Look At The Size Of This Ant Mound Sculpture! Our Largest Texas Fire Ant Aluminum Casting 

Thanks for watching our videos. We are very proud of this sculpture.

Imagine destroying an entire civilization for art. Awesome.

​@@neosharkey7401 shut up dude

@@jgarcia.9807 fuck you. But in the nicest way possible.

@@neosharkey7401 an invasive annoying unwanted bug....

We agree. We know of some that have made these and donated them to a museum. I would be honored to donate one for display.

as a plastic surgeon / skin graft specialist , seeing that much molten metal , and canvases deck shoes, had me shuddering .

I am an art curator. This is not art.

@@antznpantzcastingshighly doubtful, with the possible exception of a natural history museum. But that still doesn’t make it art.

Obviously you are not an art curator. Stop being such a negative Nancy. You should seek help for your anger and depression.

lot of dead Engineers RIP

I hope he doesn't come for human engineers next........... :0

@@JonathanGillies LOL

Thank you!

Brimstone isaac refrence???777

@@graycatsaderow kind of sorta, but not!

lolololol!

Lol 😂😂😂

🙄🙄

Thank you.

Thank you, we have a few more mounds this size plus video of our new furnace we are building. It will allow us to cast these large mounds easily with fewer pours.

Antz N Pantz Castings p Zczs

Biggest i seen on youtube was a 1.2+- tonne monster, it becomes pretty complicated.

@@antznpantzcastings how does the air escape, or does it entirely?

@@rickritco9815 There was smokes coming out. So I guess smokes and air are coming through smaller tubes or pores in the soil

Thank you, we appreciate you watching.

You could always just fry a whole bunch of them and eat them

Mosquitos are probably responsible, though indirectly, for about 1 out of 4 human deaths throughout history...I think they have it coming first.

@@furtim1 I think that's already started if I'm not mistaken.

Not confidence.... stupidity.

Wow... The way u said it.. it's true tho.👏👍😭😂👍

@@furn2351 - Actually it's more like a few hundred thousand ants, many males and one queen, all converted to steam.

Poor colony, but awesome art work 👍👍

@@furn2351 It's actually not true. All the ants in the nest are female. The male drones are only produced at mating time. They have wings and mate in the air outside the hive with the new queens. So any courting would take place outside and escape the holocaust. Inside the nest, it would only be true if it was two lesbian worker ants!

Vesuvius and Herculaneum

WoW! Amazing questions. So what you don't see in our videos are all of the failed attempts. Sometimes the first pour does plug up the holes and we are left with a large base and small sculpture. There is an art to pouring the aluminum at the right flow. Too fast or slow causes less than desired results. Aluminum is great for transferring heat and has a relatively low melting temperature so it bonds to the previous pour very well. We open the top of the mound and expose many holes. Each of the 4 pours were in a specific place on the mound so they flow down. If we open up a small area and expose a few holes, we will only get a single pour before it plugs up. Ants and larva perish quickly. At temperatures well above 1200F / 649C, they more or less disintegrate instantly. It does leave a visible pit and dark spot on the sculpture that can be seen. We clean the dark spots, but the pits are there forever. Thank you for bringing this up, it gives me ideas for future videos. We melt down our failures and broken pieces frequently. Any residue from the ants, dirt, or impurities get melted down. Either it floats to the top or sinks to the bottom as slag. We have a new video coming very soon!

So much question

The extreme heat of the following pours heat up the previous solidified pour

yes.......... so monotonous and soothing.......

Your not far off. It is determined by the soil they build the mound in. Soil that contains more clay make the perfect casting, but difficult to dig up. Soil that contains more sand has a better chance of collapsing, but much easier to dig up.

@Evolution - We appreciate you watching our videos and supporting our channel. We have some new videos coming out and want to know what you think.

Thank you. We want to get rid of the ants, and we can capture the beauty of nature while doing it.

@Vegan4life1 - We were amazed too. We never know what is under the ground until we get started. Thank you for watching our videos!

Yeah, no wonder you can never get rid of them.

@VTdarkangel - They are a work of nature and the engineering wonder they create is beyond amazing. Yes, they are evil to no end. Anyone that has encountered them knows the pain and devastation they have caused. They have changed our natural ecosystem here in the last 50 years. Many of our ground dwelling birds like quail or reptiles like the Texas Horned Toad Lizard have become non existent because of the imported fire ant. None the less the intricacy of their mounds is something to stop and take notice of. Thank you for watching and supporting our channel. Please watch some of our newer videos and let us know what you think of them.

There is you use resin instead of aluminium

Who’s gonna tell hin

@Chris Kenney - Thanks, we appreciate you watching them. Check out our last video and enter a chance to win one of our sculptures. We are giving it away free on November 5th.

