Extracting 250 kg of ant nest castings. Triple Casting Bull Ant Nest Casting - Days 3 - 5

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.
australianantart/
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 KZbin 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.

[@bobreichel]

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.

[@sewashburn0529]

Where is the exhibit? Vandy, MTSU, TTU, UT? I'd like to see it.

[@FuzzyBlast]

@@sewashburn0529 yeah where is it??

[@moulindaccessoire.3072]

A good worker blames his tools, 😅.

[@niklar55]

@@moulindaccessoire.3072 A good worker doesn't work with crap tools!

[@AMLS1922]

A great welder can do wonders .

[@ronwilken5219]

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.

[@frysause934]

I already knew Africa sucked.

[@AMLS1922]

Wow I didn't know that. Thank you for the information! I always like to learn new things.

[@niklar55]

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. .

[@DPoner]

How horrifying

[@2salzig2spucknapp]

@@niklar55 damn pests how mean is this

[@Qwertylol]

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

[@aliassteve9055]

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.

[@williammaxwell1919]

Would be nice to see some videos of the cast nests installed in the Qld Museum

[@Garryck-1]

Your wish has been granted! kzbin.info/www/bejne/baHCe59vi9CmqMUsi=sIlinroSni1_kYvb

[@nathanpapakostas8957]

Great job guys, I didn’t understand how much went into casting until watching you guys, keep up the good work

[@BradGryphonn]

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.

[@PoolCNC]

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.

[@australianantart1376]

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.

[@Pasandeeros]

@@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?

[@AFNacapella]

@@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?)

[@PersonalStash420]

@@australianantart1376 peat moss and perlite mix is light and fairly cheap. It must be dry to be light.

[@tealkerberus748]

@@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.

[@spectrumwiz]

Great explosive footage of the air pocket. Glad everyone was safe

[@Angelsilhouette]

Maybe one or two plate compactors turned on as you pour the aluminium would vibrate the air bubbles upwards and make for better casts.

[@paulinegeorge289]

And a big shout out for the ants who were martyred making this video.

[@PankajSharma-cc2gc]

ANT'S Life Matters 😂

[@McChrister]

😂😂😅

[@timwatkins3271]

And didn't have to pay them, just hope they don't name them in the credits 😂

[@joannefamelio1412]

Proper casts, on the Mark!!! Hope they like them?!😊

[@sforza209]

You know you’re in Australia when you hear those magpies hahaha they sound so cool!

[@matthewmcalley392]

Plenty round this way And we're in New Zealand 😂

[@lisay.1042]

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!

[@gabbyfoo2]

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.

[@yvesprovencher]

Bravo , c'est de l'art , vous êtes des artistes , 👍

[@Mike_Hoffmann]

So freaking huge! Glad they came out so well, it makes your hard work so worthwhile.

[@RendaJane]

This is not an inexpensive art form. It’s very satisfying seeing them turn out so beautifully. 🎉

[@Maine307]

this the one that had the lava popping and exploding? !!! i been waiting for this!!!!!!! Cheers from Maine USA !!!!

[@robertlantz2206]

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 😃

[@nondanelson9553]

Beautiful interactions, perseverance, and a unique look at nature's architecture. Well done.😊

[@Sweetlyfe]

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.

[@YenZenBamboo]

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. 🤟☮️🇦🇺😎👍

[@moulindaccessoire.3072]

Thank you for sharing. Amazing what you are doing. Take care.

[@isabellerininger6249]

Fascinating!

[@1crazypj]

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) 😁

[@bjw4859]

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.

[@malcolmjcullen]

That second one was a monster, with the giant galleries. It was the ant Moria!

[@timsullivan4566]

Nest 2 was so beautiful !

[@rpdx3]

That was like a mini documentary!

[@jeffsherk7056]

Greetings from rural Illinois. Fantastic work. I liked your emphasis on safety.

[@DaveTRG]

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.

[@krissykolorjunki5304]

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!

[@toddrodgers5108]

That was so cool and beautiful pieces of art

[@lancer2204]

The look on your face when the young'n asked "can we make heavier ingots?"!

[@elainebates6967]

Good job guys and gal.

[@Static140]

I would like to see the castings cleaned and finished.

[@timsullivan4566]

(02:52) That poor little Bull Ant - I guess she never got the memo...?

