As I was on my way back from work on Friday, I noticed a strange black mass on the pavement near my house.
It was like a soccer riot — ants crawling all over apparently trying to beat the snot out of each other. I half expected to see some broken beer bottles and tiny torn Manchester United T-shirts lying around. Occasionally one would fall off the edge of the curb in a Wilhelm scream-worthy fall.
Check out the video, in which if you look carefully, you’ll see three take a spill:
I’ve seen pile-ons like this once or twice before in my life, and I assume it’s a fight between rival colonies. But I’m not an entomologist. Does anyone here know what these ants are up to?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Mass orgy? Sure, they’re all probably sexless drones, but that don’t mean they can’t have fun!
I think I saw the same black mass — or at least a similar one — on the path along the creek behind Hunter Creek. Weird and amazing and creepy. I didn’t see any obvious thing that they were swarming *over*. Pheromones gone wild?
I see these quite often when I walk in my neighborhood and always think it provides a good stimulus for fiction. Let the imagination run wild! What ARE they up to anyway?? We could start a story line and see what alternatives develop…or I could go to wikipedia and look it up…
All good wishes!