My Weaver Ant Colony Went Missing But Then Look At What I Found
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- My Weaver Ant Colony went missing but then something crazy happened. What do you guys think we should do? Ant love forever! This video was shot in 4K Ultra HD resolution.
Subscribe to My New Aviary Channel: / @thegianthomeaviary6162
Join the Great AC SENATE to get access to new perks/voting powers on this channel:
/ @antscanada
Click here to SUBSCRIBE: goo.gl/tlCQJZ
Directed/Written/DOP/Edited by AntsCanada
Executive Producer RJ Garcia
Special thanks to nature photographer and biologist Alex Wild for allowing his photos to be used in our videos. Check out his amazing nature photography and order some prints: www.alexanderwi...
If you're new to the channel, catch up on your "AntsCanada Lore" with this playlist of the complete history of the ants of this channel: goo.gl/hVFxc2
Visit us at www.antscanada.com
A brand new video is uploaded on this channel every Saturday at 8AM EST (with frequent bonus videos) so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the channel to catch every ant video we release! Thank you for the support.
Get our new AC Hybrid Nest 2.0 ant farm or
'All You Need' Hybrid 2.0 Gear Pack (complete kit): www.antscanada...
▶▶▶We've got new Ant T-shirts! Check them out here: goo.gl/PjnB7t
▶▶▶Got a question about ants or AntsCanada? Visit our website FAQ: goo.gl/mJPEqn
▶▶▶Want an ant farm? Check out our ant shop. We ship worldwide: goo.gl/I4l7Ho
▶▶▶Need to buy an ant colony for your ant farm, or do you have ant colonies to sell/give away? Find out more about our GAN Project: goo.gl/jzo9Lc
Join us at the new AntsCanada Ant Forum: forum.antscanad...
▶AntsCanada Official Website www.antscanada.com
▶Like us on / antscanada
▶Follow us on / antscanada
▶Follow us on / antscanada
Email us at info@antscanada.com for any questions or inquiries.
About AntsCanada.com: We believe ants are the most amazing creatures on the planet, and every new discovery about their micro world gives us some profound insights into the world around us and ourselves. Bringing the ant farm and love of ant keeping to a whole new level, we are dedicated to show the world the joys of keeping big and healthy pet ant colonies. Shipping worldwide since 2009, we are innovators of ant keeping products for ant lovers and museums alike.
Theres a suggestion : Move the weaver ants into another container, and wait until the Jade Empire show up or not, make sure to put food in the Jade Empire's terrarium to feed them if they are alive. Keep the young colony in case the Jade Empire doesn't show up.If the Jade Empire shows up, then release the young colony into Antopia to help the ecosystem. Make sure to monitor the food to see any signs of ants or put a jelly cup and wait to see after 12 hours if it was eaten.
Good idea! Either way it'll work!
Yea Good idea
I was thinking the same
Got the same idea +1
K
K
P
P
P
P
P
P
Mikey, you are NOT a failure. You are one of the best antkeepers out there in fact. Just look at the Blades of Midas, the Golden Empire, Fire Nation, Phoenix Empire, Titans, and so many more. When you fall, you can only get back up and keep going. You have grown so much over the years and the AC Family will always be there along the way. #AntLoveForever
Well said!
So true K
@@vz7008 #AntLoveForever !!!😀
Sorry to break the party, but he's probably one of the worst ant keepers.
@Roblox gamer Okay "Roblox Gamer". I understand where you're coming from, but he is a bad keeper. First, he exaggerates A TON. The colony isn't "hundreds of thousands of workers", its maybe 1-2 thousand at best. Also, his experiment with the Camponotus colonies and having them go to war was totally for the views. He literally said not to mix them because they would fight in a previous video, then he creates an ant war for the views. His caretaker most likely forgot to close the gate to the terrarium, and they probably escaped lmao. Not died.
I own a coup of chickens, once 4 of them went missing for nearly a month, I thought they had been taken by foxes in the night but one day all 4 of them reappeared, with 12 chick's accompanying them. It was the most surprising (and adorable) thing I had ever seen, we live in an area with a lot of foxes so it's a miracle that they were able to survive over 21 days on their own.
