Big-headed Ant Colony (Part 1)

A captive colony of Pheidole sp., commonly known as "Big-headed Ants". These ants were captured and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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[@eeareal]

HES ALIVE

[@deathkingcheetah1337]

You sounded really scared in this video

[@weirdoisme3312]

DeathKingCheetah at this time he was a bit nervous he's much better now

[@cheetahgaming3642]

When your eyes be like: HERE NEED SOME TEARS!!!

[@kavtind]

How does ants produce the soldier ants and the ones with the wings? What decides that now this egg shall become a soldier etc? :)

[@JordanDeanFilms]

The workers feed the larvae more often during their development and they obtain some essential nutrients in order to develop differently. So instead of a regular worker ant, they produce a major and sometimes, if the colony calls for it, a female alate (virgin queen).

[@kavtind]

Ahh, very interesting. Thanks for the answer!

[@ДавидЗукић]

I actually never watched these older videos before because they were deleted or something? But now you put them back or am I crazy?

[@naus100]

I agree, more of this colony please!

[@mh4647]

I love big head ants :) , I would like to see more of them ... I like the guards ... how big are they ( the workers and the guards ) . does the guards life longer then the workers , because I can assume that they need longer to develop and also need more food :) thanks

[@wartermelon]

Matthias Holl u mean soldiers not guards?

[@wartermelon]

i saw a colonie of them in my back yard and the workers are really small compared to the soldiers, they're also pretty small compared to those common black ants

[@ColoradoAnts]

Great colony. Thanks for sharing! What ended up happening to the alates in this video? Are they still alive?

[@JordanDeanFilms]

ColoradoAnts Thanks for watching :) Yes, the alates are alive and doing fine. They haven't tried flying off as yet, I was thinking when or if they try to, I'll open my window and let them escape outside.

[@katarinaodak6644]

Yes.give us more

[@HiddenBlessingsHomestead]

i love your videos please do more

[@hardcoreGrat]

thank you for the videos! is this the Pheidole species that can produce supremajor workers which are like 5-10mil long?

[@turtletotsgaming4123]

love the update :D

[@JustAnotherAccount8]

Where abouts from Melbourne are you? Where I am I can only find iridomyrmex on a regular basis but I have to go searching for camponotus, don't think I've seen any pheidole in my area though, then again I don't really know where to look.

[@dylansnow95]

Hey man, just a few quick questions, did you build or buy the first nest in the video that we see at 0:02? I cant seem to find an Aussie place that sells them and living in Byron bay doesn't help haha. So I was thinking of making one... but what sorta stuff could I carve chambers and stuff into? like rubber cement? lol I have no clue.. but I do have the right drill bits! haha. Cheers dude.

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Hi Dylan, I bought this nest from Ants Canada a few years ago. Don't think they make these particular designs anymore. I'd recommend making your own with AAC. You can buy a fairly big block of the stuff from bunnings for under $10. Just carve out some chambers and glue on a glass screen. Really easy to make and very affordable.

[@dylansnow95]

Oh wow, cheers for the info dude! looks like I'm heading to bunnings :)

[@subbedisbetter9820]

Get some snags while you're there!

[@harisrehan1454]

How do You keep the Colony Moist and warm without any mould growth ? I have made a setup with a large square empty box of sweets and carved tunnels using a machine on small rectangular pieces of wood and placed them on the sides of the large box as the main formicarium and the rest of the box if the outworld with sand and a water tower made out of an ice breakers candy container with grill mesh on it and water inside. The Setup is empty as my pachycondyla queens had laid a few eggs about a month or so ago and don't seem to be progressing in another small temporary setup. The large setup that i made is empty at the moment and had moisture forming on the top lid and some fungal growth on the side of the wood and some branches, despite the large open spaces I made for air to pass. I have it placed outside in the sun for a few days to stop any further mould growth and hopefully figure out a way to solve the issue. So my main questions are, How do i keep the setup moist without mould growth ? What to expect from the queens ? I Had caught these queens in my own home as there is this species that lives in my house and is always seen foraging on the floor. I Guess it must be their nuptial season, and i have about 7 of them in one setup and they had abatch of eggs since a while and Another small temporary setup with another pachycondyla Senaarensis queen that i found running in a parking lot while hunting for them in the early hours of the morning. It broke off its wings as soon as i caught it and it seems to explore the outworld a lot considering it to be a semi claustral species and forage. This queen has not laid any eggs yet, as i caught it about 2 weeks ago. How can I keep them warm and encourage egg growth quickly ? Hope For a response from anyone who can help out here.

