My Next Giant Ecosystem Vivarium

AntsCanada
26 May 202435:38

Summary

TLDRIn this vibrant episode, the creator unveils plans to expand 'Pantdora,' a giant cloud rainforest vivarium, by incorporating a cave, swamp, and canopy ecosystem. The audience is taken on a journey through the vivarium's intricate life, including the introduction of Empress Emeralda, a green marbled mantis, and Emperor Silverio for a high-stakes breeding attempt. Exciting new creatures like jewel scarab beetles and weaver ants are added, promising a richer biodiversity. The episode culminates in a successful mantis mating ritual, symbolizing the vivarium's thriving ecosystem and the creator's dedication to recreating nature's wonders within glass.

Takeaways

  • 🌳 The creator is expanding their cloud rainforest vivarium named Pantdora to observe natural ecosystems more closely.
  • 🎨 They are seeking input on what the next ecosystem vivarium should be, with options like a swamp, cave, treetop canopy, or grassland plains.
  • 🏗️ Plans for a new Canopy Vivarium are underway, which will be located on the second floor and connected to Pantdora via a glass bridge.
  • 🔍 The new Canopy Vivarium will be slightly larger than Pantdora, with the same length and width but an additional foot in height.
  • 🐞 The creator has started collecting new creatures, such as various beetles and a huntsman spider, to introduce into the vivarium.
  • 🦂 A jewel scarab beetle and other unidentified scarab beetles have been collected, showcasing the biodiversity being introduced.
  • 🕷️ Efforts are being made to breed marbled mantises, with a focus on ensuring the female is well-fed to prevent the male from being eaten.
  • 🐜 New ant species, possibly invasive, have been discovered in Pantdora, and weaver ants are being introduced with the hope they will build nests in the canopy.
  • 🦇 A conflict between weaver ants and ghost ants over eggs has been observed, with some weaver ants losing their lives.
  • 🐾 The creator is considering adding mammals like marmosets, dormice, or sugar gliders to the Canopy Vivarium to enhance the ecosystem.
  • 📋 A sketch of the Canopy Vivarium design is shared, featuring a network of vines, branches, and plants to create a natural habitat for the creatures.

Q & A

  • What is the purpose of creating Pantdora, the cloud rainforest vivarium?

    -The purpose of Pantdora is to observe what truly happens in wild ecosystems, including wars, alliances, plot twists, and triumphs, by creating a tropical world within glass with interconnected animals, plants, fungi, and an automated weather system.

  • Why does the creator feel Pantdora needs to be bigger?

    -The creator feels Pantdora needs to be bigger to accommodate more complex ecosystems and to expand the observation of natural interactions and behaviors within a more diverse and expansive environment.

  • What are the options the creator is considering for the next ecosystem vivarium?

    -The creator is considering a swamp world, a cave, a tree top canopy, lowland rainforest, or a grassland plain for the next ecosystem vivarium.

  • What is the role of Empress Emeralda in the Pantdora project?

    -Empress Emeralda, a green marbled mantis, is part of the Pantdora project to rectify a failed breeding experiment by attempting to successfully breed mantises in the vivarium.

  • How does the creator plan to expand Pantdora to include a canopy vivarium?

    -The creator plans to expand Pantdora by removing a glass panel and connecting it to a glass bridge that joins Pantdora to the Canopy vivarium located on the second floor, creating a vertical ecosystem.

  • What is the size of the new Canopy vivarium compared to Pantdora?

    -The new Canopy vivarium will be the same length and width as Pantdora but will be a foot taller.

  • What types of beetles are being collected to be part of the Pantdora ecosystem?

    -The creator is collecting various scarab beetles, including a jewel scarab beetle and others with unique coloration, to be part of the Pantdora ecosystem.

  • Why is the creator interested in adding weaver ants to the Pantdora ecosystem?

    -The creator is interested in adding weaver ants because of their unique behavior of creating hanging leaf basket nests using silk from their larvae, which would be a fascinating addition to the canopy vivarium.

  • What challenges did the weaver ant queens face upon their introduction to Pantdora?

    -The weaver ant queens faced challenges such as predation from ghost ants, who stole their eggs, and the loss of one queen to Daenerys, a predator.

  • What is the plan for the Emperor and Empress mantises after successful mating?

    -After successful mating, the plan is to wait for the Empress to lay her fertilized egg sacs, which will then be used to found a new generation of mantises in the canopy vivarium.

  • What additional mammals are being considered for the canopy vivarium?

    -The creator is considering adding primates like marmosets, dormice, or sugar gliders as potential mammals for the canopy vivarium.

  • What creature is hinted at the end of the script to be added to the vivarium?

    -The creature hinted at the end of the script is not explicitly mentioned, but it is suggested to be one that many viewers have been eager to learn about and is related to the desire for a swamp vivarium.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Expansion of Pantdora: A Tropical Vivarium Adventure

The narrator introduces Pantdora, a giant cloud rainforest vivarium, and shares their ambitious plans to expand it. They seek input from viewers on what kind of ecosystem to add next, with options like a swamp, cave, treetop canopy, or grassland plains. The narrator is excited to reveal their plans and has already begun collecting new creatures to introduce into the vivarium. They also mention a specific egg sac from a failed breeding experiment that they hope to successfully hatch with the help of Empress Emeralda, a green marbled mantis, who is introduced to the Antiverse with a live roach offering.