So perhaps there is a chance that the Jade empire has survived.
I mean the big difference is that your chickens aren’t in a glass enclosure inside a building and don’t need to live in trees to survive. I suppose it’s possible but highly unlikely and if they are they’re not in the enclosure and probably won’t be found.
The same thing happened to my chickens except the one just had like 12 eggs. Although it’s not comparable to ants I’d say a good take away is that no mater how hard you look you may have just missed the spot they are at. I looked everywhere for my chicken but could not find her even tho she was just in a random spot under the house. The same could be said about the ants where he looked everywhere but they could just be hiding in a dark corner or like in the wood or something. So I say give it how ever long it takes to be sure they would have died from starvation if they don’t touch the food. I had to do this for my snail because I didn’t want to get a new one without knowing the one I had was dead
my cat was away for 6 months and after all that time i came home from work and my cat was there with another male cat and 3 kittens i was crying from happiness
But if they did escape, chances are they sadly wont return
@@skateraptor12 considering his care of the ants I’m unsure of how other ants got in and killed the weaver ants and escaped the enclosure. Or how the weaver ants could have escaped
Without a few failures, we would never learn how to perfect something. Perhaps losing the Jade Empire is just one step closer to finding a more solid explanation as to why it is so difficult to raise a weaver ant colony in captivity. Whether you win or lose, you're still learning, and learning is the most important part of the whole process. And it's okay to cry, remember, we are still humans at the end of the day. Let your tears water the seeds of future happiness
Notes from the Micro World ua-cam.com/play/PLbU7PTmc70_ohyfAXtPEZQOTXNafp9V0j.html
It’s not weird to cry over ants, they aren’t “just insects” man, they are your pets, unconventional pets sure, losing 1 ant isn’t a big deal because it’s a super organism, each ant is like a part of the creature, but losing the whole colony is sad, i get it
#AntLoveForever
I agree
because I've been through something like that too
It’s not weird to cry after any pet even if they spent all the time hiding from you
@@amarbaysgalan10b41 #AntLoveForever
Some people cry over losing a plant so no this is not weird 😜
The roughest part of the disappearance is just not knowing what happened. And you need a new caretaker for when you’re out of town lol
I recon that you should put them in a seperate container terrarium (the new weaver ants) and leave the jade empire’s terrarium alone and keep looking out for the ants
^^agreed
8:00 is when the new channel shows up
Oh yeah me too
@@RafGamezXD I agree
I agree, I think the new colony needs a larger vivarium. Plus my fingers are crossed that the others are not gone forever.
Pharaoh ants are no joke. This colony is a young and thriving colony. Keeping them contained instead of countering the pharaoh ants' influence in your farmhouse is a win for the pharaoh ants. Move them to a good tree, and keep in mind that even if you're not keeping them, we'll still see them if you take us outside the house.
both of your comments has the same amount of likes wtf
@@idontbelieveinhandles 97 alt accounts
@@nyxreaper3936 Unite the Comment Bot Clique!
Don't move the new ant colony into the Jade Empire's terrarium. If something inside the terrarium killed them, the same thing may happen to the new ant colony. I also agree that you should put out a jelly cup for the Jade Empire as well, just in case. If nothing else, it may reveal what else is in there...
Notes from the Micro World ua-cam.com/play/PLbU7PTmc70_ohyfAXtPEZQOTXNafp9V0j.html
Its not weird or bizarre mate. The time, effort and love you've put into the weaver ant colony is immeasurable. This was my first colony with you. So glad there was a happy ending!
I really think you should release the new colony. The jade empire is still possibly alive. If not, at least you'll be helping the local population. Also the aviary looks beautiful! Can't wait to see it!
You can see it on his vlog channel, It's so nice!!
