Entire Ant colony living in a Sega Dreamcast Controller

[@RyanUkAus]

INFO: For those concerned / interested, the ant species is an Australian black house ant. No, there was not a colony of Japanese ants living in the controller for ~5 years!

[@matinzarrinklam3026]

Actually the ants are a Lasius niger 🤓

[@buffgarfield3231]

Do they have a different accent from American black house ants?

[@11561tammys]

@@buffgarfield3231 No, they just do everything upside down

[@Xcaleblovesbassdropx]

Are you fully sure?

[@SessmaruKusanagiGaming]

That was my first thought. Super glad it was just a native species of ant.

[@AndruSouls]

"Sure bro, I got a spare controller for you!"

[@chrisburns5532]

lol

[@TailsPrower09]

*"for you guys"

[@Xgozu999]

Mad Antz

[@p_o_o_g8139]

​@@TailsPrower09 huh?

[@TerraTheWise]

The player 2 controller

[@kevinr6879]

“Why is this game’s controls so buggy?” *opens controller* “Oh, I see.”

[@EggSandwichyoi]

HAHA okay, good one. I actually laughed at that. 😂

[@grandstarstudiosFORMER-YT]

why is my computer so buggy? opens up computer:

[@alternant.]

This is the most dad joke like comment I have seen in a long time.

[@The_Black_Hole]

"Because that's an antique"

[@akryllicmusic7777]

Very witty, genuinely had a good laugh at this, you win the comments sir

[@GUNUFofficial]

Imagine playing sonic adventure 2 and a bunch of ants start crawling out of your controller.

[@CrabHead501]

What you see is what you get! Just an ant that loves controllers!

[@beepmoo8771]

🤤

[@KoopaBOOEY]

They took "Escape from The City" seriously 😂

[@Kingbenfaet]

then they help you beat the game

[@JasperFoxo]

forbidden gamer snack

[@guyrocketram9698]

the fact that the ants just cleaned up after themselves & it all got back to normal with minimal damage is so bizarre. like you were just letting them borrow it & they took good care of it. so weird.

[@ThisIsMyNewAlias]

To humans,lol

[@scouthatesrainbows]

@@ThisIsMyNewAliasfound the ant

[@Superfreaky2]

The fact their first thoughts were to save the kids and move them somewhere safe tho

[@Will-ne9cl]

​@@ThisIsMyNewAliasThis is precisely the exact opposite of what humans do!

[@Austin-kt7ky]

The ants see it as an evacuation after a natural disaster. Move and start anew.

[@ItsChamp]

it was nice of the ants to clean up after themselves

[@SaraMorgan-ym6ue]

they are well mannered creatures after all they were like oh is this your controller hold on, we will leave just give us a minute to move our babies.🤣🤣🤣

[@RT-qd8yl]

@@SaraMorgan-ym6ue "Thanks for letting us crash here, have a good one"

[@E..-_]

@@SaraMorgan-ym6ueLollllll

[@barrelsynapse]

Unlike roaches, ants have standards

[@MZFKDL]

what struck me more was not that they lived in the controller, but that they moved ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!

[@Gold_Yoshi]

Would've never thought to just let them clean their own mess up. Very interesting.

[@chriswelcome8102]

Ants just anting. Don't deserve to die for just trying to do what they do. Just pick em up n send em on their way ^^

[@nickfifteen]

@@chriswelcome8102 Yeah, I learned that lesson when a huge ant swarm found some lunch I left overnight... when I moved the food outside (thus signalling to the ants that the food is no longer in my room) they eventually all disappeared. Much easier to deal with than if I sprayed them all and had to watch dead ants and spray out of my bed sheets, etc. Self-cleaning bugs! Super handy.

[@AprilTeniente-eu1mj]

Ants are supposed to be inside the anthills, not on the Dreamcast controller!!

[@kreuner11]

Well, most of these are pupi and larvae, they can move their colonies

[@MrHomelessHobos]

@@AprilTeniente-eu1mjthe Dreamcast controller WAS the anthill.

[@kreuner11]

Ants in habitats: This soil is too moist! We won't move our queen! Too much light! Ants in Dreamcast controller: Mmmm perfect!!