05:01

🦗 Beetle Season and the Canopy Vivarium Plan

The script details the narrator's decision to build a canopy vivarium, which will be larger than Pantdora, and located on the second floor of their Ant Room. The canopy vivarium will be connected to Pantdora via a glass bridge. The narrator has started collecting beetles, which are abundant in the area, to introduce into the new vivarium. They describe the characteristics and behaviors of various scarab beetles, including a jewel scarab beetle and a coconut rhino beetle, which they hope will thrive in the canopy environment.

10:04

🕷️ Breeding Success and the Huntsman Spider Legacy

The narrator discusses the breeding success of Lady Death Strike, a huntsman spider, and the hundreds of offspring she has produced in Pantdora. They introduce Emperor Silverio, a male marbled mantis, who is intended to mate with Empress Emeralda. The narrator meticulously plans the mating process to avoid the fate of the previous female mantis, who consumed the male. The successful mating of the mantises is set up in a controlled environment, and the narrator uses a roach as a distraction to facilitate the process.

15:08

🐜 Ant Activity and the Introduction of Weaver Ants

The script describes the resurgence of ant activity in Pantdora due to the change in season. The narrator is excited about the return of crickets and ants, including dwarf ants and a potentially invasive species known as Little Fire Ants. They also introduce a new species of ants, referred to as little golden ants. The narrator then focuses on the introduction of two weaver ant queens into Pantdora, which leads to a confrontation with invasive ghost ants over the weaver ants' eggs.

20:09

🌱 The Canopy Vivarium Design and Mammal Inhabitants

The narrator shares their sketch for the canopy vivarium, which includes a network of vines, branches, and plants suitable for arboreal creatures. They seek input on potential mammal inhabitants, considering marmosets, dormice, or sugar gliders. The focus then shifts to the ongoing mating ritual of the mantises, where the Emperor successfully mates with Empress Emeralda after a delicate and dangerous courtship, with the narrator acting as a 'wingman' to ensure the male's safety.

25:15

🦂 Post-Mating Mantis and the Future of Pantdora's Ecosystem

After a successful five-hour mating session, the narrator separates the Emperor mantis from the Empress to prevent him from being eaten. They express hope for the Empress to lay fertilized eggs and establish a new generation of mantises in the canopy. The narrator also shares concerns about the weaver ant queens and the impact of Daenerys, a creature that has eaten one of the queens, but is relieved to find another queen survived. They look forward to the construction of the canopy and the expansion of Pantdora's ecosystem, hinting at the potential addition of new creatures.

30:30

🐊 Unveiling a Prehistoric Beast for the Swamp Vivarium

In the final paragraph, the narrator teases the introduction of a new creature that will be part of the future swamp vivarium. Inspired by a visit from a South African wildlife expert, they reveal that the creature, which many viewers have been eager to learn about, is now housed in a box. The creature is suggested to be a slow-growing species that will be suitable for the swamp environment, and the narrator expresses excitement to learn more about it.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡vivarium

A vivarium is a controlled environment that recreates a natural habitat for animals and plants, often within a glass enclosure. In the video's context, it refers to the creator's project of building a complex ecosystem within glass to observe natural behaviors and interactions. Examples include Pantdora, the cloud rainforest vivarium, and the planned Canopy vivarium.

💡ecosystem

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms, such as animals, plants, and fungi, interacting with each other and their physical environment. The video's theme revolves around creating and expanding artificial ecosystems within vivaria to study and showcase the intricacies of natural relationships and dynamics.

💡Empress Emeralda

Empress Emeralda is a green marbled mantis introduced into the Pantdora vivarium. The name signifies the creature's role and importance within the video's narrative as a new addition to the vivarium's ecosystem, intended to participate in a breeding experiment.

💡breeding experiment

A breeding experiment in this context refers to the intentional mating of animals within a controlled environment to study their reproductive behaviors and produce offspring. The video discusses a failed attempt with the late Green Reaper and a new attempt with Empress Emeralda and Emperor Silverio.

💡mantises

Mantises are predatory insects known for their unique mating behaviors, where the male risks being eaten by the female during copulation. The video features a detailed account of a successful mantis breeding process, highlighting the challenges and the role of the creator as a 'wingman'.

💡Weaver Ants

Weaver ants are a species known for creating nests by weaving leaves together using silk produced by their larvae. In the video, the introduction of two weaver ant queens into Pantdora signifies an expansion of the vivarium's biodiversity and the potential for observing complex social behaviors.

💡invasive species

Invasive species are non-native organisms that can cause harm to the local ecosystem by outcompeting native species. The video mentions 'ghost ants' as an invasive species that threatens the weaver ant queens and their eggs, illustrating the real-world issue of biological invasions within contained ecosystems.

💡Canopy Vivarium

The Canopy Vivarium is a proposed extension to Pantdora that will replicate the treetop layer of a forest. It represents the next phase of the creator's project, aiming to expand the existing ecosystem to include arboreal creatures and observe their behaviors in a new environment.

