We went on a stroll last night, looking for spiders, and we didn’t find many…but I did stumble across this scene.
Does anyone else feel like ants are plotting something? I refuse to dig further. I’ve got enough on my plate with the spiders.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
I get brain ants coming into my house every Spring. This year, they made a nest in one of the poison traps. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be very afraid.
*brown ants
Farming aphids. Planning which of your favorite garden plants to propagate them on.
Ants are a gateway drug to sociobiology and group selectionism. Look what they did to EO Wilson.
Ants.
SFAIK, Banana Slug String Band has yet to record a spider song. They haven’t even caught up to cephalopods yet…
How do you mean, just plotting? This species is well on its way taking over the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_ant
The secret: “seldom attack or compete with each other”.
I forgot about the huge nocturnal black ants here in Tucson. They’re plotting something. There were hundreds of them around a hole last night packed into a circle around their hole, barely moving. Creepy.
I’ve always been fascinated by insects, particularly ants. I even considered going into entomology at one point. But, when I was a freshman at San Jose State I had an entomology prof, whose name I’ve long since forgotten, who wanted to prove that DDT was harmless and would eat a large spoonful of powdered DDT in front us freshman. That’s no exaggeration. It was a regular tablespoon and he’d just suck it down like it was sugar. I was only 18 and not very experienced in the ways of the world, but even then I knew that this man was a first class loon. And that, sad to say, put me off entomology as a profession for good. But I still find ants fascinating creatures.
of all the creatures in the world past or present none is more fierce then ants. They also demonstrate the addvantge of cooperation over competition. No frills all business, complete focus on the job at hand and finding the advantage they need. Everything else is just tolerated including us for which I am grateful.
uncle frogy
Fredrick Brown, Come and go Mad, 1949 short story. Just saying.
But ants are getting into you.
There are several species of spiders that mimic ants.
Speaking of spiders: new spider species! https://www.livescience.com/amp/joker-spider-joaquin-phoenix.html
Sadly they picked Phoenix’s joker over Ledger’s or better yet, Hamill’s but still, new spider species!
Ants farming their aphids have ruined my raspberry crop for this year.