Extracting 250 kg of ant nest castings. Triple Casting Bull Ant Nest Casting - Days 3 - 5
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- Опубліковано 20 жов 2023
- Australian Ant Art™ is casting three bull ant nests for the Queensland Museum's Insect Agency Exhibition, opening September 2023. We used 250 of the 260 kg of aluminium we brought with us to complete the castings. In this video we start the long process of of digging and extracting the nests without breaking them. These nests were far bigger than we expected and we had to call in an excavator and vacuum truck to help with the dig.
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australianantart_official
Species cast:
Nest 1 - Myrmecia brevinoda
Nest 2 - Myrmecia brevinoda
Nest 3 - Myrmecia tarsata
Casting date: 28/6/2023
All music sourced from UA-cam Creator Studio:
Icelandic Arpeggios - DivKid
Sound effects obtained from www.zapsplat.com
Video shot and edited by Jim A. Barker, Twelve Points Photography. Find his work at twelvepoints.photography or thejimclasshero. - Наука та технологія
I worked for 1220 Exibits in Nashville TN, and a client did a ant hill casting for a college museum. It was 5 to 6 ft. deep. Unfortunately several of the tunnel branches broke. They need someone who could weld it but also do it in such a way it didn't look welded. I was the one who welded it together. They sent a test piece to see if I could do it. I welded it and they sent another test piece because they didn't think I welded it as they weren't able to find the weld. 2nd test piece convinced them that I could do it. Anyway just thought you'd find it interesting.
Where is the exhibit? Vandy, MTSU, TTU, UT? I'd like to see it.
@@sewashburn0529 yeah where is it??
A good worker blames his tools, 😅.
@@moulindaccessoire.3072
A good worker doesn't work with crap tools!
A great welder can do wonders .
In Zambia, where I was born and grew up, there are ant hills the size of some mediim sized houses. They are basically clay and are prehistoric in origin. The ants that built them, apparently, no longer exist. Casting one would require a huge dam around them and 30-40' high. The material to cast them would be in the tons.
The other nasty we had were red ants. Try and do this to one of their nests, if you can find them, the SOB's would have you dead and eaten to the bone within the first day. Not to be messed with. I only ever found one nest on our farm, under a banana palm and we burned them out by pouring petrol, a gallon at a time, into the hole and lighting it. Took at least four attempts before we eradicated that nest which had plagued our chicken farm for years. We'd follow their columns but couldn't find home base until the banana palm. Little buggers could crawl all over you without your knowledge and then almost as if someone gave a command they'd all bite at the same time. People used to leave their homes when the ants arrived. Theyd kill and eat everything in their path, leave the next day and you wouldn't have a cockroach, flea or any other bug for weeks.
I already knew Africa sucked.
Wow I didn't know that. Thank you for the information! I always like to learn new things.
I read a book which described this, many years ago.
The problem they had was that the ants removed the labels from all the canned foods.
After that they didn't know if they were opening a can of fruit, or beans.
.
How horrifying
@@niklar55 damn pests how mean is this
It's fascinating how natural forms repeat themselves. This looks exactly like coral!
As someone who had to specifically hunt down foam in place bags to ship out computers…. The expanding foam in a trash bag was a genius idea
Seeing the complexities of an ants nest is awe inspiring. keep up the good work.
I watched the casting video and was disappointed to not see the final results, well now I feel better. I'm very impressed with the results 😃
Never in my life have I seen anything like this. Can't say that anymore. Thank you for allowing me come along, from the comfort of my home.
For future reference have the tractor operator throttle DOWN to have a MUCH smoother response, avoid that jerking motion that broke nest 1. I know you said it was weak but that didn’t need to happen that way, still a gorgeous piece just trying to help I’ve logged 1,000s of hours on those machines. It’s a common mistake driver shouldn’t feel bad just a learning experience!
Yep, too much throttle with an excavator makes for a jerky excavator arm.
Operator error 100% also has a heavy hand on the sticks, no finesse
I think the driver and tractor was likely the farmer that owns the land. That offered to help, yes revs were high but he likely never handled delicate loads and had ear muffs on. Driver error yes but also instructions weren’t given to him prior to lifting only tilting the forks back.
