ಇರುವೆ, ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೂ ಇರುವೆ
Few weeks ago I noticed a new variety of black ant had been attacking stuff in my kitchen. These ants attacked cooked food, peeled/chopped vegetables and kitchen waste. Dry items like rava or dhal din't attract these ants. I call them an impatient variety because even while I'm chopping onion and chilly they are already crawling over the chopped pieces. Other types of ants wait and attack when no human is around but these new ants are just waiting for activity in the kitchen. Mad creatures! Just outside the house, on the dirt strip between the storm water drain and the road is an underground nest. The nest belonged to the small angry red ants which attack viciously at a slightest provocation. Now the same nest is now occupied by these impatient black ants. Wonder if these black ants invaded the nest and drove the red ants away. Or did the red ants migrate and the black ants moved into the vacant tunnels?
These ants made me think of the types of ants I've seen until now. Basically they can be divided as red/black and small/medium/large. The types-
* small red - love sweet stuff, bites badly, live in cracks/carnies in walls or subterranean nests
* medium red - similar to the small red variety
* large red - can be found in trees and jungles, build nests with leaves and glue like saliva
* small black - looks delicate, not known to bite, live below stones on dirt
* medium black - described above, the impatient types, live in subterranean nests
* large black - giants of the ant world, known as Godda in Kannada, a hard bite from their mandibles can draw blood, live in subterranean nests
All ants types are duty bound, hardworking, disciplined, and united. Their building ability is awe-inspiring.
And they discovered something very interesting: when it comes to walking, most of the ant's thinking and decision-making is not in its brain at all. It's distributed. It's in its legs -
Kevin Kelly
A bunch of
ant quotes.
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