back what it believes to be a prized catch, but what
it doesn't realize is that it is actually a piece of dried up leftover discarded by
one of the colony members a couple days ago.
It proudly drags it up to the nest entrance, but when it goes to check out the best way
to carry it into the nest, another worker comes by, identifies that this was the other
day's discarded leftovers, and fights in a tug of war, in order to bring it back, far
away from the nest.
Haha so funny!
And now AC Family, for the crazy event that happened out of nowhere that left me shook!
For the various social insects, it's Nuptial Flight season here in the Philippines where
I live.
As you saw in recent videos the Fire Nation Nuptial Flights are in full effect every night.
This fire nation alate must have died overnight and this Diacamma worker found her.
Watch as she check out this new alate.
I thought she was taking her into the nest to eat, but later found the alate being carried
away to be dumped somewhere, for the mites and springtails.
Guess the ants don't have a taste for Fire Nation alates today.
But tonight also happens to be a big night for another type of insect, and I was about
to find out that our Diacamma ants love the taste of their flesh.
It just so happens that termites in the Philippines have chosen this very night for their annual
nuptial flight!
Only on a few chosen nights of the year prior to the rainy season, on all 7,641 islands
that make up the Philippines, the notorious termites launch enormous mating flights, with
alates seen in all homes and buildings nationwide flying around the lights.
These are all male and female alates, kings and queens to found the next generation of
termites.
Once or twice a year, I spot them flying around the lights of my home, and the resident wildlife
of my place like cellar spiders have an absolute feast!
The ant kingdoms of the ant room are no exception!
The termite alates cannot resist the allure of the bright lights of the various ant kingdoms
in the ant room, and interestingly enough, they are even attracted to reflections of
lights, which also includes on the surface of water.
The brightest, most lit kingdom of the ant room, the Hacienda Del Dorado was the largest
termite alate magnet, and so tonight our Golden Empire shall feast!
The Selva de Fuego's river reflected enormous amounts of light so numerous alates were doomed
to be food for the Fire Nation.
And, well, of course, our bullet ants of Asia are also set for a feast, but this will be
the very first time they experience such a termite buffet!
I was interested to see all the action unfold!
The termite alates have incidentally already begun to end up in the Shire, and like parachuters
landing on enemy territory and disengaging their landing gear, as soon as the alates
land, they are instant at shedding off their wings which no longer serve them a purpose,
making them dealates on a race for survival.
The landed termite kings and queens are on a mission to find a mate to pair up with for
life, and are exposed to tonnes of predators during this critical search.
These dealates have no idea what dangers they're about to face, and it put me on the edge of
my seat the whole time while filming this.
I watched with bated breath as some of the dealates traveled over the nest and even crossed
the nest openings.
The termites are lucky at the moment, as it is an off period for the ants and they're
not out hunting, but the bad thing is, the termites are giving off pheromones of their
own to help them find each other and pair up, but this biochemical termite version of
tinder, attracts one suspicious worker to the surface.
Something smells fishy, or rather termite-y.
She knows someone's been here and her antennae can smell it!
She instantly dives into the nest to tell the colony.
The termites' fates are now sealed.
An initial round of workers emerge to investigate the claims.
After some snooping, one definitely senses the presence of game, and returns to call
for more help to initiate the hunt.
As more and more dealates and ants appeared on the scene, the intensity level kicked up!
I held my breath during nail-biting moments when the dealates and ants came so close to
each other, barely missing an altercation.
I am sure at this point, the termites could sense they were in danger but the drive to
find a life mate and breed was stronger than any fear they had.
The toxic smell of termite pheromones causes this ant to investigate the premise.
She knows food has just been here and she's out to find it!
Check her out, AC Family, she is totally in stalking mode!
The entire demeanor of these ants change when they are stalking prey.
They appear a bit more on edge, senses heightened, and ready to pounce at any moment!
She smells a termite has been here.
She's absolutely sure of it!
Bang!
Like lightning she caught the running termite dealate unaware, and carried it deep into
the nest to be the start of a great feast!
More ants are out hunting now.
This ant cleans her antennae so that her smell is as accurate as possible.
Like black panthers, the Diacamma ants quietly stalk the termites which they can smell all
around them.
I couldn't believe this!
My heart was pounding!
I continued to watch as workers collected termite wings, phyiscal proof of the dealates'
presence.
They won't eat these wings, but it seems the workers still deem them important enough to
bring back to the nest, perhaps to show the rest of the colony the evidence!
This dealate snuck by quietly unnoticed, and discreetly tried to wander off screen, but
bang!
Seized!
A second prized catch for the feast!
With the termite dealate buffet now officially confirmed, more ants continued to emerge and
patrol the premises.
Perhaps the most intense scene was with this termite.
AC Family, prepare to be on the edge of your seat!
Captured?!
No, it's just wings.
The ants continue on their search for the termite they smell in the vicinity.
I watched as the termite ran and headed straight for the nest hole!
Oh no!
This would be the termite's certain death if it fell in.
It held on for its life clinging at the brink of death on the steep surface!
By some miracle it managed to regain its bearings and footing and continued on its sprint.
Two ants were hot on its tail.
A part of me felt bad for the termite, but another part of me told me not to interfere
and let nature play itself out.
I don't know why this termite alate insisted on running around the nest!