[@tocalifedariusLOL]

Fr

[@jeshirekitenkatt1212]

i was gonna say, i wonder how many ant keepers this irritated because their own ants are so damn picky lmao

[@aarepelaa1142]

@@jeshirekitenkatt1212 give them horrid options then one good one so they think it's better than it seems.

[@ZeddSlayer]

How fitting that they used the memory card slots to store their eggs lol

[@Frank-qn7de]

your pfp sure is fitting lol

[@rustymixer2886]

Better ants than roaches. Maybe they ate the dead roach

[@elshrapnel]

True words my man. Roaches are faster, nastier and they breed and grow like the speed of light. 🤮

[@rustymixer2886]

@@elshrapnel indeed

[@salemsloane5820]

I bought a used Dreamcast that WAS infested with cockroaches

[@rustymixer2886]

@salemsloane5820 omg sorry to hear. I always put online stuff or local stuff I buy in 3 grocery bags and put in cold for a week outside (so IF they are there they freeze and have no water and only food is each other and they arent in my home). I don't buy anything in summer.

[@mts4651]

Yes and ants when they finish cleaning because all they do is cleaning they just leave ☠️

[@vbathory3757]

“What is this? A center for ants??!!”

[@HellScream107]

😆 zoolander!

[@i_used_adblock_to_watch_this]

*center

[@LlamaRed]

Underrated comment 🤣😂😭

[@Ashinle]

That's actually surprising how clean of a job the ants did moving out

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

Ants are incredibly well organized like that. People who make ant farms as a hobby can tell you that a lot of ant species will routinely remove debris from their colonies, and even sort their eggs/larvae/pupae by age.

[@FruityKoala]

@@Dee_Just_Deeand when the ant knows it’s dying it’ll move itself to “the graveyard” part of the ant farm. Fascinating animals

[@tommydesimone6106]

Yeah they did a lot better than most people… landlords out there if you’re watching this , please start renting too ants and not people!

[@badmexican333]

​@@user-xy1ex2qf6kUnfortunately, you can only pay them in room and board

[@thomasparkes5707]

​@tommydesimone6106 what... kind of people... 😈

[@Wafflepants-dl8fk]

Imagine playing some ants and a bunch of dreamcasts came out.

[@deadchannel2837]

amazing how well the Dreamcast controllers clean up after themselves after infesting an ant

[@toyotacorollaaltis8613]

I was once driving my ant and Corollas just started pouring out of my cupholders

[@456tyso]

i was just drinking ant and then a swarm of waters invaded my glass of ant

[@cobalt35]

I was once chilling on my ant and then a bunch of beds came out

[@VcrBoi1]

I just left a partially filled ant in my living room, next morning a bunch of Dr. Pepper cans had surrounded the ant

[@rayraysss]

Sega: We have Pikmin at home Pikmin at home:

[@RocketRidge]

omg...

[@cpl.barbarusc4814]

Seems like those ants are hardcore SEGA fans.

[@Mickelraven]

I think their god must be a blue colored hedgehog.

[@cpl.barbarusc4814]

@@Mickelraven and a Red Colored Echidna as well.

[@Mickelraven]

@@cpl.barbarusc4814 And maybe even a yellow fox too.

[@cpl.barbarusc4814]

@@Mickelraven or even they are spies recruited by Dr. Eggman Robotnik himself.

[@StafkiGTN]

So hardcore, they're in hardware!!

[@BuckScrotumn]

Absolutely incredible that you essentially said “time to move, fellas” and the ants said “fair enough” and completely cleaned up after themselves. Fascinating how so many species of insects like wasps and ants function like a gigantic army and pursue the best interest of the colony rather than the individual, which is typical of 99% of other life forms.

[@sadiesm]

so wholesome seeing the ants cleaning up after themselves

[@NeilWatchesYT]

What is this!?!? A controller for ants!?!?

[@mohammed-ko4zu]

Literally.

[@wbaba34]

r/thingsforants reference????

[@hipsterelephant2660]

It's a Zoolander reference ya dope.

[@ember9361]

@@wbaba34 that joke is older than reddit buddy

[@tocalifedariusLOL]

FR!!!

[@lankthedank6931]

You’re a brave and gentle man. Plenty of people would try and kill them all, yet you simply put them outside.