[@YenZenBamboo]

Expanding foam inside garbage bags, lol just as you said it. Cardboard box outer. Fantastic job. Well done.

[@AnderZ312]

kinda crazy that I watched this sieres yesterday, nmot knowing anything about anything. Then you upload part 3 and I was like :o

[@elizabethturel78]

It was a great video!!👍🏻

[@elsagillespie5210]

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.

[@rogerdudra178]

Greetings from the BIG SKY of Montana .

[@frankhaugen]

Expanding foam in bags... My god it was worth the video for that actual life-hack 😮

[@gerryjamieson1861]

Great work guys. Do you get to see the final placement and finish of the castings?

[@apolloreinard7737]

yes.. a picture of the final installation would be brilliant!

[@mikel7176]

Wonderful content, I'm glad I found you.

[@philmoore71]

a Qlder watching from Estonia... i wish you could cast my ant nest next spring

[@johnnybarbar7435]

Nice castings fellas! Helpful hint....idle down the tractor and it ill be easier to feather the front loader forks movement.

[@rodmills4071]

Can't thank you enough, for incetifying me to take up stamp collecting as a retirement hobby.....🤔😂😎🇦🇺👌

[@billbox9007]

Great job guys

[@curtrobinson6883]

It is amazing what you guys do. Great educational video.🇺🇸

[@dennissheese9378]

❤ it. 😂 😊

[@cooliobroski3008]

You guys are awesome

[@Ramona57-TX]

Wow, beautiful.

[@sewashburn0529]

Great Series! Maybe have links to other videos in the series in the description?

[@denislemelin7653]

So how do they look after they’ve been cleaned up, I mean for museum quality viewing .

[@Loan--Wolf]

that ant was thinking its gone its all gone

[@tonilong3624]

One of those as a chandelier how cool

[@bm4751]

Very interesting ant civilisations.

[@giles-df9yu]

Great work great

[@b42indep43]

Is there another video showcasing the polished museum pieces?

[@itzcaseykc]

Not too shabby. A shame you don't have volunteers to collect aluminum cans and other aluminum products in bulk to melt down into ingots for these projects of yours. That would be awesome if that was ever possible. Ask for donations from the local communities instead of them donating/cashing them in at recycling companies. From Upstate NY, USA

[@ydna]

nice haul there

[@roqua]

Of course, I can't be sure as to the provenance of the opening shot (0:00 to 0:08), but kudos to you if it was your drone footage: amazing lighting, angle, surreal misty landscape with the trees just vividly highlighted through said fog. In fact, removing the last second and a half (to get rid of the ramshackle fence and whatnot [and not knocking that property]) I could see this used in a NatGeo/Attenborough level nature documentary.

[@kevinemery1177]

I can't believe how many people feel bad for freaking ANTS!!!!? Ants their hearts go out for ants .Ants ants

[@rbrtgreenland6786]

Have you considered using what we call in the states a turbo nozzle on your water jets they might move the dirt more readily for you really enjoy videos have fun

[@SimonTekConley]

Ooo Inigo Montoya ant, prepare to doe.

[@WillaHerrera]

Low RPM while moving forks makes hydraulic movements much less erratic.

[@andyharpist2938]

Seemed the pressure washer was blasting hell out of it.

[@Fine_i_set_the_handle]

11:41 holy crap grandpa those sticks are analog, gentle pull gets a gentle tilt.

[@paulvincent3825]

He had ants in his pants and it was time to dance 😂😂😂😂

[@doug9418]

Sure hope this all turns out well for all. 👍🏼☕

[@navaho5430]

So are these fire ant nests ha, cheers from NSW.

[@Just-SomeGuy]

If you could make a box for those and use packing peanuts instead of the foam and wood, I think it would be a lot easier and safer and you could easily remove and reuse the packing peanuts.

[@JeffHuntsinger]

Now THATS a MULLET!

[@lindastevens6861]

Cool

[@donscottvansandt4139]

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!

[@livelife6806]

Nice to see them be careful but to disturb the environment

[@bagoistvan3182]

👍👍👍... Great job guy's. Next time let's do Klendathu !!! ...🐜🐜🐜...hahaha 😂😂😂 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺👍

[@wildrootorganics9060]

Have you ever put an anchor bolt or loop into the base of the casting before it hardens? Some threaded rod might unscrew from the base after it hardens.