💡Emperor Silverio

Emperor Silverio is a male marbled mantis introduced as a mate for Empress Emeralda. The name and role of Emperor Silverio in the video underscore the significance of the breeding experiment and the dramatic narrative of survival and reproduction within the vivarium.

💡nutrient cycle

A nutrient cycle refers to the natural process by which nutrients are recycled within an ecosystem. The video's mention of an automated nutrient cycle within the vivarium indicates the creator's aim to mimic natural processes, ensuring the health and sustainability of the enclosed ecosystem.

💡scarab beetles

Scarab beetles are a family of beetles known for their often striking appearance and sometimes unique behaviors. The video describes the collection and release of various scarab beetles into Pantdora, contributing to the diversity and aesthetic of the vivarium's insect population.

💡tree frogs

Tree frogs are a group of frogs that are adapted to living in trees. In the video, the singing of tree frogs at night suggests the onset of their breeding season, illustrating the seasonal changes and natural cycles occurring within the vivarium.

💡Daenerys

Daenerys, in the video, appears to be a creature that has caused the disappearance of the green weaver ant queen, leading to a sense of loss and the unpredictability of nature within the vivarium. This event highlights the challenges and ethical considerations of managing a contained ecosystem.

Highlights

Introduction of Pantdora, a giant cloud rainforest vivarium with an automated weather system, pond, and nutrient cycle.

Plans to expand Pantdora with the help of community votes to decide on a new ecosystem vivarium.

Collection of new creatures, including Empress Emeralda, a green marbled mantis, for the vivaria.

Unique purpose for Empress Emeralda involving a failed breeding experiment and a second attempt.

Description of Empress Emeralda's feeding habits and the significance of live prey for mantises.

Revealing the decision to build a Canopy Vivarium as an extension to Pantdora based on community input.

Design plans for the Canopy Vivarium, including a connection to Pantdora via a glass bridge.

Introduction of beetles as new Pantdoran additions, highlighting their potential impact on the ecosystem.

Breeding success of huntsman spiders and plans to replicate this with new additions.

The delicate and dangerous process of introducing Emperor Silverio for mantis breeding.

Detailed account of the mantis mating process and the role of the narrator as a 'wingman'.

Success of the mantis mating and the anticipation of the Empress laying fertilized eggs.

Unexpected ant activity and the introduction of new ant species in Pantdora.

The arrival of weaver ant queens and the challenges they face from invasive ghost ants.

Consideration of adding mammals like marmosets, dormice, or sugar gliders to the Canopy Vivarium.

Mystery creature introduction from a South African wildlife expert hinting at a future Swamp Vivarium.

Transcripts

00:00

This is my giant cloud rainforest vivarium, I  call Pantdora, and it’s about to get a whole lot  

00:07

bigger, and with it some surprises I can’t wait  to unleash. Some might call me a little crazy,  

00:14

but I figure, someone’s gotta do it, right? For  science! The purpose of building this tropical  

00:20

world within glass, full of interconnected  animals, plants, and fungi with its own automated  

00:27

weather system, pond, and nutrient cycle, is to  observe what truly happens in wild ecosystems,  

00:34

the wars, the alliances, the plot twists,  and the triumphs, and though being part  

00:40

of Pantdora’s journey has been nothing short of  sublime, the problem is, it needed to be bigger!

00:48

So, I’ve begun to draw my plans, with the  help of your votes and input to help me  

00:53

decide what our next ecosystem vivarium will  be like. Shall we build a swamp world? A cave?  

01:00

A tree top canopy or lowland rainforest?  A grassland plains, perhaps? Well,  

01:07

I am finally ready to share my plans with you,  and show you how I’ve already begun to collect  

01:12

more amazing new creatures to seed into our  tropical world, soon-to-be double vivaria.  

01:20

Welcome to the story of my greatest biological  project, where we attempt to recreate Mother  

01:26

Nature within glass and make her a whole lot  bigger, here on the AntsCanada Ant Channel!

01:38

Please SUBSCRIBE to the channel and hit the  BELL ICON! Welcome to the AC Family! Enjoy!

01:48

In the darkened corner of my Ant Room  lay a powerful empress, one of several  

01:53

new ordained and mighty creatures, I’ve carefully  selected to be part of our new vivaria. In fact,  

02:00

I feel you guys will love all the cool beasts I’ve  chosen thus far, which I’ll be adding and showing  

02:06

you today. But this one here, is a beauty with a  very unique purpose for our project in the works.

02:15

You see in Pantdora, there is a particular egg  sac that I’ve been watching over the past few  

02:20

months now, which still has not hatched, which  to me means, it wasn’t fertilized. It was the  

02:26

product of a failed breeding experiment, which I  plan to take a second shot at and rectify today.

02:33

Behold, Empress Emeralda, a green marbled  mantis. Seeing her brings back some very  

02:40

nostalgic and bittersweet memories,  of our late Green Reaper who laid  

02:44

the unfertilized egg sac in Pantdora  before she passed away, but this time,  

02:49

with Empress Emeralda, I was determined to be  successful with some special plans I had been  

02:55

waiting to finally carry out, but first, we  needed to prepare her for her big job ahead.

