Rainbow Ant Colony (Part 1)

[@CreeperUniverseTV]

My original queen died many months ago. I'm on a cruise right now. Yesterday I caught an Elongated Twig Ant. Everyone says it's a worker. But I still have hope! Keeping it just in case...but today and tomorrow we're in the Bahamas. Maybe I'll find some queen there :)

[@tomwestwood5318]

0:38 omg I can see the eyes on the eggs

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Those aren't actually eggs, they are pupae. It's the final stage of an ants metamorphosis process before they eclose.

[@tomwestwood5318]

+Ants Australia o

[@68046Matt]

Reminds me of Formica fusa garden ants we have here in the great plains continental NA

[@thomascameron2612]

Hey Ants Australia. I have a question. If you give more food than the colony can consume to the colony, will that hurt the colony? Like, if for example you opened a jar of honey for them and left it in the outworld. What happens then?

[@thomascameron2612]

***** Hahaha thanks. Interesting response. Yeah I figured they would fall in and drown but I was curious to know if you can actually hurt them by feeding them to much, a bit like what you can do with humans.

[@deathkingcheetah1337]

Thomas Cameron LOL

[@thomascameron2612]

DeathKingCheetah2235 xD

[@10footlongschlong21]

Thomas Cameron you should use raw honey like antscanada because they can't drown in it

[@princesssunrays]

@@JordanDeanFilms I have given wild ant colony a spoonful of honey and they just walk on top of it without getting stuck so I don't think that they would get stuck

[@antcavite5029]

You are near to 46k subscribers

[@das250250]

Have you tried using a USB microscope with LeDs to light the sample area ,they are quite cheap and a little distance will give some nice information.

[@mellecorbiere3073]

0:01 what material is that nest

[@moosegoose8390]

How did you carve the chambers and tunnels of the nest?

[@panadolnurofen4657]

I love these videos

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Thanks! :)

[@avascrazzzyworld8236]

Hi u have inspired me to start my own conaly sorry if I spelt that wrong I'm going to start tommoro

[@JordanDeanFilms]

That's great to hear! Good luck with it!

[@deathkingcheetah1337]

Ants Australia hey ants Australia. Today I found an Dome-Backed Spiny Ant. I thought it was a queen but after some research found out that it was an normal worker. I would like to catch either an Iridomyrmex Queen or Dome-Backed Spiny Ant Queen. Got any tips on finding and catching one

[@tbbt921]

DeathKingCheetah2235 find a wild colony, research nuptial flight season, then when they fly look for mated queens a block away from the nest

[@cappslap1433]

Ants Australia I'm a constant viewer of your channel. And Iv asked you a few questions, I have what I think is a rainbow ant queen and had it captured for about 2 weeks and it hasn't done anything, are they fully clostrel or just clostrel? If so do I need to feed it. It's not eating or drinking what Iv been putting down for it. I'm just thinking of letting it go if it keeps this up. Over the last 5 weeks Iv found queen ants at the wrong time when I didn't have anything to capture them with. Please answer the 5 queen is on the line

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Hi there, Iridomyrmex queens (commonly known as rainbow ants) are fully claustral. They won't need to be fed at all until their workers arrive. Until then, it's important they remain stress-free. Leave her undisturbed within an appropriate setup (I recommend a test tube setup) and only check up on her once every 2-3 weeks.

[@mortuzaali5304]

Can I still find Queens now? I live in Sydney, Australia in a pretty rural area. I have a park near me with quite a lot of ants. This'll be my first Queen so are they easy to take care of?

[@mortuzaali5304]

also am planning to keep them in a test tube formicarium setup

[@mortuzaali5304]

+Noah Menyeer willing to use substrate in the lunch box outworld as well

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Yes, for sure. Spring is the best time to search.

[@local_catgirl3344]

I own a queen ant of the same species, how can I help it produce a colony like the one you show

[@guillaumeandrevon3303]

Hi Jordan do you know if iridomyrmex becknelli needs diapause during winter season ?

[@finnschoenberger9712]

what are the "boxes" called with the ants in it and where can u buy them

[@harrisonfinn1437]

FinnPlaysRoblox they're called fornicariums and ants Canada sells pretty good ones

[@gunch5492]

Harrison Finn but they cost like 200 if your from aus

[@flashfire2906]

I want to have ant colony but don't have the time to work with them as I'm usually away most the time

[@myrmecofourmis]

Why are they called rainbow ants?

