An abstract metal sculpture has become a Youtube sensation after the artist posted a video showing how it had been created - by pouring molten aluminium directly into a fire ant colony mound.

Although the resulting work - an intricately layered and intertwining piece - is quite beautiful, not everyone has been impressed.

“I disabled comments because I'm sick of your bickering,” the anonymous artist wrote on Youtube, where the video has now received over 7 million views.

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“Also, I couldn't get YouTube to stop sending me an email every time someone posted “What if I poured aluminium in your house” for the 100th time.”

On the artist’s website there is a further selection of fire ant sculptures, as well as a number of examples created through carpenter ant colonies.

The pieces are sold through eBay.

Fire ants are by no means man's best friend - their stings are extremely painful, even deadly, and the insects are estimated to cost the US economy around $1 billion per year through the damage they can cause.