[@lastswordfighter]

Degenerate furry.

[@XYZB0RG]

​ @lastswordfighter nearly didn't notice that. GG

[@lankthedank6931]

@@lastswordfighter My hobbies have no relevance to the conversation. Stick to the topic. Normal people don’t randomly insult strangers.

[@BubBledsBlue]

​​@@lastswordfighter your instinct is to instantly insult any living being that likes something that you dont, seriously dont be such a troublemaker for literally no reason Furries or not it lies in how they actually treat people around them, dont just assume if one community is weird then literally everyone in it is weird too

[@_gorillazfreakinc._2]

​@@lastswordfighter The only degenerate I see here is insulting someone who did nothing to them.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

I can believe this, because my last apartment building was 99 years old, and the cockroaches were there first. Even before i had any food in the apartment, they still came in to munch the adhesive from my packing boxes. Later, they came and built a nest in my subwoofer. I threw it away. You can't really successfully take apart a wooden box with a bass port. I don't envy you this ant man business, but at least they're not cockroaches.

[@Shantae-June22002]

But if possible you can use the subwoofer to kill them by playing loud sounds. Or scare them away.

[@terraversalvoid5391]

The mess they make inside things and the smell is horrible. Had a buddy come over stoked. He found a Nintendo GameCube in his grandmas attic. We got to playing it and saw a roach or two go in and out of the fan grate. Took it apart, and it was disgusting. They make a horrendous mess. We did end up cleaning it and using it after that.

[@ianswift3521]

what i don't like is when insects start eating shirts and books. that's a problem. books are these sheets of paper with words on them that explain a topic or tell a story.

[@stighma]

@@ianswift3521pretty sure that everyone knows what a book is

[@davidrenton]

@@stighma actually his description of those book things was quite useful

[@santiinx737]

Huuuge props for respectfully letting the ants move to a better home when most wouldn’t bother

[@randallnguyen7405]

ya, i would've thrown that controller across the field or just set it on fire.

[@TheJazzNL]

Placing it outside in the sun was the best thing you could do. They dont like light inside their nests. Probaly, there was no sweet substance involved, just a worker ant ran into it, and figuert this makes a good nesting spot. Then the colony got moved into it

[@PlushieMutant]

I’m not sure what it is, but this sounds so adorable. What an adventure for this colony!

[@MissusAnon]

The worker ant in question received unpaid leave for this misstep

[@thedude3005]

​@@PlushieMutantthey lost half of their men to a vacuum cleaner

[@tybread2997]

Ants from what I've seen, tend to go towards enclosed warm areas for laying eggs. The drones get sent out to collect food to bring back to the nest. I've had an entire colony under my bass speaker because it was warm from the internal amp. All I had to do was turn the speaker off, next morning, they were completely gone.

[@dreamsprayanimation]

Depends on the species.

[@mr.crowgamer6250]

@@dreamsprayanimationwas there a queen for this colony ?

[@TheCutiePatrol]

ants carry waste away from the nest, so you might find a little pile of dead ants and other crap behind a desk or something lol.

[@dc-vw4qm]

you gotta admit they are kinda cute just working away carrying their eggs. Glad you found a peaceful solution

[@seto007]

This the kinda controller you'd be forced to use when visiting your friend's house

[@calvin9436]

ant I have nothing eggantst

[@shidoumezawa]

Controlers nowadays: "Oh no, im 3 months old, im drifting to the right now" Controlers back then: "I survived the chimera ant invasion, the king is dead. There are thousands of other bombs where this came from"

[@GamingBren]

This is so accurate

[@lukecwolf]

Socities in the animal kingdom never cease to fascinate me. It's quite amazing that the ants clean up after themselves, likely knowing full well that the plants were better suited for them than a dreamcast. It was impressive that they cleaned up after themselves too

[@JohnZombi88]

I've had this happen to a 360 controller once. About 17 years ago somebody had spilled coca cola on it and it got inside every cranny. I wrote it off and threw it in a box in my shed. 5 or 6 years later I was cleaning out the shed and found the controller. Ants were all over it. Ants are really cool tho. They ended up eating all the sugary residue and all I had to do was clean it with alcohol. The controller still works to this day.

