The wash
The next, and perhaps most important step in this complicated yet fascinating operation is to remove the dirt from the structure of the ant colony. Using a power hose, the manpower washes all of the dirt and grime off of the former empty ant colony. This process actually takes a while as he needs to get the dirt out of every nook and cranny. But the structure which is revealed is beautiful.
Heavy
A YouTuber who calls his page Anthill Art is the person who put up this fascinating video, amongst many others. He not only casts fire ant colonies in aluminum but also bull ant colonies and the skulls of various other animals as well. Once the aluminum hardens inside of the empty ant colonies, the cast of the largest colonies can weigh up to or even over 100 pounds.
Complex society
It is incredible what these tiny little creatures are able to do. These structures are extremely intricate and show a level of municipal and colony planning that many of our own human cities do not even have. These casts show intricate air shafts, rooms, and all manner of crisscrossing, interconnected walkways. It is incredible that the ants are able to navigate through it all, and in the pitch dark no less.
Science
When the molten aluminum metal is poured into one of these empty nests, the aluminum is hot enough that it is able to fill up the anthill and the colony completely, yet still malleable enough to be able to keep the original structure of the colony intact. The casts reveal that ants are indeed great architects, and research institutes around the world buy them in order to study how ant colonies are made.
Huge (in scale)
In addition to being informative, fascinating learning opportunities for scientists, the aluminum ant colonies are also quite impressive to the eye as well. One of the anthills that Anthill Art cast was close to 100 pounds and was a foot and a half in height. While this may not seem impressive at first glance, imagine the size of the ants who built and lived inside. It is like humans constructing ten One World Trade Centers.
Can’t get enough
This art piece has certainly caught peoples’ attention, as have the various videos the artist has made. In fact, this video has over 94 million views as of this writing. There is something about pouring a shiny, beautiful liquid into an anthill and then watching it get excavated that just makes you so relaxed. Perhaps it is because we have always wondered what the inside of an anthill looks like.