Thank you!

@kathleenmann7311 - We really wished we had a termite mound here in Texas that we could cast or at least somewhere near. The termite mounds we have seen in Australia are epic!!!! Would love a chance to cast them.

@ruby - We estimate this mound was 3-5 years old. Typically fire ants can build a large mound in 1-2 weeks.

@russ bilzing - It would make a great spaceship. Thanks for watching our videos and supporting our channel.

@nancyaylward1176 - We had seen one of these castings many years ago and it sparked our interest. We never knew there were videos of others on RU-vid making these. In 2021 we randomly seen a RU-vid video and said "we can do that". 9 months later, here we are, we learned how to RU-vid... Thank you for watching our videos and supporting our channel. 😊

I don’t know who came up with the idea for aluminum but entomologists have been pouring substances like concrete into termite mounds and such for ages. Aluminum is probably more practical for smaller scale nests like these fire ants

​@@platedlizard - We have heard many decades ago some used dental casting material to cast ant mounds as well as concrete. Aluminum is practical, affordable, and flows through the tunnels perfectly. Thank you for watching our videos and supporting our channel.

You should know that ants have the highest brain weight to body weight ratio, higher than humans and dolphins.

🤣

What’s worse is no ppe. He’s playing with the devil.

Hello! We try to capture the entire process so anyone interested in making this type of art has a better understanding start to finish. The trash on the top is caused from all of the impurities. Cleaner the aluminum is the less we have to scrape off the top. Thank you for watching our videos!

That stuff is called dross, and like they said it is just other stuff in the aluminum. Anything with a lower melting point will solidify first/melt last and thus can be removed to make the aluminum more pure.

They are amazing engineers of mother earth. Thanks for watching!

@enaidyeltneb369 - Thank you so much!! We really appreciate you watching our videos and supporting our channel. We too are amazed with the things we can make like this furnace. Anyone can buy a furnace off Amazon, but we want others to see that there are practical and affordable ways to build it. You have to learn how to operate a furnace that someone else built, but you already know how to operate a furnace you build yourself. It is pure aluminum and was not painted. We spend many hours to remove soil, roots, grass, and other debris. It takes a while for us to get it polished to perfection. Please check out some of our other videos and let us know what you think of them.

Aluminium is a reasonably reactive metal, that white layer on the outside is Aluminium Oxide from the metal reacting with the air.

@cathryncampbell8555 - Thank you!!! check out some of our other videos and let us know what you think of them. We appreciate your support.

Thank you, we could probably remove the rocks, but we see it as adding to the beauty!

Thanks, we appreciate you watching. We will have more videos soon!

We are very proud of it. It is amazing and hope to find another one this size or bigger. We have our eye out for the perfect mound to cast. Thank you for watching our videos!

@feralbluee - Thank you. We appreciate you watching our videos and supporting our channel.

Thanks!

@Howit Starts - We appreciate you taking the time to watch our videos and comment on them.

We appreciate you watching. We have more videos coming soon.

@B. Chaney - Well...actually...The mound moved over 18 inches and popped back up. We most likely didn't get the queen which means this one may have been a little bigger. We appreciate you watching our videos and hope you subscribe to our channel. We have new videos coming out soon.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lFg21x2sj-M.html

@@ThinkerOnTheBus That's crazy huge!!! Thanks for sharing that

Thank you. We appreciate you watching our videos and supporting our channel.

Nah, they were asking for it

@Charon Christ - We estimate the mound to be 5-7 years old. It had been driven over with a lawn mower hundreds of times over the years. We are always on the hunt for massive mounds like this one. Thanks for watching!

Thanks, we appreciate you watching!

Thanks!!

Red Imported Fire Ant

@user-yd1fu5yj1o - Thank you. Check out our new video coming up this Saturday. It will be an amazing casting.

Thanks!

@tommyhunter1817 - I have personally been covered in fire ants on more that one occasion. The pain is intense and I have no problem killing them. Thanks for watching our videos and supporting our channel.

@@antznpantzcastings my dad is from south Georgia so I can relate.

On top of that it's pitch black in there. How do they know which way is up? I have watched many videos and most are speculation. Some say its like a pheromone that bees use to help guide them to the surface. Others say they know because the queen is at the deepest part of the mound and the juveniles are closest to the queen. The older worker ants are closer to the surface, and only the oldest of ants are at or on top of the surface. I have many more hours of pondering this topic.

@CassieSmart365 - We would have a hard time parting with this one but we would consider an offer. Its's one of our best castings. 😊

Thank you, we appreciate you watching!