[@Mr.GobIin]

New fear unlocked

[@JasGam-id9nk]

That's now that's the best controller to play RE code veronica with ...

[@qwopiretyu]

Underrated comment

[@hectorleon465]

Lol this got me 💀😂

[@MidoriMushrooms]

I hate to be THAT person but as someone with zero knowledge of dreamcast stuff can someone explain the joke to me? (I want to know because I'm annoyed at a friend. It's a long story.)

[@bunny_incup132]

Resident Evil is a horror games. I believe you know that. Not sure if I understand the "joke", but you know play a horror game and exp. the horror on your pad at the same time. But that might not be the case. In RE:Code Veronica there are psycho twins that were focusing on ants (ants nest, ant jellery, even the final boss resembles some larva with ants and wings). Maybe this is the reference to it.

[@AkiraFudou]

​@MidoriMushrooms if you have any questions after, feel free to ask because I am writing this shortly after waking up. ant motifs are all over the game with the ashford twins observing ant colonies in cg scenes, items being stylized after them,etc. alexia ashford, the main antagonist of code veronica, was also a scientist and planted a queen ant's gene into spencers virus from other games, which gives us the t veronica. Injecting herself with it, she put herself into cryo stasis to stabilize the virus. Thus she figuratively became the "queen ant" while in a confession letter written by her twin, alfred called himself her loyal servant, esentially becoming a "worker" ant.

[@seinfan9]

I had experienced this as a kid 20 years ago. I had a DVD of Return of the Living Dead. There were no signs at all of any ants. But when I popped open the case, tons of ants and their eggs were inside. Freaked me the hell out.

[@chitan1362]

Forbidden Rice

[@R4G4M3MN0N]

Lol

[@Juleszzzzz]

Loaded with protein!

[@LOUDMOUTHTYRONE]

Still very edible

[@kai_maceration]

this is seriously so awesome, it's so cool that you just let them move someplace else, i really love bugs and it makes me sad how most people don't think twice about killing them

[@HellScream107]

Neat video. Nice of you to try to help the ants rather than just going scorched earth.

[@Xorgel-Celiantia]

The fact you let them live and thrive somewhere else and how they politely cooperated back really lifts my day. Thank you for this!

[@skeletontoes7692]

Was thinking the same

[@Sourceofthebuter]

The Ants got good taste

[@GGYTTHEYT]

Damn, we got the whole space colony ARK up in that controller😂😂😂

[@MidoriMushrooms]

the hoover was GUN

[@ChenEpicGray]

More like colony ANT

[@EntoneTori]

Damn, that's absolutely wild Massive respect to you that you could manage to clean the entire controller up and making it usable again!

[@WindowsOSStuff]

those ants must want to play the dreamcast

[@Z64bit]

Well ants aren't roaches so I'm ok with them tbh. It's cool they clean up after themselves

[@Rih4rd_dota]

In some countries like Austria ants are equal to roaches. In hotels you are not allowed to leave any uncovered food

[@Z64bit]

@@Rih4rd_dota Well I'm the kind of person to keep spiders to catch the flies

[@provolonepop]

I was very happy you didn't killed the entire colony and tried (and sucessed) moving them away to a safe spot

[@koolaid33]

Glad you didn't just abandon the controller, or destroy the ant colony. That's very weird! Definitely isn't the first video like this I've seen, there used to be a really popular one with ants inside an N64 controller, and I've seen other videos with them inside Nintendo Switches and PCs. Ants will find their way into literally anything lmao.

[@PikminWarrior454]

It's so impressive how clean the circuit board was once the ants had moved out. It makes sense, since ants need to keep their nest and brood clean to prevent mold or disease outbreaks.

[@Trilliagan4727]

That is so incredibly fascinating that they moved the eggs and larva so willingly and efficiently. I thought they would be stubborn and not want to relocate.

[@EvenFlow391]

Wow, I wouldn't have thought to have the ants move out. You're a better man than me to attempt doing that. If something like this happens to me, I'll remember this video and try to follow your example.

[@terminalmode]

One of the best retro gaming videos on KZbin I've seen. Your thoughtfulness and care for the colony was beautiful to watch. The ant biologist EO Wilson refers to ants as a Superorganism -- a biological community comprised of highly specialized individuals that serve the larger interests of a single colony rather than their own. Sounds corny for sure, but you my man are a definitely a superorganism in your own right.