I just wanted to note the smoothness of his operation!
Damn!
Your an example of a real man!
Watching from Canada and am absolutely amazed and blown way by what you are doing! It is obvious to see how much planning and research you have done before you start the castings. What beautiful pieces of art they are and mesmerizing to look at all the details of each area f each piece. It is a lot of hard work for get the end result and I really commend you for your time and perserverance. I am hooked and can't wait to see more. Great work guys.
Would be nice to see some videos of the cast nests installed in the Qld Museum
Your wish has been granted! ua-cam.com/video/7p_Jl9Vksrc/v-deo.htmlsi=sIlinroSni1_kYvb
Maybe one or two plate compactors turned on as you pour the aluminium would vibrate the air bubbles upwards and make for better casts.
Thank you for sharing.
Amazing what you are doing. Take care.
And a big shout out for the ants who were martyred making this video.
ANT'S Life Matters 😂
😂😂😅
Thanks folks. You've given me an incentive to head into the city and revisit the museum. That will be pretty amazing to see close up.
I liked your furnace, your partner carry & pour handles, and PPE. I did green sand casting, for a while, but got my lungs hurt at work, and I gave my entire set-up to my apprentice/student that turned into my partner, at work. He's about 25 years younger than I am.
Thank you. I SUBBED and am going to send your link to a bunch of my friends.
Bill, from Tn. 🇺🇸.
Amazing work guys. I have personally extracted around 50 of these nests but in a different fashion. We collect the ants for rehoming to hobbyists. the nests we collect are either in danger of destruction due to land disturbance or like these you did, pose a risk to land owners. It is great to see the nest structure in its whole form like this. In my experience, bull ants will dig down to the water table. I have had digs go well over 2 Meters deep depending on the soil. Different species also have distinct nest shapes. M.brevinoda like you did spread very far at the surface like a fan while M.nicrocincta tend to dig more like an inverted xmas tree.
Thanks @mathiacus. We remember that you are one of our oldest subscribers.
You have a new subscriber. Your work is AMAZING. The ant nest sculptures I have seen here in the U.S. are nothing compared to yours. Beautiful work guys.
"bull ants will dig down to the water table" ... well that probably explains the vapour explosions in episode 1
@@MatthijsvanDuin Yep!
👍👏👏👏
Thank you for being humane.
Why are these videos so absolutely riveting?!? Love what you guys do and know that it’s extremely dirty and dangerous! Thank you for posting these, I hope to be able to make the very very long journey to Australia one day!
I’d like to see what they look like once they’re ready for display…
Bravo , c'est de l'art , vous êtes des artistes , 👍
Great work and wonderful results!
To prevent damage during transport, the following suggestion.
After freeing the nest from the ground, lower it into a container, do not put it down.
Fill the free space with coarse sand and distribute it with vibrations.
Then lower the nest.
The whole structure should be evenly supported in this way and should not be damaged even if the roads are bad.
Releasing the nest from the sand later and drying it off should take little effort.
We have thought of that and the problem would be the weight. You are talking about something that will be something weighing nearly 2 ton for nests this size.
@@australianantart1376 Build a transport cage in which you lower and hang the casting. Or the cage could be in separate pieces that are assembled around the casting while it is hanging. Tie the casting to the frame to keep it still during transport. Some shock absorbing/damping could be good to keep parts from falling off. Maybe?
@@australianantart1376 miles of bubblewrap...
srsly: polystyrene pearls? or an equally lightweight anti-static alternative?
are there foams that harden out enough but stay water-soluable? or at least alcohol or mild heat?
else I'd go the hanging-securely-in-a-frame design. co-ordinate the anchor with the customers, so it only has to be done once. (next time maybe install an anchor during the pour? or shortly after with epoxy to safe material cost?)
@@australianantart1376 peat moss and perlite mix is light and fairly cheap. It must be dry to be light.