I FeeL Like You're Robot User

@@SonOfIrak I am robot. I will correct your sentence semantically to make it more comprehensible. You could have said "I feel like you're a robot-user.", or "I feel like you're a robot." As currently worded, "I Feel Like You're Robot User" what is being conveyed here can quite easily be misinterpreted as if you are stating that you believe said RU-vid account, "angelafranklin9134", is someone who uses robots . . . when you intended to communicate that you believe the account is controlled by a robot. Eagerly anticipating the singularity with great expectations!!! Good riddance!

@bernhardwall6876 - We have heard this suggestion from a few and we agree. We will be starting our second season soon and it will have plenty of our castings in the right side up position. Thank you for watching and supporting our channel. And a big thanks for the suggestions!

@user-ti7os8nm8j - That is a great question. The queen travels the entire mound laying eggs. Most of the time we get the queen. In the winter months she is closer to the surface because that is where the most heat is. In the summer here it reaches 105 degrees frequently, she is buried deep trying to stay cool. The tunnels sometimes go much deeper than our casting. Once the mound is disturbed the worker ants go into defense mode and starts blocking the tunnels to protect the deepest parts of the mounds. We have found the best results pouring directly after we disturb the mound since they have not had time to close up the tunnels stopping the flow of aluminum. Thank you for watching and supporting our channel. We would really appreciate you watching some of our newest videos and letting us know what you think of them.

Very sad to kill living creatures just for amusement. 😥😥😥

Thank you, we like it too!

Actually the guys in Australia are pretty bad ass. If you know you are pouring 1800F degree aluminum into a ground that contains the smallest amount of moisture, be safe and wear protection. When you live in a dry and arid place, the moisture is less of an issue. Our problems relates more to heat stroke when it is 113F degrees out and you stand in front of a 2000F degree furnace.

Hi, great question. Aluminum solidifies very quick. It's melting point is a little over 1200 degrees. We get it up closer to 1800 to give us more time to work with the pour. When we make multiple pours, we get it closer to 2000 degrees and it will bond with the previous pours. We do run into problems with it closing off the tunnels, that is why we try to make each pour in a strategic location. Thank you for watching our videos.

@@antznpantzcastings cool. Thanks

Thank you!

Sometimes empty, sometimes full. Check out all of our videos

Thanks! We appreciate you watching our videos and supporting our channel. It's a low budget hobby that is very rewarding. We are jonesing to get back after it. The cold weather has the ants dormant. Spring is coming soon and we will be ready.

@e - I don't think they watched very much of it. Thanks for watching our videos. We have plenty of videos of empty mounds that you may also like.

@erynnlongenecker2672 - Thank you, we do sell the sculptures in our videos if we still have them. Reach out to us by email - antz.pantzcastings@gmail.com - Fire ants are very painful and not native to our ecosystem. It does not bother me to exterminate them and we prefer our method over poison. Poison is a slow painful death, we take care of them in a few seconds. We really appreciate you watching our videos.

They are amazing engineers! Thank you for watching!

Thank you

Awesome! never heard it described like that. I just looked and you are right. Old creepy barn in a horror movie. Thanks for watching our videos!

@Doug Alexander - With fire ants the oldest ants in the colony tend to be closest to the surface. Queen is usually in the deepest part of the mound with the youngest closest to her. Some have theories that they put off a hormone and it gives them a since of direction and tells them what to do and where to go. It is impressive. Thank you for watching. We released a new video this morning and would really appreciate you watching and telling us what you think of it or if there is something else you would like to see us add to them.

@bohica snafu - Thank you, it was some work getting this one done. This one weighed a little over 64 lbs. We have not sold this one. It is special to us and will probably not part with it. We appreciate you watching our videos and supporting our channel.

Art can be something beautiful that you can not recreate.

Seen it, done it. All it takes is a drop of sweat to ruin the day. Most of the time PPE is a good idea. Other times its more dangerous when you use it. Thanks for watching and we appreciate you supporting our channel.

@Debbie Nye - Unbelievable that they can build a sophisticated colony like this underground and in the dark. Thank you for watching our videos.

@Timothy Williams - We have some that start at $20-$30 and they go up to $1000. We have all different sizes and shapes. The one in this video runs closer to the $1000 side but they are all negotiable. Small ones for desk tops or end tables are under $100. Mid-size castings for coffee/ dining table center pieces are $100-$300. Large castings are $300 and up. You can email us and we will be happy to send pictures. antz.pantzcastings@gmail.com

@DSS - What a great idea. Thank you for the input. I think we will try and capture the natural position of the sculpture for our final end screen shots in one of our new videos we have coming up. We appreciate you watching our videos and encourage more advice like this.