[@bigkuchi1886]

I think you should commemorate the event by doing something ant related to the controller lol

[@koolaid33]

Eh I'd leave it, to show how it survived the ant colony incident of 2024. I wouldn't want to draw on a survivor.

[@ChiyaQT]

Id call this an A++ clean. Not only did you clean it but you let the colony survive. This is a first

[@DanLvK]

He did not clean it, the ants themselves cleaned it they took their belongings to a safe location 😊

[@Rih4rd_dota]

Half of the colony went to vacuum 😅

[@8bitSpartan141]

Those ants sure are living the dream

[@AlexanTheMan]

Those ants certainly lived and learned. But now that they've been uncovered, could they hardly swallow their fears and pain?

[@Lonelystarforever2000]

i admire this man, the patience to get rid of the ants, if this had happened to me, I would set on fire the control without caring whether it was damaged or not

[@19CD91]

Of course they lived in it. Those controllers where sweet.

[@Twisted_Logic]

This worked out more or less how I'd expect it to, honestly. Ants are actually pretty clean, organized, and tidy animals. It may look chaotic, but they have everything accounted for and if they find a better place to live they'll pick up shop and move EVERYTHING to the new nest

[@NoirEater]

Little guys have culture! They must like Sonic probably pretty cozy in there

[@WGlass-ws5pe]

Interesting. When I was a kid my friend had ants living inside his transparent Gameboy Color, you could see them crawling inside there.

[@spaceghostmiid]

i like how the ants managed to use the storage slot as storage still

[@Lvestfold4143]

The ingenuity of ants is something to be admired and appreciated. Imagine being able to utilize a piece of technology as essentially an apartment building housing thousands of individuals and their larvae without any damage to the device. Humans could never do that.

[@Arronic]

Imagine the ant colony were the biting types especially when you opened the controller and found them in there

[@RyanUkAus]

I’ve had a few bull ants visit the shed from time to time, they’re big bitey ones!

[@EnchantedSmellyWolf]

​@@RyanUkAusyour shed looks neat and clean and rather inviting for these little cute fellows. Even the mean ones.

[@aqais69]

LOL Wow thats amazing! I love how you just let the ants just move house! Instead of washing them out of their home with water or chemicals, saving their lives. Awesome video!

[@tonymusic8366]

That controller was bugged😂

[@LordRayken]

Major major major props for taking care of the ants. I am so happy you gave the ants a chance to move their colony/larvae. Ants are a very clean insect and they like to keep things tidy, they aren't a typical 'pest' insect like roaches.

[@SamFromSolitude]

Ants cleaning the controller overnight is proof they’re the best insects, what a polite bunch

[@mewt5358]

Im glad you didnt kill the ants. Letting them completely move out and clean out is a lot more amenable and kind

[@hypernova_119]

What games do you think they play with the controller? Sonic Antventure? Ant Set Radio? Virtu-ant Fighter?

[@Ekraelum]

Samba de Antmigo Space ChAntel 5

[@Jtmissile]

ResidANT Evil: Code VeroniCollony

[@socat9311]

Resident Evil: Code Veronicant

[@emirlsanchos6302]

ShANTmue

[@NinF37]

The fact that the ants cleaned up their own mess is nothing less than amazing. I would have never thought to do that, that’s amazing.

[@OutlawClient]

Good job moving those ants to the escape leaves in time! This new version of Chu-Chu rocket is looking more realistic than ever!

[@ForestKanagawa]

Fascinating how they decided to move to something more suitable and cleaned up after themselves!

[@RicardoSavino]

I am so glad you spared the ants, dude!!! You're a great guy!!!

[@Mysticfateee]

This is insane! i legitimately would have thrown the controller away but the way you handled it and how the controller turned out to look basically brand new was crazy

[@aosth5]

The long awaited SimAnt Dreamcast port

[@BlixenBlorp]

I love that you just let them move out, if I were you I would've just thought "welp" and then vacuum them out. if im ever in this situation I'll be sure to let them move out

[@daneelaart]

the ants are paid sega shills

[@bongchoof]

I don't like ants but I would have been sad seeing you vacuum up all those ants and eggs. I appreciate your effort.

