| If I weren't bit by a fireant the other day, I would | | | | is believed that ants have evolved from the |
| never have thought of writing about ants. Despite | | | | wasps and they must have kept the aggressive |
| the cortisone cream, fireant bites itch, burn, and | | | | behavior of wasps somewhere in their DNA |
| take quite a few days to heal.In primitive human | | | | structure because their bite hurts and gets |
| societies, ant bites were considered as having | | | | swollen just like a wasp's bite. Worse yet, some |
| healing powers; therefore, ant bites were used in | | | | ant species, called killer ants, have a tendency to |
| initiation ceremonies as a test of endurance. That | | | | attack much larger animals during their foraging or |
| must mean, I am initiated to something without | | | | in defending their nests.The ant colony works as |
| my consent and not for the first time | | | | one unit. In that unit are many ants that act, |
| either.Taking their viewpoint into account, I really | | | | according to their individual function, for the whole |
| don't blame the ants much. To them, we must | | | | colony to make the ant life practical and effective. |
| seem so careless and so much bigger than | | | | Even if there is separateness among the ants, |
| Gulliver's giants. They must suffer multiple | | | | their existence is one complete element. An ant |
| casualties everyday, even if our clumsy feet | | | | colony does not consist of tiny whole things linked |
| commit their murders unwittingly. When we step | | | | together as in human societies; each ant is a part |
| on an ant, the crushed ant emits an alarm | | | | of the whole without being separate. The ants' |
| pheromone in high concentration. That sends | | | | oneness is in harmony with the forces of |
| other ants nearby into war frenzy and causes | | | | nature.Imagine being without legs or arms and |
| them attack anything and everything around the | | | | needing total care from the others in your youth. |
| nest.This waste of ant-life is increased | | | | Well, that's an ant's life for you. Ants do not |
| thousands-fold under Florida's sudden showers | | | | develop their legs until fully grown; they depend |
| that flood their commune and by the pest-control | | | | completely on the nurse-ants. When the baby |
| man who pays a visit once a month causing | | | | ants develop, they get six legs with prominent |
| ant-martyrs because of the extermination | | | | elbows, or should we say knees, and off to work |
| industry. I watched that Terminex guy at his | | | | they go. The worker ants spent their internship of |
| work, fighting a biological warfare at its best. | | | | few days in caring for the queen and the young. |
| Wherever he found an ant hill, he put in some | | | | After that, they graduate to harder and harder |
| granules and watered it. This much stress would | | | | tasks, from digging and nest work to foraging |
| make any species go crazy and strike back with | | | | food and defending the nest.Most of these |
| vengeance.To top their aggravation, fireants' | | | | worker ants are females. |
| forefathers play a role in their behavioral genes. It | | | | |