03:03

Good day, Empress and welcome to the Antiverse.  Here is a roach sacrifice to welcome you home.  

03:12

She instantly accepted: “Thank you!” and  began to feed. The living roach breathed  

03:21

heavily as the Empress began to feed on its  head and legs. The sight was a bit gory,  

03:28

but our royal Empress only accepts  living prey and I needed to respect  

03:32

that. Watching our Empress feed voraciously  on the roach’s face was a rite of passage  

03:38

for us and a stark reminder that  she was a royal to be respected.

03:44

But there was a purpose to allowing our Empress to  indulge in such a fattened calf offering, as she  

03:49

would be needing all the valuable nourishment  she could get for the long and physically  

03:54

taxing task ahead. “Feast, well, my precious  Empress! There is more meat coming your way,  

04:01

before I introduce you to someone, who will  assist us in reaching your ultimate destiny.”

04:19

Alright, don’t come for me, AC Family!  I’ve had months to think about this and  

04:23

plan everything out! I’ve considered all  of your input and gone over the pros,  

04:28

cons, and possibilities in my head  for what is feasible and manageable,  

04:34

and I have finally come to the ultimate  decision for our next ecosystem vivarium.  

04:39

Based on the polls, Cave, Swamp, and Canopy  were the three most popular biomes for the  

04:46

design of Pantdora’s extension, and so I’ve  decided, I’m doing a Cave, Swamp, and Canopy!

04:55

I plan on doing all of them, just not at the  same time. I decided the easiest vivarium to  

05:01

prepare for now would be Canopy, meaning the  treetop layer of a forest. I will need a bit  

05:08

more time to lay out the plans for a swamp or  cave vivarium, so they will just have to follow.

05:13

But now that we’ve decided to go forward with  a Giant Canopy Vivarium, here are my plans.  

05:35

So this is the second floor to my Ant Room, and it  sports these glass floor cutouts that I initially  

05:41

designed into the floors just as a way to see the  Ant Setups from a bird’s eye view, but turns out,  

05:47

this perfectly sets up the orientation and  location for our second giant ecosystem vivarium.

05:54

So get this: This glass panel can be  removed, and a section at the top of  

06:00

Pantdora can be cut out and connected  to a glass bridge that joins Pantdora  

06:06

to the Canopy vivarium located up on the second  floor. Orientation-wise this also makes sense,  

06:13

because imagine looking up from  Pantdora level to the treetop canopy,  

06:18

or from Canopy level down to Pantdora. That would  be totally epic and make perfect spatial sense!

06:26

Now let’s talk size! So I had a guy come in who  will help me build the main glass structure of  

06:32

our new Canopy vivarium, and I’m happy to  announce that due to the greater amount of  

06:37

space available on the second floor, we have the  freedom to build a bigger vivarium than Pantdora,  

06:44

just a little bigger. I’ve decided it will be the  same length and width of Pantdora, but will be a  

06:50

foot taller. I began to sketch out my ideas so  I could foresee what it might look like when it  

06:56

was all done. I can’t wait to show you guys what  I envision in my head, as well as the possible  

07:02

creatures I plan to house, on which I’ll be  needing more of your opinions, so hang tight.

07:08

But meanwhile, speaking of animals, I’ve begun  to prepare ahead for our Canopy world addition,  

07:15

and have started to collect more cool creatures  to become official Pantdorans in this new chapter.  

07:31

It seems in my area at this time of the year,  

07:33

it is the season for beetles! Beetle fans  you will love our newest Pantdoran additions.

07:40

Check out this gorgeous piece. It remained still,  

07:45

playing dead for the longest time  after placing it in. Eventually though,  

07:49

I found it moving around in the foliage. This is  a jewel scarab beetle, and check out that colour!  

08:00

Even its rump had a cool colour design! These  beetles as adults feed on vegetation and I hoped  

08:06

it would find some tasty leaves to chew on from  our forest. I felt this little one, assuming it  

08:12

could avoid predation, would make a great resident  of Pantdora and our upcoming canopy vivarium,  

08:18

where it could munch on leaves. I will continue to  scour my area for more of these emerging beetles,  

08:25

as I find them super pretty! It stopped to  relax on a leaf to take in its new surroundings.

08:31

Next, another beetle! This cool giant is also a  scarab beetle, but I don’t quite know the exact  

08:38

species. Have a look at it! Its colour is so  unique. It almost looks like it is covered in  

08:44

a tonne of little mites! Any beetle enthusiasts  out there care to take a stab at its species? It  

08:50

climbed the Hallelujah Tree Stump and when it was  ready unfolded its elytra to fly into the canopy.

08:57

And now another beetle, also a scarab beetle and  again I’m not sure what the species is, but it had  

09:04

the most gorgeous colouration: deep metallic green  with mustard coloured spots, side, and leg bands.  

09:11

It was such a little robotic-looking creature!  It also climbed the stump, got to the top,  

09:17

wandered the summit for a bit, then flew up into  the air. I managed to catch three of these beetles  

09:23

and released them into our forest. Let’s hope  they survive predation to breed in these lands.