[@navad108]

I had a similar situation with these huge black ants and a Sega Saturn controller with the analog stick - which is pretty similar to the Dreamcast controller. I was able to get them to move out and they didn't do too much damage. This was when I was living in India and it was in a storage area in an attic and the ground floor had been through a flood. If you have ever been in a flood you will know that all of the various types of ants will try to find shelter in trees or houses.

[@MidnightFireHuntress]

I really appreciate the compassion you showed for these tiny ants, awesome video, super interesting, you just earned another sub

[@LITTLE1994]

As a Dreamcast owner, that is outrageous.

[@koolaid33]

Preposterous! Egad! My word! I cannot fathom!

[@Superfreaky2]

I love how when you show the ants inside a lot of them pick up and carry the eggs, literally their first thoughts were to save to kids, i have a soft spot for ants and basically any insects that dont prey on humans. Hope the little guys found another home soon after.

[@lordraYden128]

This happened to one of my Wii remotes years ago. It was one of the weirdest things I had ever seen. The remote was in a boxed filled with other controllers but they chose one specific Wii remote to build their colony in. I rinsed the remote out a few times and it worked fine.

[@jisusoo7217]

The way you treated the ants is pretty wholesome.

[@bugpocket]

You were respectful to the ants so the ants were respectful to you.❤

[@MidStaryNight]

As someone who has dealt with ants in the house, I was SCREAMING during this video! I wouldn’t want to have hurt them but just seeing the controller like that I probably would have just cut my losses and tossed it! Watching this video was actually really interesting, seeing them clean up and move their nest so you could clean and reclaim your controller. Absolutely fascinating, thank you sharing this!

[@tntisbased]

Imagine doing lsd then playing some Dreamcast only to find ants crawling out of your game controller

[@dreamsprayanimation]

Dreamcast ain’t that old mate.

[@Porphyrin]

they're so beautiful, i'm sorry that they made a home of your dreamcast controller.

[@speedwaynutt]

Ants in your pants nar mate I've got Ants in my Dreamcast Controller.

[@keroro407]

I'm glad you didn't just spray insecticide on the controller, and letting the ants relocate the brood.

[@Rigatoni5]

"This controller is buggy"

[@PanzerMan332]

I can't get over the idea of ants living in a Dreamcast controller and receiving an eviction notice before kindly moving out.

[@hrvstmn31]

Clean controller and free ant farm, win win.

[@luviana_]

i appreciate how much care and respect you had for the ants!!! i am one of those kinds of people who would do something like this because i really care about nature. i really love this video and how it doesn't just have a gut negative reaction to an unsightly yet fascinating scene of nature. really awesome!!!

[@Masterlink01]

I love how the controller looks so much worse in the video than in the thumbnail. That's some great reverse clickbait right here lmao.

[@TWITCH.JAVASAR]

Ants are so amazing!!!! I think a insect museum would love that controller and video you have for display

[@booster-b3568]

Next week: I have found a new hobby.

[@stephengarforth2753]

love that you let the ants move on. only thing i may have done differently would be leaving them something to eat so they have a better chance after such a drastic and stressful move

[@KengaruZ]

Missed opportunity to plug the controller in with the colony inside for them to control the game

[@ohhadivist]

Ants are amazing, good on you for being gentle to them

[@QLTD]

I wonder if these ants came with the controller from Japan!

[@RyanUkAus]

They were Australian black house ants, so they've ventured into the shed! Probably an old sugary spill in that controller!

[@NemetFox]

As an ant enjoyer, this was neat to see! Thanks for sharing! Ants tend to be very clean, and unless they're defending their home, they don't tend to spray their formic acid within their home. Also they are pretty good at getting rid of their waste and garbage. I doubt that it was food that enticed them into the controller as a nest, but rather that it was suitable as a nest for them as it was easy to control the way in and out for them. The winged ants are alates, the sort that go out and breed and form new colonies.

[@anonkingdom7025]

Truly a fascinating scenario, thanks for sharing it.

[@SteveRudzinski]

Bugs like the inside of controllers due to how dark and dry they usually are. Same for anything with a circuit board. Nothing sugary needed. Obviously it isn't super commin but it happens more than one would think.