Keeping them in a nearby tree and feeding them will almost guarantee that there will be new queens for their next flight, you can grab some then. In the meantime, the current colony may be hiding and show up when you go to clean up the enclosure... it's been known to happen before ; )
Notes from the Micro World ua-cam.com/play/PLbU7PTmc70_ohyfAXtPEZQOTXNafp9V0j.html
I think an outdoor wild colony would be cool, because you could set up a live feed camera that your AC family could log in to view anytime. Live cam Wild Weavers. (That's the name I'd go with, too). Cheers, Mikey. I don't know how you find all the time.
I think releasing the 'surprise' colony out into the wild would be the better option.
The Jade empire looked like it had cautious tendencies they could be hiding within the loose litter on the ground or wedged somewhere; hoping for them hiding
Sorry for your bad news. _C'est la vie_ as they say. Still, they had looked so very promising. Before you decide to clear out that terrarium, though, just remember to be ultra careful. You never know, that might be a subspecies that happens to like starting off underground!
I think you're right about releasing the "surprise" colony. The more native colonies you have there, the easier it will be to fend off aggressive invaders.
As for your other ants and animals, I can't wait for you to set up the rooms and their homes! You'll have a proper menagerie there! Good luck with it all! 🤗
Do you really think he speaks french
U speek freanch becose i speek 3 languages
@@tottalynotdark2833 he's from canada and it's a pretty well known expression even for english speakers.
@@tottalynotdark2833 he speaks multiple languages and is from Canada. I don't speak french but know that phrase as well.
Mikey, never EVER say you’re a failure! This was 1000% not your fault! You’ve stated before this was an incredibly difficult species and, even though we’ve lost them, they’ve taught us so much and we can now learn from future mistakes! We love you Mikey and you know we all support you!
im saddened and feel your pain for the loss of your weaver ants. You said some very encouraging words about the whole process, thank you. You are amazing.
in my opinion, i think a new home for the new weaver ants, in case as you mentioned, the former colony is hiding, would be best. To me, they seem to be thriving in the tree so they will have to adapt newly elsewhere anyway since they are moved. Perhaps build a new enclosure for them as a sign they were meant to be in your new place & keep discovering more about the lives of weaver ants. Whichever you choose, Ill be watching. Im thankful you exist and have found this site. 🙂
Something about your videos and love of ants has inspired a rekindling of insect love I had as a kid. After moving to the city, I lost touch with that part of myself long ago. But now, the spark is back and it's all because of you. Thanks Mikey for everything you do.
It might be best to release them, even if the Jade Empire is gone, a native ant boost would be good, and maybe someday down the line you could get a queen from them anyway
Shut
I think only if the colony gets much bigger and tougher! Bcoz rn they will die if they go out
Plus I like this colony I don't want it going away from the series! I want it to grow and watch the beauty of this colony! So yeah less not even think of releasing them
I think he should only release the new weaver ant colony
Maybe idk tho still
Yo, this dude built what would be a million dollar crib if it were in the US by doing videos on ants and selling merch. That is legendary and I respect that so much. I respect that so much. Keep doing it, fam.
You should do some field research on weaver ant colonies on the same tree that these came from. Try to find all the different insects that live in that kind of tree and feed the colony a varied diet of those.
Bow
Bow.
Bow.
🙇♂️
Bow
It’s alright AC you did not fail us. These things happen and we can’t predict what might’ve happened while you were away. When we fall all we can do is get back up and learn and become even more experienced. I’ve seen you fall and get back up countless times and each time you have learned and improved because you my friend are a pioneer and the first person to do all of this. There is no manual or someone else to learn from because YOU are the first person to ever do this so of course there will be some pumps down the road. But that’s ok because we expect this and you’re blazing the trail for future ant keepers and we’re all just happy to be apart of the journey. Yes I am very sad about the Jade Empire, but I also have hope for the future and was happy to follow their journey despite it being so short. And the project wasn’t a failure because we got to see for the first time ever a Weaver Ant Colony founding process. That has never been seen before and YOU FILMED IT! That’s amazing so don’t be discouraged, keep your chin up and keep going. #AntLoveForever
A new video!!! My day just got better!
Edit: Never mind...😞
Ikr
alright nice
YAY new vid
My day Got worse watching this..