09:29

This appears to be the beetle resurgence in  our rainforest, for in a previous episode,  

09:34

I also released three of these coconut  rhino beetles which I always spotted  

09:39

wandering around the territories. This  here is one of three males I placed in,  

09:43

with their little horns. I’m still trying  to look for females to place in Pantdora,  

09:48

as well. They are so big and heavily armoured that  they have no predators in this forest (yet), but  

09:55

I believe, they will also love the upcoming canopy  vivarium along with our other scarab beetles. Hey,  

10:03

have a look at that baby huntsman, one  of the hundreds of babies born from our  

10:08

massive matriarch Lady Death Strike, who is way up  there. This spider has had one heck of a journey,  

10:16

having given birth to hundreds of spiders who  now frolic Pantdora, and has been a great and  

10:22

epic success story in terms of passing on her  genes to the next generation of huntsman spiders.

10:28

And due to this breeding success,  I decided I would repeat Lady Death  

10:32

Strike’s procreational formula, so we could  hopefully duplicate her great results.

10:44

Meet Emperor Silverio, a male marbled mantis,  whose unique silvery grey colour is another  

10:51

colour phase of the species. I tried to offer  him a cricket, but he was not interested in the  

10:57

sacrifice. He was here for one thing, one very  ultimate purpose, laced with unspeakable danger.

11:04

Empress Emeralda was well into the innards of her  roach morsel now. Mmmm look at those nutritious  

11:15

guts! So as mentioned fattening her up, was  key and it was both supportive and strategic  

11:25

for this mantis pairing and breeding operation  to work. In the last attempt to breed mantises,  

11:31

the female our Green Reaper was full, but I don’t  think she was full enough, because she went on to  

11:37

consume the male. My plan this time, was to really  fatten up our Empress, so feeding wasn’t the first  

11:44

thing on her mind once she would meet her brave  Emperor, which instead of happening in Pantdora  

11:51

like the first time, would be taking place here  in this smaller more controlled space. We did  

11:57

it successfully with Lady Death Strike, so my  hopes was it would work for our mantises, too.

12:04

I watched as she gobbled down the remaining parts  of the roach and began to lick her arm spikes  

12:09

clean. She totally ate and left no crumbs. What a  formidable predator, but judging from her abdomen,  

12:17

I knew she could fit much more in there.  So I gave her a cricket to polish off,  

12:22

which she consumed cum gusto. Once she was  done, her abdomen looked like this. Check  

12:29

out that gyatt! It was almost full to  capacity and her breathing was laboured,  

12:35

but I know these mantises, and she had just  enough room now for the great distraction!

12:40

And here it was! I opened the glass  enclosure and handed our Empress  

12:46

her final fattened roach to officially  launch the Empiric union of mantises. “Oh,  

12:52

Empress!” As if she hadn’t eaten a day in her  life, she responded “Another offering? How kind!”

13:00

I lured her forward with the roach, and  waited for her to strike! She lunged and  

13:16

grabbed on to the roach, as I pulled  her gently further towards the middle  

13:20

of the glass enclosure. She then began to  feed on the distraction roach, and now,  

13:26

all was set for the introduction. So the reason I  had to move her was because I needed to position  

13:32

her at a location that made it easy for  our male to approach her from behind,  

13:38

which as you can imagine is a very dangerous task!  I needed to set our Emperor up for success as best  

13:44

I could. The plan was to place the male in  somewhere along these sticks and hopefully  

13:50

the female mantis would be too busy feeding  to notice him sneaking up from behind where  

13:56

he would then try to launch into a piggy back  position safe from her dangerous arm spikes.

14:02

And so that time has come! Emperor  Silverio, come with me. Your time is  

14:08

now to fulfil your ultimate destiny! I  opened the glass front and proceeded to  

14:14

place in the Emperor. “What?!... Oh,  it’s just you… Wait! Who… is that?!”

14:30

And then, he was in. In an instant, he spotted  our Empress and stood still in his tracks.

14:38

“And who pray-tell might you be?” she scoured  staring into the soul of our Empreror with the  

14:43

glare of death. He was cleaning himself  now then proceeded to move away higher up  

14:53

the stick. This was mantis disrespect of the  highest sin! The emperor continued to clean  

15:01

himself nonchalantly from the top of the stick.  The whole time she refused to take her eyes of  

15:08

him. I was concerned because it looked like  he was not interested in breeding with her,  

15:13

which was what happened with my  first mantis breeding attempt,  

15:16

which ultimately lead to his doom.  Would the same fate befall our Emperor?

15:27

With the new cooler temperatures and extended  rainfall of the new season, the soils of Pantdora  

15:32

have once again sprung alive with life. I was  delighted to spot the crickets back in full  

15:38

effect foraging the forest floor, eager and ready  to breed, and my, my, were the ants also making  

15:46

quite the come back! Dwarf ants which had since  disappeared from our forest were seen foraging for  

15:53

foliage. Members of the Dark Horde, an invasive  OG colony of black crazy ants were also seen  

16:00

here and there, hopefully not making a comeback to  their once devastating numbers. I think the most  

16:06

successful ants of Pantdora these past few months  were these: the tiny yet energetic gnome ants,  

16:13

which look like fire ants but are much smaller,  however, after looking into it, I believe they  

16:20

might actually be an invasive species known as  Little Fire Ants or Electric Ants (Wasmannia  

16:26

auropunctata), but then again, maybe they’re  not? Whatever the case, they do an excellent job  

16:33

and cleaning up the forest floor of insect body  parts. I loved watching the gnome ants at work!