@@PersonalStash420 I was thinking perlite, but yeah, either peat moss or an ecologically acceptable substitute like coir would stop the perlite from shifting around too much. It needs to stay put to give that support.
Ants are super workers . Their nests are simply awesome . Great video series .
Great explosive footage of the air pocket. Glad everyone was safe
Amazing! Thanks for sharing your hobby with the world. It’s truly fascinating.
Wow!, Greetings from the Netherlands, This is awesome to watch.
Respect for your work. 👍
You know you’re in Australia when you hear those magpies hahaha they sound so cool!
Plenty round this way
And we're in New Zealand 😂
Greetings from the BIG SKY of Montana .
So freaking huge! Glad they came out so well, it makes your hard work so worthwhile.
This is not an inexpensive art form. It’s very satisfying seeing them turn out so beautifully. 🎉
Beautiful interactions, perseverance, and a unique look at nature's architecture. Well done.😊
Thank you very much. What you do is very literally, extraordinary. I very much appreciate your videos and I'd like to say thank you for taking the effort to make and publish them. Phil from London.
Congratulation to all you expert skilful men....We/ve been living in Perth, WA for over 53 years....Very fortunate to be able to witness your incredible task...Have a great X.mas/New Year.
That was like a mini documentary!
this the one that had the lava popping and exploding? !!! i been waiting for this!!!!!!! Cheers from Maine USA !!!!
For lifting/moving nests of that size, I would flatten the top of the casting, drill and tap it for four 1/2" (12mm) studs in a square (one would be enough but redundancy because of probable casting flaws) and then attach it to a pre-drilled I beam, two holes each side of the vertical. I suggest the beam rather than a wooden piece because the nests are clearly not symmetrical and it will be better able to cope with those forces whilst not being overlarge. You can then use the beam for lifting and moving and, for transport, attach it to a custom wooden frame, made from 2x4 lumber, of a size suitable for each nest. None of the nest casting touches anything but air and you have a substantial mount for handling for exhibit preparation. You could modify the dimensions for other sizes of nest.
No need for any drilling or tapping, just put in the studs when you cast it.
oh very7 beautiful work guys, thank you
Hello from Canada. I love your work. I was just thinking that large memory foam cushions might help you? Super dense cushions, in various sizes and shapes, to set between the wood bases and the art pieces. It would stabilize and protect your work. They'd be machine washable in large laundry mat machines. Just an idea. The thought of damage makes me sad.
All the best to you and your crew and family. Cheers!
Greetings from rural Illinois. Fantastic work. I liked your emphasis on safety.
Proper cities! Love your work team, keep 'em coming. Subscribed!
This is fascinating. I've seen this before but never really saw the entire process so this series was great and educational. Thanks for posting this.
Nest 2 was so beautiful !
All I can say is everything is bigger in Australia. Good on ya!
All so beautiful!❤
That was so cool and beautiful pieces of art
Your work has convinced me to do my best in keeping a huge nest that I have. I’ll try working with its surroundings for a healthy nest. Very interesting.
🤟☮️🇦🇺😎👍
It was a great video!!👍🏻
Wonderful content, I'm glad I found you.
Truely amazing!
Beautiful work
So interesting,it came up in my recommended and I subbed. I’m another Aussie In which the Bull ants at my place occasionally bite me, but the Echidnas, Lizards and frogs love them at my place so I have a good balanced ecosystem. Cheers fella’s great job, glad your protective gear did its job on the casting video.
Amazing!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
It is amazing what you guys do. Great educational video.🇺🇸
That was some nice photography, drone shot pretty spectacular.
Very interesting to see almost complete ant nests dug up, heck of a lot of work.
I remember reading somewhere, when water hits molten aluminium, it doesn't expand 'about a thousand times' as majority seem to think but flashes to steam about 1,600 times original volume so a teaspoon full would probably be enough to cause the explosion you had (or a large group of ants lounging around in large chamber) 😁
Expanding foam inside garbage bags, lol just as you said it. Cardboard box outer.
Fantastic job. Well done.