@@LiamUlvi what happened?
i think you hit some key points. Looking into expanding your feeder diet may help you and maybe even looking into making a terrarium for mealy bugs so you can breed them in large enough quantities to add them to your bio diversity. Its not just the soil that has the little helpers, but also the plants and the biodiversity of micro helpers on the plant are just as central to the ant's habitat as the bio diversity profile of your soil. I think this is an avenue of research you and your new ant house are in a unique position of ability to explore that many ant keepers have not been able to explore and study just yet. Everyone looks at the dirt.
Question: how do you plan to prevent invasive species such as pharaoh-ants from invading your new ant-room and entering the aquariums? I mean, will you at least put some protective measure on the outside, just like you put on the inside to prevent the ants from escaping (i.e baby-powder, sticky- tape etc.) I know nothing about keeping ants except for watching your channel, but i am curious.
he is going to put titan ant colonies as doorkeepers
@@Nozdormu1982 wait hows he gonna get in without getting stung 🤔
One way is to sit the enclosure inside a moat of soap solution - ants cannot cross or swim in soap solution since the surface tension is reduced below what they can work with.
This is the question I've been wondering ever since the Ant Room was created
Probably gonna line the place with cretaceous chalk.
I think you should keep them, as you said yourself, we stil don't understand a lot about them and it could be a really good opportunity to learn more
Please release. There will always be next year. This new colony has done so well on its own, and if we switched now, it's almost like we are just giving up on starting a weaver ant colony from nuptial to thriving.
Bow
Bow.
Bow
I don't bow
@@danielleswart97 you will be judged by the ant gods if you do not bow to the ones before you
I think you should do a combination of both the ideas you had. I think you should keep this new colony but keep put them in a new terrarium separate from The Jade Empire’s, just in case the Jade Empire is still alive. But I still think it will be great to have two weaver ant colonies but if the Jade Empire is real gone this to make sure that you will still have a weaver ant colony.
I think letting it go would be better. Help the natural habitat. It's more fulfilling when you start a colony from scratch. Even with a difficult ant like the Weaver.
im sure everybody who likes this channel felt sad , and ur defenetly not a failure. u are the reason i have gotten into ant keeping. i understand you, loosing a colony is sad but its all part of the experience
Keep the new ants. They will be more beneficial as a breeding tank every season if you can gather Accolades to release and through your property, same with all your other native species. But if you take them out they are more likely to die of natural causes and not produce acolytes next season two for their benefit native ants in your area.
Timing is amazing. They came to you, accept the blessing and give thanks.
Being that those Weaver ants are native to the Phillipines and the Ant house have been taken over by invasive species shown on a video about that. It's best to release the colony instead. Captivity may be a drastic and risky change. Unsure if the Ant house still have its own neighboring Weaver colony if I recall correctly but A release nearby the house can be nice for outdoor recording. Perhaps having these nests nearby the bahay kubo could be a splendid choice.
Comrade, even I cry. It is the hypocrisy of this society, which lets a man laugh but not cry. Every tear we shed, purifies the soul.
Use these Weaver Ants to support Team Natives. You’ll have other opportunities to keep weaver ants within the Ant House, but keeping Team Invasives at bay should be a priority to protect all of your other ants and animals. When releasing these weaver ants, do so in a way that would ensure their survival but minimize competition with other natives.
yes comrade
You have earned my respects Kim Jong, Yes i agree with you Comrade
You should add a 2 storey vivarium beside your stair case in the ant room and add weaver ants. Also maybe some weaver nests require differing levels of air flow. The flexing leaves might act like lungs. Expelling and drawing in air.
That actually sounds pretty cool
That's a great idea and he can put a Big tree inside of it
hello ... I am a traditional Indonesian weaver ant breeder.
I think what you put in the container are just worker ants, because the queen weaver ant has a special nest and she doesn't live in a large nest.
I suggest, it is better for the worker ants to be released and returned to nature so that they return with their families in their colony 🙏
He said he has taken all the nests from the tree, not just the one he shows.
