MamaSheep Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Kissing? Conversing? Plotting world domination? On our walk today we saw a big patch of blackness on the edge of a sidewalk and underneath some community mailboxes next to it. When we stopped to investigate, we saw that it was a whole lot of little black ants (which is exactly what I thought it was). There wasn't much in the way of food sources in the area (I thought maybe somebody spilled something as they were getting their mail), and the ants didn't seem interested in the few bits that were there. Instead, all these hundreds, if not thousands of ants were for the most part standing there, in pairs, and in each pair the two ants were lined up in a straight line with their heads together looking like one big ant with too many segments. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be feeling each other's heads with their antennae and their various mouthparts. Does anyone have any idea what they were up to? (My daughter's theory is that ants are smarter than people think, and they were having school.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 :lol: I don't know, but I'd be afraid. I'm sure they outnumber us. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I don't know what they were doing but I had a similar swarm by my driveway last spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 That's why I always try to have my camera with me. Maybe auditions for "A Bug's Life, part II"?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 I don't know what they were doing but I had a similar swarm by my driveway last spring. Really? Huh...maybe it IS world domination. That's why I always try to have my camera with me. Maybe auditions for "A Bug's Life, part II"?? Dh says maybe they were liberal ants and conservative ants and they were butting heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 We were very curious too when we saw that on our sidewalk in Maryland. We watched for a long time before it we could really tell that it was a war and one on one they can't do much but go head to head. When another comrade would come along, somebody had to lose. It finally became apparent that it was territorial. It was really weird to watch because we could really tell that one side was definitely losing, an aggression taking over. Another time we had ants of one hue carrying away slightly smaller ants of another hue, they had a very long trail across the yard. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted March 24, 2010 Author Share Posted March 24, 2010 We were very curious too when we saw that on our sidewalk in Maryland.We watched for a long time before it we could really tell that it was a war and one on one they can't do much but go head to head. When another comrade would come along, somebody had to lose. It finally became apparent that it was territorial. It was really weird to watch because we could really tell that one side was definitely losing, an aggression taking over. Another time we had ants of one hue carrying away slightly smaller ants of another hue, they had a very long trail across the yard. Weird. Aha! So it IS about world domination. I suspected as much. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 The ants that would kill the other ants would then move on, leaving dead ants in their wake, and another ant would come along and carry it away. I don't remember which direction, whether towards the war and the finish line or off to the area that had already been conquered. As if, this guy kills them, but these guys carry away the dead bodies. We each have a part to play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 The ants that would kill the other ants would then move on, leaving dead ants in their wake, and another ant would come along and carry it away. I don't remember which direction, whether towards the war and the finish line or off to the area that had already been conquered. As if, this guy kills them, but these guys carry away the dead bodies.We each have a part to play... They do all have a part to play. The one who kills them is a soldier ant. The one who moves them is probably a forager ant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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