16:40

But guys, these aren’t the only ants active in  our Pantdoran soils. You guys won’t believe this  

16:46

but check out these totally new ants I spotted  this week! Once again, I have no idea where  

16:53

they came from, as it’s been months since I  had planted any new plants in our vivarium,  

16:58

but if their queen did sneak in through  the plants months ago, her offspring is  

17:03

finally showing up above ground now and my  what a cute bunch of ants they are! Again,  

17:08

I don’t exactly know the species, but  let’s call them little golden ants for  

17:13

now! They were the new ants in town,  also competing for insect body parts.

17:18

But guys, I have another surprise for you! The  rains have caused certain favourite ant species of  

17:24

mine to have nuptial flights again, and I think  you’ll love whom I’ve collected. Behold, the  

17:31

double queen sisterhood of the world famous Weaver  Ants. For all you OG AC Family, I’m sure you’re  

17:38

as excited as I am, and know full well why these  ants are like no other on the planet! Weaver ants  

17:45

are famous for their hanging leaf basket nests in  the trees, which are all glued together using silk  

17:50

from their larvae. I felt weaver ants would be  awesome to eventually inhabit our Canopy Vivarium  

17:57

if they so chose. Now these two queens were caught  separately and have decided to band together to  

18:03

start egg laying. It hadn’t even been 24 hrs and  the queens already had a little brood pile going,  

18:09

but it was time for a very delicate operation.  I wanted to transport them into Pantdora,  

18:16

but little did I know, their introduction  was about to spur a mini ant confrontation.

18:23

Moving the queens and the brood would require  some surgical-level handling but it needed to be  

18:29

done. First, I chose a spot behind the rock wall  that I felt the queens might like to begin their  

18:35

claustral chamber. In went the green weaver  ant queen, then the yellow weaver ant queen,  

18:43

and then using a qtip the brood. Man, was it  hard to transport the brood! The green queen  

18:49

found a little chamber to hide in but what I  spotted next shocked me. Oh no! Ghost ants! A  

18:58

tiny invasive ghost ant found an egg, pulled  it free from the batch and ran with it. How  

19:06

sad! The yellow queen was somewhere off to  the other side of the eggs and wasn’t around  

19:10

to protect the brood batch. Using tweezers  I gently prodded her towards the brood,  

19:16

so she could stand guard over them. As soon as she  was reunited with the brood she lovingly picked  

19:21

up a batch and moved it closer to another. That  ghost ant would surely be back for more eggs soon,  

19:29

and there was still another batch in the moss.  She began to move, assumingly towards the scent  

19:35

of her partner in crime, the green weaver.  She could smell she was nearby, but didn’t  

19:40

know where. The ghost ant had returned and went in  for another egg, but this time got a two for one  

19:48

and dashed away with the catch! How terrible! I  felt so bad for partially setting this ant war up!

19:57

Thankfully, the yellow queen was back to pick  up the other batch of eggs, but where was that  

20:03

other stray batch? She could smell it but  wasn’t quite sure where it was. Eventually,  

20:09

the green weaver ant emerged and reunited with  her sister to help defend the eggs. They noted  

20:15

that there was still a batch missing and it  was right there in the moss. “Where did you  

20:20

put it?” “I’m not sure, I just found these laying  around.” “OK, but where did you last seen them?”

20:27

I couldn’t help it. I had to go in to help.  I went in with a q-tip again to fish out the  

20:32

eggs. Handling them was the hardest thing ever,  and I got more clumsy as I panicked seeing the  

20:38

ghost ant had come back for more eggs. Ahhh!  Eventually, I moistened the end of the q-tip  

20:45

then managed to stick as many of the eggs as I  could salvage near the two weaver ant queens. It  

20:50

wasn’t a lot of eggs but it was the most I could  do. I wasn’t too worried though, because these  

20:55

queens would be laying a tonne more eggs over the  next few weeks, and they could now stand guard  

21:00

over their brood against invasive ants and other  predators. The green weaver picked up the brood  

21:07

blob and began to lick them clean, as the ghost  ant realized it could steal no more. I was so  

21:13

happy that the weaver ant queens were all settled  in, and couldn’t wait for them to found their  

21:18

new colony to eventually move into the leaves  of Pantdora’s canopy, but little did I know,  

21:24

this was not the last harsh welcome our new weaver  ant queen sisters would be facing in Pantdora.

21:40

So this was my sketch. What do you think? It’s  basically a neat network of vines and branches  

21:47

with mostly vining and epiphytic plants, as well  as treetop-looking vegetation. Now a vivarium like  

21:53

this has plenty of potential to create ample  living space for a broad array of creatures  

21:58

that would much prefer to occupy the canopy  up in the trees, than an area closer to the  

22:03

ground like in Pantdora. This canopy vivarium  will also have its own rain system which will  

22:09

set to rain at the same time as Pantdora,  as well as wind. So what do you think?