@@doorknobhandlebar I'm sorry, I don't see a queen's nest in the container shown in the video because the weaver ant queen's nest has special characteristics
@@AbyAnt.Kroto7 Again, he said there were other nests that he picked up but that he did not show. The queen's nest might be one of those.
wait a bit to see and release the new ones - weren’t team native ants loosing on the last count?
Hi namaste im your very big fan from india from the state of Arunachal pradesh and following you from my collage days.
Amd these spiny ants made many colonies in our mango tree and i love to watch them carry their food and stuffs in my free time
I was waiting for you to say...
"Oh, wait. There they are."
I believe you should keep the new colony but put them in a separate setup, while keeping an eye on the Jade Empire tank to see if perhaps they do show up eventually.
There are a lot of good guesses and suggestions in the comments. I especially liked the one of the four missing chickens that showed back up with babies in tow. 😁😁🤞🤞
Fun fact: after staying in your enclosure for awhile ants even if they escape will or may come back. A while back I fell on top of my backyard ant enclosure obliterallying a side of it. Instead of escaping the ants stayed and used my enclosure as a food source or free home. They had 2 lines, one going in and one going out.
Another amazing video. I really love your passion about ants. When I first found this channel I thought it was just all about boring documentaries, but I was completely wrong. Your channel is fun to watch!! And I never thought I would love ants as much.
I think that if you have a spare setup, maybe you could house the new weavers there while waiting to see if the jade empire is really gone and if they are you could then keep the new weavers or if the jade empire is alive you could then release the new weavers into the ant house grounds. My hopes for the survival of the jade empire are with you, Ant Love Forever
It's looked like a horror scene when he was talking about the drift wood 🤣
It seems unlikely that you would have not noticed a single worker ant in weeks so I doubt the Jade empire is present anymore. As for the new colony, you are building a paradise for ants, it only seems fair to let the native ants that find their way onto your land live there in their native habitat.
Honestly they have built up a massive amount of workers and ton of experience they would be more than likely thrive and I'd say release them in a low hanging tree or have a separate container they can be kept in and help it build into a big reinforced push for team native ants because releasing a massive colony to assist the native ants would help tremendously or even take them into spot that's outside the waring yard just on the edge away from the main fighting so they can build on their own
You do the best ant keeping that I have ever seen .😀😁🐜
Very strange circumstances. I still absolutely cannot get how could the entire colony disappear without any sign? Without any dead bodies or alive ants on the surface? That's very strange. If they were dead there surely must've been any leftovers in the terrarium. If they were alive there must've been at least some of the workers to see.
So there's only one scientific answer: they evolved and became invisible.
Case closed.
The god of antiverse shows this as your punishment for releasing the emerald empire but they maybe wanted to give you a second chance and if they felt bad for you,they might give back the jade empire just in bigger or smaller numbers,but if they don't felt bad for you,it's ok atleast you got a new empire that you don't need to raise from scratch.
-A Fan
I’d keep the new colony in the terrarium. If you haven’t spotted a single ant in there I doubt it’s inhabited.
I think you need to keep this new colony. They have EVERYTHING they need to survive already established. They are young enough you can still learn how they eatable themselves. The loss of the Jade Empire is sad 😢 but think about what you’ve learned watching them grow as far as they did! The universe gave you what you needed!
Have you thought about simulating a rain storm in the Jade Empire's enclosure to see if any workers show up? I am super worried about the fact they are gone without a trace, we don't want the new Ant room to have issues with Pharoh ants for sure. Because of that concern I think it might be better to release this new weaver ant colony outside to help reinforce your native ants. This will also give you the long term benefit of having nearby wild colonies with nuptial flights for you to use to start new colonies from, and you could also use those nearby wild colonies to obtain resources like mealy bugs to add into a new colonies setup to see if you can increase the rate of success. That would be some great science and learning as well as helping against invasive ants.
In my opinion as an aquarist, if I had fish disappear like that, I would not move new fish in until after a full teardown in search for an answer. Dont move the new weavers in unless you know it is safe.
Yess! Finally, waited so long for this.