Absolutely amazing, beautiful, and such hard work all of you are doing! These castings are beautiful and show a hidden world beautifully with the aluminum and occasional wooden branches.
Greetings from San Francisco, California!
Great job guys
You guys are awesome
That was by far the most interesting mini doco that I have seen in ages, I have seen this done before but usually only as a 1 off & even then they didn't use anywhere near that much liquid whatever, great job.
Amazing ❤
Wow, beautiful.
Good job guys and gal.
Beautiful
Really good work. Well done the safety gear.
keeping a safety area without kids wandering through it would be even better - remember that PPE is further down the hierarchy of controls than isolation of the work area.
I like the fact that this is a family activity that everyone seems to enjoy. Everyone has some jobs that have to be done to achieve success, and the team work is good. Excellent.
Great work, Guys! I'm really enjoying the videos. I subbed!
Great work great
I would like to see the castings cleaned and finished.
Amazing
good job guys!.. major PITA!.. but worth it in the long run!
Well done guys 👍🇺🇸
Awesome
That is so cool never knew how any nest are but they are really awesome looking
The look on your face when the young'n asked "can we make heavier ingots?"!
❤ it. 😂 😊
nice haul there
Can't thank you enough, for incetifying me to take up stamp collecting as a retirement hobby.....🤔😂😎🇦🇺👌
The guy on the excavator with the dart in his mouth was the true artist.
That's amazing shhhht
Nice castings fellas! Helpful hint....idle down the tractor and it ill be easier to feather the front loader forks movement.
woooow thats whas an big nest ;)
awesome ;) and 1 sup + from sweden as well ;)
Very interesting ant civilisations.
nest one looks like a bonsai tree with the tree root.
If i ever visit QLD again (I live in Sydney), I'd love to go & see these in person.
It‘s always good to see real scientists at work…
a Qlder watching from Estonia... i wish you could cast my ant nest next spring
I believe out of all of them, Nest 2 is my favorite of the castings.
One of those as a chandelier how cool
Never even heard of it till today. I am a fan. These little piss ants don't know nothing except how to smell up your house when they invade.
Your skill is a wow factor for me.
kinda crazy that I watched this sieres yesterday, nmot knowing anything about anything. Then you upload part 3 and I was like :o
Great work guys. Do you get to see the final placement and finish of the castings?
yes.. a picture of the final installation would be brilliant!
Job well done guys, Im from out west so its like watching part of the family work :)
AMAZING!! Thanks for taking us through each of the steps of the process.
And what a result!! 🎉
If you dont like setting the weight of the nest down onto the delicate structures for fear of damage, you might consider adding lifting points into the base during the casting process. It would be a bit of welding during the prep phase. A bit of sturdy steel pipe, arranged how you see best, to allow you to slide poles into the base for leverage to flip it over, to add a 2nd temporary lifting point for an additional chain hoist, and for ease of carry upside down. A strong U-bolt inside a cup with aluminum cast around the brim makes a strong permanent lifting point and gives the customer options to display it on a table or to hang from a beam.
Great Series! Maybe have links to other videos in the series in the description?
Cool
So are these fire ant nests ha, cheers from NSW.
I wish we could get a camera into an ants colony. That would be so damn cool.
That is what I was thinking. Have a tiny robotic ant with a camera to see where all the chambers go, and see what is in each of them…..storage, nursery, etc….
@@davidbehrend7054 ua-cam.com/video/i9Jqz_erlwE/v-deo.html
You guys should look into getting an air spade to help with the digging and extraction. It would probably help, both with time and effort. Just a suggestion! Great work!
Yep, and less mud. Might not work on all soil types and might need a bigger compressor but less mud would tempt me.
Well done!😊
Is there another video showcasing the polished museum pieces?
Would have been nice to see her full reaction. Great work fellas
Expanding foam in bags... My god it was worth the video for that actual life-hack 😮
Crazy! Awesome shit ! Capturing mother nature's art ... I've only seen a couple much smaller fire ant nest cast . I know what a risk of steam explosion and I appreciate you emphasis on safety equipment... the others said nothing. But they look magnificent!