22:14

Now I need your opinions on mammals. Many  of you were excited at the idea of possibly  

22:20

adding primates like marmosets inside. The  canopy vivarium will already be larger than  

22:26

the recommended size requirement for a pair  of marmoset, though as mentioned in a previous  

22:31

episode, I would simply have the monkeys  live in my three story aviary full time,  

22:36

and only release them to hang out in our double  vivarium on days I film. In the wild, such monkeys  

22:42

cover some pretty vast distances, so releasing  the monkeys into our double vivarium periodically  

22:48

can mimic their natural come-and-go presence and  impact on the ecosystem. Another possible creature  

22:55

I’ve been thinking of adding, if not primates,  is dormice, which are a type of cute arboreal  

23:00

rodent. They would love our canopy vivarium! A  third and final option as far as mammals go are  

23:06

sugar gliders, and you guys already know I have  a pair who recently gave birth to two super cute  

23:12

sugar gliders. They’ll be ready to leave their  parents soon and are already exploring their cage  

23:18

away from mom, so they could also be an ideal  arboreal mammal to inhabit our canopy vivarium.

23:24

But speaking of creatures to  hopefully inhabit our canopy vivarium,  

23:28

our mantises were in the middle of  a death-defying dance, performed by  

23:33

mantises for millions and millions of years  before them. Empress Emeralda had been death  

23:39

staring the Emperor down for the past 30 minutes  until she began to feed again. The Emperor did  

23:46

not show any signs of wanting to mate and  continued to clean himself. What gives?  

23:51

She also continued to stare him down every  now and then. Something was not right here.

23:56

Then I realized maybe the lighting isn’t very  romantic. These mantises mate during the day  

24:02

so perhaps sunlight could do the trick. I opened  the Ant Room’s blinds and let the sun shine in.  

24:16

This did nothing. I then realized that perhaps  our Emperor wasn’t in the perfect position,  

24:22

so I took him and moved him to the other  side of the enclosure where he might have  

24:27

a better shot at sneaking up to her. It  was then that our Emperor immediately  

24:32

spotted our Empress and entered what I saw  was mating mode. He now couldn’t resist the  

24:39

gyatt! He advanced but she had spotted  him by now and watched his every move.  

25:06

And then she began to sway and I panicked as soon  as I realized she was slowly turning around to  

25:14

face him. Oh no! I wondered if I should go  in to intervene. Now in the last breeding,  

25:20

I opted not to intervene because I had assumed  that nature should just take its course,  

25:25

but this time, I wasn’t about to make the same  mistake. I was our Emperor Silverio’s wingman  

25:32

now. Bro, I got you! I went in and began  to tug at the roach the Empress clung to  

25:44

which jarred her for a second and to  my surprise, she began to feed. Wow!

25:50

Every time she continued to look his way, I went  in to distract her by pulling on the roach until  

25:55

she looked away from him, which I felt definitely  helped him out. This was such a critical moment  

26:01

for one wrong move would cost him his life. His  ultimate goal was there, while knowing full well  

26:08

his death was on the other end if he failed to  get this right. For the next hour, I continued  

26:15

to go in to distract her every time she would  look his way, which gave him a shot to creep  

26:20

his way closer and closer ever so slowly. I kept  distracting, and he geniusly timed his movements  

26:27

to her movements so to not be noticed. She went  on to feed and he continued to move in some more,  

26:41

and I kept performing my job by distracting. I  wondered how such a thing would happen in nature  

26:47

without a mystery wingman to assist, or maybe the  dangers of mantis mating are on purpose by design,  

26:53

as it ensures only the most nimble and  ambushy males get to mate with the females.

27:00

Our Emperor was so gradual with moving in. Check  out this timelapse of the male advancing in over  

27:06

a half hour period. He knew that slow and  steady wins the race! He was so close now,  

27:16

just a little more. But this was the most  critical of moments. The current angle though  

27:23

wasn’t the most ideal for him. It looked as if  he was running the most intense calculations  

27:28

in his head. He needed to get this lunge right!

27:32

Suddenly, she took notice of how close  our Emperor was and so again I went in  

27:38

with my tweezers, but it was  then that I realized, “Hey,  

27:42

I could actually help pull her into a better  position!” So this time, using my tweezers I  

27:48

guided her up to position her in a place where  he could much more easily jump onto her back.

28:04

And then, the moment of truth had arrived.  Her gyatt was right in his face now and she  

28:10

couldn’t have been in a better spot for him  to complete the final move of the ancient  

28:15

million-year old dance of the mantises.  He moved in and when he was ready… Bam!  

28:29

He hung on for dear life! OMG! He did it!  Wooohhooo! Check it out from another angle.  

28:38

And bam! Our Emperor successfully piggie backed  on the Empress, and she had totally dropped the  

28:45

roach onto the floor. They still weren’t attached  yet, but our Emperor had successfully completed  

28:51

the hardest and most dangerous step of the  mantis breeding process and could now take a  

28:56

breather before completing the mating ritual.  This was honestly one of the most incredible  

29:02

matings I’ve ever witnessed, no Diddy! And with  the Empress’ abdomen totally full of food, she  

29:09

now had the necessary nutrients to begin producing  the eggs that will be fertilized by the Emperor,  

29:15

which would ultimately end up in our future  canopy to found a new generation of mantises.

