Walking on the Water
(River • Critters)
One of the nastiest side effects of a minor river flooding has to do with the fact that you can’t drown fire ants (more’s the pity). When the Brazos rose up and began seeping into fire ant nests near shore, these robotic little pain delivery systems grabbed up their queen, swarmed to the surface and joined together to form a floating gob of protection.
The streak of dark dirt poured over the lighter brown water is in actuality about a million fire ants, linked together like miniature Leggos, somehow swimming as one across heavy currents until they reached shore.
Once there, they began a full-out ant sprint toward some geographic goal of which each one somehow was aware.
And whoa be unto my young children, each of whom tarried too long in crocks, wondering at this marvel of insect engineering until the front-runner insects breached the crock ventilation openings and attacked unsuspecting toes with relentless ferocity.
We have always been at war with the fire ants. If not for them, I really would be an organic farmer. But I reserve the right to chemical weapons, just for these little bastards.
→ B.Dunn, Nov 01, 2009, 08 44 am
