Ant Party

See her bottoms up at the sweet nectar?

I must be honest...I am not keen on ants, although I respect them as the cleanup crew of the garden. They haul away tons of detritus every day and stash it in those underground labyrinths they inhabit. But they have a universal weakness- their collective sweet tooth.

If you have never witnessed them gorging as though at a trough, have a look at the pictures here. There was a spill of sweet pop that had dried in the sun into a small oblong of stickiness. Then an ant discovered it, stuck her head in and didn't come up for air at all! Soon another ant joined her, then another, until there must have been 20 around the perimeter, sucking away as though from a vat filled with an intoxicant.

None of the usual handshakes took place, where they touch antennae and kiss both cheeks of each other to pass along secrets.  I think the first ant must have made such a to-do with her mmm's and ah's that the others heard her a mile away.

They made short work of it, and before I knew it, the entire spill site was spotless, and they continued about their business, party time over, their sweet fix satisfied for now.  Back to the junk-hauling business they went.   Some to drag a dead wasp up and down every blade of grass in their path, others to take on tiny caterpillars from the ash tree.  Their prey can be way bigger than them but their tenacity is amazing.

Still, one totsy little ant crawling on my skin causes a knee-jerk reaction.   So as long as they keep their distance, they are welcome to carry on!  Literally!  Go ahead and double dip at the local sweet spill, ants. I will be content to take your picture from a respectable distance.

greetings

Junk hauling

See?  At the trough.