29:21

I closed up the enclosure to allow our Emperor  and Empress to do their thing in peace. My  

29:27

work as wingman was complete. 10 minutes  later, I came back to find that the male  

29:34

had attached and was now fertilizing  the female. What a miracle this was,  

29:39

and such an amazing process to witness!  The mating continued over the next 2 hours,  

29:44

and some interesting observations I made. The  female was fully capable of pooping during the  

29:50

mating process. It was also interesting to see her  heart beating through all of this. In the night,  

29:56

the Emperor’s eyes turned a gorgeous purple.  Now mantises are known to mate anywhere between  

30:01

an hour to a few days, so I had no idea how  long the process would take, so I made sure  

30:07

to check up on them every hour. I wanted to  make sure to separate them once they were done,  

30:12

because in Nature the male will bolt away the  moment they finish. Otherwise he might be eaten.  

30:30

And finally after a long 5 hours of mating,  I finally spotted they had separated.

30:37

“Get me outta here, Wingman!” On it, my Emperor.  I carefully removed him and placed him into his  

30:44

container. The Empresses’ eyes were now  purple as well, having also fulfilled a  

30:50

major part of her destiny. I was so proud of  our Emperor and Empress. This mantis mating was  

30:58

a complete success. Now it was all a matter of  waiting for the Empress to lay her egg sacs.

31:09

I panicked when I spotted Daenerys sitting  over the spot where the weaver ant queens were  

31:13

stationed. No!!! Daenerys, mind moving please? The  weaver queens were gone. This filled my heart with  

31:23

such sadness. The eggs were still there which  meant Daenerys had just eaten the queens. But  

31:30

then I spotted a movement somewhere below. Ah!  It was the yellow queen. It seems she managed  

31:42

to escape to safety. Thank goodness. The green  queen however was nowhere to be found sadly,  

31:48

and though I knew the eggs were probably going  to be scooped up by ghost ants, at least this  

31:53

one queen was still alive. I was certain she would  begin laying again in this new chamber of hers,  

31:59

and just the next day, turns out she did. I hoped  this colony of hers would mature to adulthood and  

32:09

eventually move her and the rest of the colony  into the various leaves that were now growing like  

32:15

crazy in the canopy. They also will have a tonne  of leaves for nest-building in our new canopy,  

32:20

which I am happy to announce will  begin construction this Tuesday.

32:26

I couldn’t wait for us to expand on our  ever growing world of Pantdora and continue  

32:30

to learn more and more about the wonders of  nature together, its dangers, its triumphs,  

32:36

and its hidden beautiful moments. It seems  several of our animals have begun to enter  

32:41

breeding mode. I continue to hear our tree frogs  singing at night, which means it’s most likely  

32:47

breeding season for them. Our female sun skinks,  now that a true male has been added to the mix,  

32:53

seem pretty fat. This is the fattest I’ve ever  seen Smaug! Could they be pregnant? I do see the  

33:00

lizards meeting in the shadows! We’ll just have to  see. It’s been a true honour to witness the circle  

33:07

of life, and though Pantdora is now emerging  out of a dry spell as far as life goes due to  

33:13

the heat of the previous season, it was reassuring  to see that life was making a great comeback with  

33:20

the rains returning to our rainforest, and  with a new biological world now on the way.

33:27

Now some of you may be wondering what was in the  box I was holding at the start of the video. Well,  

33:34

I think you guys will be surprised. So this week,  I’ve been hosting some friends of mine from South  

33:40

Africa. Dingo Dinkelman, wildlife expert and  creator, and his family checked out my Ant Room  

33:46

last week, and after scanning Pantdora, he looked  into Aqua Noctis and wondered why I hadn’t added a  

33:53

particular creature that was one of his ultimate  favourite animals. When he mentioned it, I told  

33:58

him that I couldn’t possibly house one because  Aqua Noctis was simply not enough space for it,  

34:04

to which, to my surprise, he informed me that Aqua  Noctis was indeed enough space for not one but two  

34:13

babies of this particular creature, as the smaller  quarters meant that they would ensure the babies  

34:18

find their food and that the pond would be enough  space for them for quite some time, since they are  

34:23

such slow growers, at least until we eventually  get our Swamp vivarium up and running. After  

34:30

discussing the topic on this “creature” further, I  came to the realization that he might actually be  

34:37

right, and so, after further deliberation, within  this box is the creature many of you, who wanted  

34:48

a SWAMP vivarium have been dying to learn about.  I’ve also been eager to learn more about them!

34:56

Now when you guys see what’s inside,  it might get you asking “Are you OK,  

35:02

man?” Behold, our newest prehistoric beast!

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Verwandte Tags
Vivarium ExpansionMantis MatingTropical EcosystemAnt ChannelBiodiversityEcological ObservationCreature CollectionNatural HabitatBreeding ExperimentWildlife Conservation
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