Took the words right out of my mouth #antsaresmallbutmeanamassiveamounttome
Get cameras in their ASAP! That way from now on your can see if they return or if other ants come in and figure out where they are coming from. Hopefully they return and they are just hiding!! 💓💗❤️ Try not to worry and you are NOT a failure!! Don't ever think anythibf like that! Sending you and Rj love!
AM A BIG FAN OML AM EARLY
AM SO SAD :(
You should help native ants
I actually love that you had a tearful moment with the ants. I feel that strongly too! Thank you for inspiring me to keep ants. ❤
Is it possible that the surprise colony is the Jade Empire? Could they have escaped and set up shop in atrium and due to the extra space expanded quickly? Also I think keep them in an enclosure made for them, so we can continue to learn about this species.
No. Mikey definitely would’ve noticed and told us. Plus the surprise weaver ants were smaller.
Option II. Wow MAN!! Your house is incredible.
2nd option it would be cool if you had a bunch of these ants outside and maybe one day you'll be able to get another queen
Thanks for this message. We recently lost a Pheidole queen who started with a small brood but never seemed to produce anymore, then seemed to lose strength and died. We have high hopes for another colony that my son has. Best wishes! -R
I love watching this colony grow! thank you for making this amazing series
I have a suggestion and a question
Question: did you check if they're where any hole on the side of the formicarium that the jade empire could have used to escape or that other could have use to enter and kill the jade empire? They might have escape the formicarium and nested in a plant nearby. Maybe outside of your home? It's unlikely but possible that this is what happened.
The situation: Sadly they're is very little chance the colony is still alive IN the formicarium. Weaver ant always patrol, scout and wander around they're multiple nest. It's a survival problem because they need to see the ennemi from far away to advise the other colonies members. If they are nowhere to be seen they are probably gone for good.
My suggestion: you should move the new Weaver ant nest into the formicarium AFTER you cleaned the best you can to take off the jade empire colony scent. Otherwise the new colony will be stressed and not only invest lot of they're food in too great soldier (thus wasting food as 1 big ant is better at fighting but 2 smaller is better at foraging) but also won't forage and expand as much as they will because they will for sure be in alert mode and huddle up near they're nest
I think that maintaining healthy native colonies in your terrariums then allowing them to fly away during nuptials is the best way to keep a strong native population. It's sort of like stocking a pond with fish, but you're stocking your property with ants.
Caretaker: “Hey AC, so the ants you paid me to take care of have disappeared. Sorry about that, so where’s my paycheck?”
Losing pets is the worst, what a poor way to come back from a great vacation. Hopefully they reappear.
I havent watched ants Canada since he was at 100k I'm so happy I remembered him, keep up the very good work, good luck with everything
What if the Jade Empire weaver ant colony managed to somehow leave their terrarium and actually relocated outside? I think you would of seen signs of them inside the terrarium by now if they were still there. However, releasing this new weaver ant colony around means you'd lose track of their progress. If there's a small chance this is the missing colony then it means they'd need a more secured ant farm. However, if this is a new one that's local, maybe they'd still need a new ant farm that's more adapted to containing them without them escaping like the other weaver ants.
If by unfortunate chance the Jade Empire was destroyed by another type of ant, then where are these other ants and why weren't they trapped within this terrarium? All seem to point to the terrarium being easy to escape from by ants. So if you do keep these new weaver ants, it might be best to place them in something that's not as easy to escape from.
They arent just your pets, they are your great tiny family, i feel your pain buddy😞😔
Keep the new weaver ant colony, but put in in a separate, larger container. The current one is simply too small and lacks sufficient foliage.
My suggestion. KEEP the Jade Empire tank alone but keep placing food for them for another few weeks, maybe they are hidden in there. But also keep the new weaver ants incase the jade empire doesnt show up, if they do then yes release the new ones nearby.
I think it's best to release the colony into a nearby tree. While it would be great to watch them, releasing them would ultimately be better for the ecosystem and combating harmful invasive species. Likewise, just because they are outside, doesn't mean we can't film and care for them! We'll be watching them as they truly are, in their natural habitat, and learn how they would truly behave.
