100 days ago, I ordered a super colony of ants online with 20 queens to try and conduct a risky experiment, one that most ant keepers would never even attempt. My goal was to keep all 20 queens together in the same colony and to try and create a massive empire of ants. But the moment that I opened the package on day one, everything went horribly wrong.
The test tube had flooded and it looked like nearly every single queen ant had drowned. Had my entire plan failed before it could even begin? And more importantly, could I save any of these queens?
The plan was to keep 20 queen ants together for a 100 days. But nothing could have prepared me for the journey that these queens were about to face. And to understand how it all unfolded, we need to go back to where it all began on day one.
Time was against me, and at this point, I was panicking, but I knew that I had to act fast. if I had any chance of saving these queens. The only option at this point was to dump them into the outworld and hope that at least a few of them would survive.
After pouring them all out, there were lifeless bodies littered everywhere, and it seemed like only a few of the queens were still alive. This was absolutely devastating, and with a heavy heart, I began placing the lifeless queens into an empty test tube, getting ready to dispose of them. At this moment, it only looked like around eight queens were alive, and I wasn't even sure if they would make it after the trauma they just endured.
But I knew that if they had any chance, I had to move fast. So, I carefully transferred them into a new test tube with fresh cotton and clean water. And then I turned back to the other test tube, the one holding the lifeless bodies, and I counted 11 queens that appeared to be completely dead.
This was absolutely devastating news. And this meant that half of the colony had already died before the experiment had even begun. These queens had so much potential.
But now I was left with less than 10 of them for the next 100 days. But wait, did you just see that? I thought I saw one of the queens move.
Was I just imagining things? I went back to review the footage and there it was again, a twitch. At first, I thought it was just a reflex.
But then one of the queens slowly started moving and then another. And against all odds, right before my very eyes, it looked like some of the queens were coming back to life. And over the next few hours, as I watched, more and more of them began to recover.
And after thinking I had nearly lost everything, I was now watching a miracle. And in the end, six of the 11 queens that I thought were dead had actually survived. This brought the total back up to 15 out of the original 20 queens.
And this was fantastic news. So, what I did next was temporarily place the revived queens into separate test tubes to recover. At this point, I wasn't sure what to do.
I asked you all if he wanted me to keep the two groups separate or if I should combine them once more. These ants can have multiple queens in a colony, but if there are too many, they can sometimes turn on each other and start killing off the weaker queens. And while I waited for your responses, I gave both groups of queens a drop of sugar water to help them regain their strength and be able to begin the journey of starting colonies of their own.
You all voted to continue the experiment and to combine the two groups of ants despite the risk. And 30 days later, the colony was doing great. After combining them, there were 15 queens together.
But over the first month, a few did unfortunately pass away. And in the end, only 10 remained. But these queens weren't just surviving.
They were thriving. And together, they had a massive pile of eggs. And this is exactly what I'd hoped for.
And so far, this experiment was actually working. On day 50, I checked in again, and what I saw was amazing. The original batch of eggs had already matured into cocoons, which meant that the first generation of workers was about to arrive.
And even better, the queens had laid even more eggs, and the colony was starting to grow fast. All 10 queens were still alive, and the test tube was full of life. It was clear that the colony was well on their way to building their empire.
But the real test was still ahead. How would things change once the first workers arrived? And after 70 days, I peaked back into the colony and I finally saw them.
The first workers had finally arrived. All 10 queens were still alive and the colony had reached a new stage. These queens had been through so much, but they finally started to build their own empire.
To celebrate, I gave them a small piece of honey, and they completely ignored it. Oh well, to each their own. But seeing those first workers after such a rough start really felt like a turning point for this colony, and it looked like everything was going smoothly.
And on day 100, I checked in once more, and what I saw was incredible. There were now around 40 workers in the colony and they had a huge cluster of pupa gathered near the edge of the test tube. This meant that even more ants were on the way.
These ants are known to be very skittish and as I began filming, they quickly scrambled to move the pupa back towards the safety of the cotton and away from the edge of the test tube. I offered the colony some sugar and a freshly cut mealworm, but they didn't really investigate it right away. This colony is still young and in their minds every movement is a calculated risk.
But despite the ants not eating, the signs of success were everywhere. The colony had new eggs, healthy larvae, dozens of workers, and 10 active queens still all working together. This species of ant is known for their vibrant and yellow workers.
And it has felt like forever that I've been wanting to have a colony of them for my own. They are among my favorite ants. And at this rate, the colony will grow super fast and also start to gain some confidence.
From nearly losing everything on day one to watching a thriving super colony form in just 100 days, this has been one of the most intense ant keeping journeys I've ever had. But this is still just the beginning. The next 100 days could make or break the success of this empire.
And the real question now is if these queens will continue living in peace and if the colony still continues to grow or if everything will collapse. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next update because if you thought the first 100 days were wild, just wait till you see what happens next.