It made no sense!
Ants droned all around it hunting it down!
And suddenly, oh no!
Here comes an ant!
Bang!
Went in for the pounce.
It was dead for sure.
Oh!
Wow!
By some miracle, it had escaped, but it squeezed into the space leading into the nest!
This termite was lucky and unlucky all in a single moment!
The ant paced about shocked that the termite had slipped from its clutches!
I looked into the nest and that smarter little bugger!
It stayed around the chambers that were blocked up with soil.
It was safe for now and carefully made its way out the side of the nest to run off somewhere
else.
Another ant was hot on its tail!
It was then that a movement under some moss caught my eye.
There was something hiding beneath!
Looking closer, I saw what it was.
It was another termite dealate!
And suddenly in that moment, it all made sense!
No wonder this other termite dealate kept running around the ants' nest!
It was trying to find its mate!
I wasn't sure who was a king and who was a queen.
Perhaps the termite in the moss was the queen, and this seeker was the king.
Whatever the case, it was clear that they were trying desperately to find each other
so they could finally pair up and seek shelter together somewhere else to get on with founding
their colony.
You see, unlike ants, who typically have massive mating sessions during nuptial flight after
which the males die leaving the queens to found colonies on their own, in termites,
the male is a king who actually lives on to choose one queen to remain with 'til death
do them part, no other partners, no infidelity, nobody else, just a king and a queen bound
for life to found an entire colony, and the idea of them going to extreme lengths like
this just to find each other moved me inside.
As the ants began inspecting the mosses, and the king termite dealate turned once again
back towards the nest, I suddenly felt my sympathies shift.
It occurred to me how valiant it was of the termites to be risking their lives like this,
just to find one another.
AC Family, it was then that I decided to do something, I usually never do.
I saved them.
In a separate container, I watched as the King and Queen termites united and began to
perform a behaviour known as tandem running.
It was an amazing sight to witness!
This was essentially the officialization of their life bond together forever, their termite
pairing for life, a sacred mating ritual their ancestors have performed for millions of years
before them.
AC Family, from here on in these two would be inseparably bonded.
Inside, I felt happy I did this.
I peeked into the ant nest.
I saw the colony feasting on the termite alates they had managed to capture.
It was good that the ants were receiving this great nourishment to last them the next couple
of days.
But this entire scene completely opened my eyes as to how some animals truly risk it
all for the sake of love, mating, life pairing, whatever you want to call it, for that single
opportunity to found a new generation of young, putting their very lives on the line for the
continuation of their species.
I find it amazing to the think that nature has installed such a drive into termites.
It was something rather moving, actually.
What's also quite beautiful is that it's well known to science that termites are among the
most monogamous animals in the world.
This means, that termite alate kings and queens expose themselves to dangers, during that
intense dash after nuptial flight, to find their one life partner to remain with forever
to build a massive kingdom, both literally and figuratively, from the ground up.
It was on this day that I realized, even the insect world can prove humans' long standing
proverb, that true love is worth dying for.
And speaking of which...
wait for it... wait for it... and still looking.
Alright AC Family, what do you think?
Should I keep this termite breeding pair?
Oh man!
Termites are ants' ultimate arch enemies, but perhaps they can offer an extra food source
for our ants?
Or would that be cruel?
Whatever the case, as I figure out the ethics, let me know what you guys think I should do
with these officially married termites, and be sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button and bell
icon now so you don't miss out on this huge ongoing epic story, and hit the LIKE button
every single time, including now.
Also, if you're new to the channel and want to catch up on all your AntsCanada Lore, I've
put together a complete story line playlist so you can watch how all of the ant colonies
you love on this channel, came to be, all their challenges and hardships, all their
successes and life events, their entire story lines can now be watched from the very start
so you can better appreciate the journey these ants, as well as us watching them, have been
embarking on.
It's incredible how epic the lives of ants are!
Also, just a quick reminder to all those wanting to get into ant keeping, we offer a tonne
of easy-to-use ant keeping gear and pro ant farms at our shop at AntsCanada.com.
We ship worldwide, and offer full email customer support if you need it.
AC Inner Colony, I have left a hidden cookie for you here, if you would just like to watch
extended play footage of the Diacamma ants hunting termites!
You might be surprised what you find!
Before we continue with the AC Question of the Week, I would like to plug my daily vlogging
channel, daily vlogs of my travels around the world which often includes a lot of nature
stuff.
I am actually in Toronto, Canada right now and looking forward to meeting you guys at
Dixie Mall, Mississauga.
That's tomorrow Sunday, May 27th from 2-5 PM, so if you're in Ontario this weekend,
feel free to drop by and chat with me about ants.
I would love to meet you there, AC Family!
And now it's time for the AC Question of the Week.
Last week we asked:
How does the new setup help make the waters in
the Selva de Fuego a better home for its inhabitants?
Congratulations to Dylan Griffin who correctly answered:
The new setup helps the Selva De Fuegans stay healthy because it helps filter the water,
which keeps the fish alive and happy and keeps the ants' drinking water clean.?
Congratulations Dylan you just won a free e-book handbook from our shop.
In this week's AC Question of the Week, we ask:
How are termites and ants different in terms of what happens after a nuptial flight?
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, & SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed this video to help us keep
making more.
It's ant love forever!
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