Priory_of_Sion Posted October 27, 2014 Report Share Posted October 27, 2014 I'm going to dedicate a topic to one of the world's most successful organisms, the ant. This is the Argentine Ant(Linepithema humile) which has former invasive "supercolonies" on multiple continents. It amazes me that some of the invasive ants have formed supercolonies, it seems like a parallel to human city-states aligning with one another to form countries. There are more traits that seemingly connect ants with humans. Ants are one of the few creatures to wage wars, against other ants and against other species outside the ant family such as termites. The way ants conduct war is also quite sophisticated as they seem to have evolved a way of fighting which looks like they expend weaker forces while concentrating stronger individual ants which are spared. All this without any real command structure. I'm not going to go further into details but here are other interesting ant-stuff. Slavery of particular ant species by others Complex inter-species relations which are blurred between parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. Utilization of agriculture and farming Different caste system, but seeming equality(even with the queen, which can be ousted by workers or other queens). In a way you can describe ants as Marxist. Differences in defense mechanisms among species, some that are really strange such as suicidal bombing, deadly venom, and jaws that can reach 230 kmh. The "hive mind" decision making. Possible ability to learn en masse. The suspected biomass of the ant family is to be close to the world's human biomass. However collecting data for this is rather tedious as measuring all the dead ants falling out of an insecticide fogged tree in the rainforest. Some ants have been documented risking their own lives in order to save other ants from antlions, which is rather altruistic of them. Wouldn't expect that from a eusocial species. I have personally documented 6 different species of ant on my property, 2 of which I believe are invasive(RIFA & Argentine). AdmiralTheisman and LostCosmonaut 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeps_Guns_Tanks Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Cool stuff. My wife hates ants, they don't bother me at all, I've even eaten them to gross her out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted October 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Cool stuff. My wife hates ants, they don't bother me at all, I've even eaten them to gross her out. I've eaten ants by accident. Left a soda can out at dark, came back to take a swig of some Coca Cola and a healthy serving of ants along with it. Ants seem like a viable protein source for regions that find it unfeasible to have beef or pork, much lower energy needed to sustain ant populations. I would totally eat a good antburger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostCosmonaut Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I can confirm from personal experience that fire ants (at least the ones native to the Front Range) have a somewhat sour, but acceptable taste. Just remember to remove the head before eating. I believe it's due to the formic acid they contain. Sturgeon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Which is acid named after ants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted October 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 Which is acid named after ants! Formic. But there are so many combinations of chemicals that go into making ant venom, pheromones, and alt. acids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted October 28, 2014 Report Share Posted October 28, 2014 I've eaten ants by accident. Left a soda can out at dark, came back to take a swig of some Coca Cola and a healthy serving of ants along with it. Ants seem like a viable protein source for regions that find it unfeasible to have beef or pork, much lower energy needed to sustain ant populations. I would totally eat a good antburger. As mentioned: formic acid. Not good stuff in large quantities. Also ant-related: my third-favourite toxin! Oh ponerotoxin, you induce such long-lasting agony... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donward Posted November 16, 2014 Report Share Posted November 16, 2014 Them! is the best of the 1950s SciFi/horror films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted February 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Earlier I mentioned ants being a food source. Well Cornell didn't use ants, but they used mealworms to create "C-fu" which I wouldn't be opposed to eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xthetenth Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Neat. Cheap and easy animal protein is awesome, and as long as I'm eating meat and not animals I'm on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Mix it with cornmeal, coat it in taco spice and deep fry it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperComrade Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donward Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 There can be only one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donward Posted March 1, 2015 Report Share Posted March 1, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostCosmonaut Posted May 21, 2015 Report Share Posted May 21, 2015 Donward and Lord_James 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I don't know why he turned the cast upside down, but I've only ever poured gasoline down fire ant hills so seeing the extensive catacombs is pretty cool. I remember seeing this be done with some South American ant colony which massive. The thing about ants is that there are numerous different territorial strategies and colony designs among ants. I'm particularly impressed with the African Weaver Ant's territorial control over a 3D area of forest spanning multiple trees as can be read about here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xlucine Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 It's probably easier to support upside down - the uppermost tunnels/chambers ought to be larger and better connected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 It's probably easier to support upside down - the uppermost tunnels/chambers ought to be larger and better connected I would think that it would be possible to turn it right-side up without that much trouble. I don't cast anthills so it might very well be putting the cast in jeopardy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donward Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 I see the Doomsday Prepper ants in that video were quick to abandon the nest with their bug-out bags. ... ... Meanwhile in the Bad Puns thread... Sturgeon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturgeon Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 IT'S NOT A PUN ANTS AREN'T BUGS Donward 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Next thing you know you'll learn that the jitterbug is in fact a parasitic nematode! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priory_of_Sion Posted October 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Ants are self aware? LoooSeR and Donward 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 That is interesting. Reading it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 IIRC there was a research, that shown that bees can understand color code ("blue dot on this box means food") and i am not really surprised that ants have some level of self-awareness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxn Posted October 15, 2015 Report Share Posted October 15, 2015 Ants are self aware? Holy crap - the dot test is one of the gold standards, and a thing that your dog (for instance) would fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.