^This^
Keep both because it’s rare to have TOO Weaver ants colonies. Like you said
Wait for a bit they might be still in there so don't put them in there yet
Sorry for the loss of the Jade Empire, but I think you should just proceed with moving the new colony in. They appear to be a stronger / more resilient colony...battle of the fittest, ya know? I was hoping you could recover the Jade Empire, but I think it's time to move on. Looking forward to all the new content that will come from the new ant house 💜🖤
I'd want the new weavers to be kept - it's too perfect timing - but not in the same terrarium. Either the Jade Empire is still in there or the set-up has been compromised. If that isn't feasible, then releasing them into the local area is definitely preferable.
For your new colony of weaver ants, I highly suggest figuring out what happened to your first colony before moving them to the old terrarium. Whether you keep them or release them is up to you, but it's important to figure out as much as you can about what happened to the old colony in my opinion, so you can rule out diseases or parasites or other things like that, which could spread to your new colony and kill them as well. Totally understandable to cry, I'm sad hearing about their disappearance as well honestly. I hope a miracle happens but if not, you can find out something else in the meantime. (I wonder if you could keep mealybugs with them in your terrarium?)
Nothing wrong with keeping two weaver ant colonies….. especially in the new antiverse!
You could make one a big tree that goes between the floors - wasn’t that your original idea?
Or let it go on a tree next to one of your windows so you can keep an eye on one in the “wilds” of your yard.
You should release the weaver ants into the trees outside to strengthen their numbers there, then you also have another colony to gather a new queen from at next nuptial flight to try and start a weaver ant colony from scratch again.
It will be much more beneficial for science to see the whole process from just a queen, and does it really matter if it takes another year before it happens?
IT will make that colony much more special, and again, you would be strengthening the native ants outside.
Putting them outside might help the natives, but I can't help but think putting them in their own terrarium wouldn't be better for the species overall because they ARE so hard to keep alive. You do good scientific work and having a young colony you can more directly watch would help further knowledge about them - which, as the climate keeps changing, can only help us try to keep them from going extinct. With luck, you can get them to a point where they send out some queens to mate.
Ants are a Beautiful part of life and you got me loving and and you helped me raise my first and colony ❤🐜👑
Just had a thought, when you started talking about the aviary plants: I know ants have escaped you before (prior video of yours), so could it be that you could have merely re-collected your original Weaver ant nest from the trees outside? Just a thought here, but wondering if that is possible. There are plants hugging the top of the tank where you had put the Weaver ant nest, in the video clip.
I hear you, my own super young colony of carpenter ants (my first ever) is having problems but there's still hope for them. Thank you for your words and encouragement.
I love this channel, it's ant keeping, terrarium crafting, educational and philosophical all at the same time.
How’s it going Mikey? Your new home looks absolutely beautiful!!the ant room and aviary are incredible!! The way the weaver ant colonies came to you , just seems like it was meant to be!! I think you should keep the new colony. Do a more in depth look for the missing colony, if you don’t find them, take the colony you were given by the ant gods and give it a go . I know whatever you decide, I’ll be following every step of the way! Thanks you so much for sharing your life with us!! I always look forward every weekend to seeing the new video and what’s going on! I can’t wait till next weekend and see what you’ve decided! Thanks again Mikey!! Take care, stay safe and healthy!!
Challenges is what makes hobbies, enjoyable. If there’s no effort, there’s no reward.. now I’m more interested than ever, and having my own ant colony. I have a 55 gallon aquarium, I know it’s a bit large, but I can divide it up with glass and aquarium silicone.. of course, I’ll have to sanitize at first.
I'd be tempted to keep both colonies - just to give the Jade Empire a chance to show themselves again. If they show up, you've got 2 colonies and can give one back to nature. If not, then you still have this new colony for filming.
I'm following your channel so many years... Keep up the good work :D
im so sorry for the jade empire. i hope you can find them one day. and that theyre okay, mainly the queen.