[@JordanDeanFilms]

I created a video on how I raise my queen ants. I think it may be of help to you - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXbVhYFompeYi80 - Jordan

[@harisrehan1454]

I Did watch the video. I Found it to be very informative and learnt some new tips as well. However it doesn't fully answer some of my questions. It was a great video in all honesty. Hoping for You to make more related content.

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Ah ok, I'm glad you liked it. Well in regards to moisture and mold, I find varying the points in which remain moist to be great in limiting growth. So water a certain spot within the nest, and then when that spot looks to be getting dry, water a different spot. For quicker growth, try to keep them at a stable temperature, between 20 - 27 degrees Celsius. A heating cable might work well with your setup too.

[@harisrehan1454]

I have placed the queens in their temporary setup in a shelf in my toilet and kept the window slightly ajar to let the warm and humid air in and it stays pretty humid in the toilet due to that. I Live in UAE (Dubai) so the temp here is around 40 degrees celcius Outside. Should I Keep them like that or place them ouside and cover them to block off direct sunlight ? i guess they'd die that way. And I Was wondering, why is that the multiple queens that I have in the setup don't eat anything much and don't forage as much and just care for the eggs ( I Can't seem to see the eggs since yesterday) and keep them in their mouth and guard over them, despite being semi claustral as other Ponerinae ants are, while the other single queen I caught outside seems to forage very often and is rarely in the test tube itself.

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Your bathroom sounds like a good spot for them. Majority of the time the queens will be tending to their eggs. Ants can last a while on minimal amounts of food. Your semi claustral queens don't need to constantly replenish themselves. Seeing them care for their eggs is a good sign.

[@sirforest9453]

what do you use for the formicarium??? i like the style of the little pebbles

[@JordanDeanFilms]

This is an old Ants Canada nest which has been discontinued.

[@ianpowerson]

what barrier do you use, and also if it is baby powder and rubbing alcohol, can you help me with how to use it, because i am confused with the amount of powder to alcohol and how to apply it. thanks

[@JordanDeanFilms]

ian guy I use this stuff called fluon. You only need to apply a thin layer around the edges of your outworld. A cotton ball or a soft paint brush are great for spreading the liquid, just remember to apply in a circular motion. I haven't tried baby powder and alcohol as a barrier but I'm sure you could apply it in the same way.

[@armdrone3898]

If I catch a queen ant and I think she is possible of multi queen colony's, can I send you a picture of her to help me identify her species?

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Yeah sure I'd be willing to try. Although I'm no expert when it comes to identifying species. You would probably be better off posting photos on some ant forum out there.

[@recoilze5924]

WHUT IS DIS

[@subbedisbetter9820]

What populate more/faster? Pheidole or Iridomyrmex

[@JordanDeanFilms]

I'd say Iridomyrmex. They grow really fast.

[@deathkingcheetah1337]

Ants Australia I am purchasing an Iridomyrmex Queen from Gumtree™ do you have any advice for keeping them. I am gonna create a nest out of AAC. But what food is the best for them & what is the best outworld type for them.

[@crystalmclean5702]

What was the ants with the wings and the ants with the big heads..??

[@JordanDeanFilms]

The winged ants are female alates and the big-headed ones are soldier ants.

[@jeradwilson8611]

BTW, you have a LOT more than 300 ants...

[@CreeperUniverseTV]

There's multiple or the same chambers etc. in the vid.

[@Foresight88ify]

MORE VIDS!

[@shindavid6484]

He said he to the Queen

[@worldmapping4895]

were these privated?

[@antsjunior6715]

I think ?

[@wildlifeisthewealthofnatur5457]

Part one is also not there.

[@samvodopianov9399]

What do they eat? (Pheidole)

[@samvodopianov9399]

Nevrmind i watchec the whole vid

[@li_am1]

He sounds depressed

[@eugenseiler588]

Pheidole 3d Model: sketchfab.com/models/52de919d69664ccbbb985fbeac9fe44c

[@antsaretheend9287]

What do you do with the Queens? Sorry my engles is not so good

[@filkolang7657]

3 years... last comment

[@germannaturechannel5688]

Really nice video - nice channel. I give you a sub ;) Thumbs up and have a nice day ahead! Joe

[@JordanDeanFilms]

InsektenDoku Thanks Joe :)