Australian Ant Art
Camponotus aeneopilosus
Australian Ant Art is an Australian company inspired by Dr. Tschinkel creating aluminium casts of ant nests.
Utilising the same methods that Dr. Tschinkel himself used, the creators pour liquid aluminium into the opening of the ant nest.
Iridomyrmex purpureus
There's no denying the beauty of the final result. But the process raises several ethical questions that can't be ignored.
It appears that only active nests are being cast, unfortunately killing any ants that are present inside the nest when the aluminium is poured in. The guys at Australian Ant Art have assured us that only a single nest in a particular area is cast to prevent decimating ant populations. It's hard to ignore the deaths of innocent ants but it is intriguing to see the structure of the ant nests.
If you can put the ethical issues aside then check out their Facebook page here.