My thought is that the "other" weavers are them. Excaped. The keeper left it open? Around 30 years ago, I got a queen and perhaps a thousand small ants that had hitchhicked with some reptiles from South America. They were about the size of are local sugar ants (less than a 16th of an inch long) and they were all within a wad of newspaper that had been used as packing. I took them home, set them up and found food they liked and they were thriving and growing in number. One day they were all gone. At first I was concerned that they may become invasive, but that was unlikly as they were from the tropics and would almost for sure not make it through a South Dakota winter. A couple weeks later, I opened a drawer and saw a few of them and then found the whole colony in a small, empty cardboard box about 3 inches square.
While all hope seems lost for the Jade Empire DO NOT put the new colony in their terrarium just yet. We’ve had colony’s vanish for serval weeks before and assumed they had perished when they were actually just hiding in the place we never would’ve thought to look. Ants are resourceful and adaptable so perhaps they just moved somewhere out of view so continue to put food in so they don’t starve if they’re still alive that is and put the new colony on a separate terrarium since the Jade Empire’s old terrarium seems to small for them anyways.
I have a theory about why the Jade Empire disappeared. In contrast, money trees are considered non-toxic, you have Syngonium in your enclosure. All parts of the Syngonium plant are toxic. They contain oxalate crystals which cause gastric distress to humans and pets. For insects, such as ants, oxalic acid is very potent and a natural pesticide. It would explain why you found no ants, even invaders inside the colony. Before repurposing it for other ants, you should change the substrate and remove any Syngonium plants from the enclosure. I hope this is helpful when building future enclosures.
Since we aren’t 100% sure the Jade empire is dead release the new weaver any colony outside. Don’t view it as just releasing them however. We have a outdoor born tom cat that is now indoors only. Our next door neighbor has a pet born Tom cat that’s an outdoor cat. This newer colony will be your outdoor weaver ant colony and hopefully will make appearances in your videos for years to come.
Tbh I think you should put a 24 hour camera somewhere, in ur ant container or whatever you call that, so you can see what happened
Idk if anyone suggested this yet but I just wanna say this.
I'd hold onto the ants. That they showed up like that is clearly a sign you were meant to have a weaver ant colony. I might suggest putting them into a new Terrarium, though I know that isn't necessarily practical. I do suspect the Jade Empire is, most likely, gone, which sucks.
You can set up a different terrarium for the weaver ants you found. I would not risk placing them into the Jade Empire home. As memory serves, you have been certain, in the past, that colonies have died or disappeared, only to have them show up where you didn't expect them to.
Keep that new colony, that’s a gift right there, I think you should cherish it.
So did your caretaker just not realize if the ants were gradually decreasing in numbers or if there were any ants at all when the queen disappeared? Or were they just not paying attention?
I agree with placing a Jelly Cup into the Jade Empire's Terrarium. But you shouldn't move the new Colony in, but tend to the Jade Empire. You could place in a few Roaches, and have a camera placed over it to see if they eat them.
I say don't give up on the Jade Empire, and release the new ones back into the wild. If they don't appear soon, go back and collect a new queen. I never thought that I would be this interested in ants but here I am 😂. Thanks for sharing your ant love with us!!!! 💞
I say to release the surprise colony. Since you were gone for two weeks, you have no idea what could have happened to the Jade Empire, so it could be disastrous for the new colony to keep them in the same enclosure. Also, it might just be me, but they look too big for that enclosure anyways. Second, it's possible that since they disappeared so suddenly without a trace, they could still be nesting somewhere unexpected. I'm sure your caretaker would have noticed a rogue pharaoh ant colony or something unexpected, so the fact that they just poofed into nothingness makes me hope they're still alive and just hiding somewhere.
If the Jade Empire truly is gone, though, my deepest condolences. I had the same thing happen to me recently, I went on a short trip and my cousins were taking care of our pets, including my gecko. When I returned I realized he wasn't anywhere in his tank, despite double, triple, and quadruple checking every known hiding place, and concluded that he must have darted out while they were adding crickets to the enclosure on one of the feeding days, since those were the only times the tank was open. I was heartbroken and cried for several days, so I can empathize :(((