[@JordanDeanFilms]

They are of the genus Iridomyrmex. From Ancient Greek, irido, translates to "rainbow", and myrmex, "ant". They've been named "Rainbow Ants" for their iridescent appearance.

[@myrmecofourmis]

Thanks mate !

[@rlittle125]

where do you get that type of enclosure

[@JordanDeanFilms]

+RANGER l This is a Tar Heel Ants formicarium I bought a couple of years ago.

[@alexwhite50]

winter in melbourne is cold?

[@loreleihaywood4673]

Alex White yeah

[@zanesaavedra]

Can can I still find them in October, I live in Melbourne. I want to start an ant farm but I don't know when the nuptial flights start

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Yes, many ants undergo their nuptial flights during spring.

[@piggyoinkoink6352]

Why are the larvae not moving? Shouldn't they be, like, crawling around the place?

[@peeblekitty5780]

Ant larvae are stationary and rely on their full-grown sisters to me moved from place to place. Same goes with eggs and pupae, until they fully eclose from their cocoon.

[@michuberlaufts2041]

How big are the workers?? Please answer:)

[@JordanDeanFilms]

They're around 4mm in length.

[@michuberlaufts2041]

Ants Australia Thank you!

[@gunch5492]

Hey AntAustralia I live in Melbourne Australia too! And I want to raise Iridomyrmex colony (rainbow ant colony) I don't know how to find a queen I searched up for a GAN farmer but their in Sydney how shou,d I find a queen? If you respond I appreciate it!

[@gunch5492]

Ants Australia I may do that but I found a friend who's has a rainbow ant colony too and he caught a queen when they had their nuptial flight so I'm okay though but thanks for telling me!

[@tbbt921]

Is this species or relatives in the USA? I have a colony that looks just like this in my front yard

[@thefinestvahqlos1562]

TBBT Most likely not.

[@tbbt921]

The Finest Vahqlos I think they are formicas in my yard

[@deathkingcheetah1337]

TBBT these are scientifically called Iridomyrmex & are pretty much native to Australia except Tasmania. So the ants you speak of are not these ants you see here. I would assume Carpenter Ants, Lasius Ants & Black Crazy Ants if I had to guess from your short description. These ants you see in this video are 3-5mm long. Measure one of them & see if I'm right

[@kylekinkade6885]

You should post more often even if the videos are shorter

[@mdrogun]

You havent released a vid on forever

[@kharnifex]

How the hell do I tell these and Argentine ants, apart?

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Yeah, they do look similar. I usually tell by uncovering their nests and seeing their queens. They're quite small and distinctive looking. Telling workers apart is a bit more difficult. They're a little smaller than common species of Iridomyrmex and are pale brownish in colour, whereas most Iridomyrmex I find are darker. Give this a read - myrmecos.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/how-to-identify-the-argentine-ant-linepithema-humile/

[@kharnifex]

Ants Australia I am guessing what I have collected may be Argentine ants as the queen's immediately started working together :(

[@JordanDeanFilms]

Some species of Iridomyrmex will accept multiple queens (polygynous), so it's not a sure sign. Even if they are, there's nothing wrong with keeping Argentine ants. It's better they're with you than out in the wild destroying everything haha.

[@kharnifex]

Ants Australia thanks Jordan, I'll be getting a friend to take macro shots of a bunch of different queen's I collected last week, I'll send them to you on the FB page for some I'd help ;)

[@szymonchamerski4214]

Very interesting:)

[@DeadKnight08]

Woohoo 0 dislikes Edit: Oh no I jinxed it

[@nighthowl3981]

Ive found about 12 queens in 1 day

[@chegg8172]

Night Howl I went looking for Camponotus queens for about 2 hours today and found nothing even tho it's summer in Queensland and extremely hot.

[@Fenrir264]

Usually around Christmas and new years are the best times to catch Camponotus queens, at least the common variety commonly referred to as sugar ants

[@shibbsterx1]

Sweet! :)

[@SpazzingChicken]

will ants eat vegemite?

[@daudwaqas3550]

This is a perfect Ant! I found it on Gamer-Gate for $30 queen only, and $50 and $70 if you want ants with it, PERFECT. I have to say this: DO NOT BUY FROM ANTS-CANADA THEY'RE WAY TOO EXPENSIVE I appreciate Ants-Russia, They're CHEAP

[@CN-kf8xj]

Yeah antscanada is expensive but its good quality soooo😛

[@email2ncolon]

omg!!