A fairly large fire ant colony is cast with molten aluminum. The surface mound of this colony was not built up very high, probably due to the recent cold weather, but from the area of it, it seemed to be a large colony. I melted around 25 lb of aluminum, lost a few pounds due to spillage in the furnace and ended up with a cast weighing 18.7 lb and a few pounds left over. The depth of the cast is 20 in, making it the 4th deepest of the fire ant colonies I’ve cast. | Anthill Art

Behind the scenes of what keeps your operation moving. Stocked, organized, and ready to serve. 📍 Colony Ranch Supply | Tennessee Colony, TX | Colony Ranch Supply

Say hello to a few (thousand) new arrivals at the Zoo! 🐜🍃 A new leafcutter ant colony recently moved into the Bayer Insectarium, and these tiny farmers are already hard at work. Guests can spot them marching leaf-by-leaf on a vine in their window exhibit now. The window also offers a peek at our invertebrate keepers behind the scenes! Leafcutter ants don’t actually eat the leaves. They use their powerful mandibles to snip off pieces and carry them home to grow a special fungus. That fungus? It