[@australianantart1376]

Normally we would but the first casting had no meat to the head, we didn't really trust the head of the second and the third... you saw what happened.

[@NinjaBonez]

instead of tying it off with rope the way you do, and flipping it over - you should try one where you take a dozen links of chain, and let it harden in the 'top' of it, then you can HANG the ant mound rather than flipping it and making a base. or you still can, but the chain would ABSOLUTELY make it easier to extract from the ground. just a thought. *cheers*

[@Woodie-xq1ew]

have you guys considered adding some rails to your lifting rig so that you can slide the nest from above the hole before trying to get it onto a pallet?

[@MisterChips2012]

Could you have made a jig to sink 4 hex head bolts into the molten aluminum at the top and once solid you have 4 threaded rods to be able to mount it and move it.?

[@gangoolie68]

AMAZING!! Thanks for taking us through each of the steps of the process. And what a result!! 🎉

[@56WagonWheel]

That opening shot is amazing

[@fishslayer8533]

That is so cool but dangerous stay safe

[@usaroseinc]

Looks awesome - few suggestions - use a pressure washer with 10+ GPM (38+ Liters per minute) night and day to what you were using and also use a Turbo nozzle will move more dirt, use the vac truck all the time to remove mud or an InclineVac which is both Vac and pressure washer in one, Face masks for spray back protection AND back the RPM down on the loader to stop jerking movements - shit can still happen but at a slower rate. It is a beautiful piece well done.

You have to be an American, right? Which State?

[@roqua]

11:40 LoL... was wondering 🤔Might that bit of nest trailing out to the side and off the palate ... fall off? 🤔 - and sure enough, a little bit of whiplash action from the forklift hydraulics and it popped off like Lego.

[@JohnnyTheMonkey]

Tune in next week for seal skull LED desk lamps!

[@davidhickman6291]

maybe smelt your aluminium and pour it directly into your crucible.layer by layer . then remelt the whole thing. no air gaps and more material initially available . I cast silver jewellery and I love the way you guys use nature as a mould to create art

[@fdect]

Question: the casting is done with the ants inside or are they smoked out? If they are left inside, don't their bodies block some canals? Wouldn't the casting being more solid and intrinsic smoking them out?

[@gtube6913]

Cool. Is there any way to 3d scan the nest from aboveground and then 3d print it ? Might save a ton of work and aid in logistics. Just an idea, casual viewer here.

[@karicallegra8194]

I wonder if you could do this same idea with that clear epoxy all the other youtubers use to make river tables. Might be cool to see some of the ants and stuff in the epoxy, and less work than melting and pouring molten metal (well at least I assume lol).

[@australianantart1376]

We have tried this. Please check out our epoxy casting video. 😀

[@ronb1518]

Build a box big enough. Fill it half full with non expaanding foam. Put a large piece of 8 mil plastic over the foam. Lower the casting into the foam. Let it set up. Put more 8 mil plastic over the casting. Fill the box with foam.

8 mil would be too thick, I understand you don’t want a puncture, but it still has to be more pliable then 8 mil.

[@jickmccivy6327]

What an Adventure ! I learned so much on Methods and Practices . Where did you get your safety gear ?

[@richardwilliams1334]

Thank you for your Ant cemetery. The amount of stuff used I expected the thing to have gone on much deeper not thicker. These things can be on sold as display's in shopping centers etc. Brizzie ah, if you know Andrew Simpson, tell him Kia ora from this end Aotearoa.

[@comfortouch]

Please turn the IS (Image Stabilization) on to 'handheld' for the camera.

[@jakerazmataz852]

JMO, I don't think Bull ants have the prettiest nests. I like more tunnels and individual chambers. 🤷‍♂ But that's a lot of metal.

[@brianpruitt1015]

so how many ants do you estimate were in those 3 mounds?

[@matthutch5919]

I so look forward to winning lotto so I can get your team to cast my own ant nest

[@australianantart1376]

Let us know when you do 😀

[@johnhennery8820]

I found a huge ant hill in the back of our property in the state of wa. It was 5 feet tall and I pored 5 gallons of decil fuel and lit it off burend from 6 days no more ants

Who is in charge of your educational system? Specifically, reading, writing, spelling etc.