Leaf Cutting Ant Forum

So some people name their colonies ridiculous names like QE11 etc.......
I collected this colony last week and its an absolute monster. Because it filled 10 large tubs I marked each tub 'Big 10' and thats now what its called. The Big 10 colony is gigantic. 10's of thousands of ants, masses of fungus, a truly perfect colony for a public display.



Each tub is bursting with ants. I have never actually found so many ants in a colony this size. The soldier assault was as bad as the BBC colony. I have customer for this one overseas so it was a real ordeal but on the second day we got the queen.

I have some film of the dig which I will post here when ready.

This is a peek inside the smallest tub to show the numbers of ants around. Remember there are 10 tubs , al bigger than this one!

That. Is. AMAZING. It must've been really hard to dig this colony! I'm guessing it's atta?

That's a real beast, must be crazy trying to delicately dig for the queen while being under assault, how many folk helped you in the dig? Is Asha ok with taking a soilder bite?
I'm yet to have the joy of this experience yet

deansie26 wrote:That's a real beast, must be crazy trying to delicately dig for the queen while being under assault, how many folk helped you in the dig? Is Asha ok with taking a soilder bite?
I'm yet to have the joy of this experience yet

I've been bit by one once. And it hurt. Quite a lot.

Lol, my QEII colony is doing well, 4mm away from the lid now! stunning 10B set up btw!

deansie26 wrote: Is Asha ok with taking a soilder bite?

Asha once got bit by a soldier so she dumped him and went out with me!!
It was me and Ashas dad that dug it up over two days. With very big colonies there are some tricks that let you discover where the queen is but as Sean would say, trade secrets!

I've been cut buy a soilder and it draw blood it's like getting cut with a shape knife lol she was happy that she cut me as she then when back in the tub and 3 more soliders came out I fort that's it lid back on ASAP

You must have bought him a few drams after digging up that one, a lot of obscenities shouted at the time? Ha ha

deansie26 wrote:You must have bought him a few drams after digging up that one, a lot of obscenities shouted at the time? Ha ha

Hes a strict Hindu, no alcohol, definately no swearing. Baldeo is a true bush man. He really knows his stuff. And can spot a Leaf Cutter from a mile away. Very freakish. You can walk along a path and see nothing, Baldeo will come along behind you and find loads of nests. In order to encourage him I always make it a competition to see who finds more nests. Its always him but if I find the first one he will get very motivated. One very funny incident a few years ago. I had another guy, who worked for me at the time, collecting ants with me and Baldeo. Colin was also into the competition thing but he had a wicked sense of humour whereas Baldeo took the whole competition thing very seriously, it is a matter of his pride and reputation that white people from the other side of the world would never be able to beat him at finding nests. So Colin found a really nice small colony with a perfect cone entrance which he very carefully removed before digging up te nest. He walked ahead of Baldeo and placed the cone on the ground so it looked exactly like a nest. Of course Baldeo found it immediately and started dancing because he was in the lead only for Colin to walk up and pick up the cone and walk off. This happened throughout the day until Baldeo was so unsure as to whether he was finding a nest or one of Colins traps that he would quietly approach it and check before shouting out in case he made a fool of himself again.