Tonight I bring to you Army Ants (Driver Ants), in light of this Memorial Day Holiday. These ladies do it right by relying on one another to conquer and sustain. Army ants aren’t susceptible to the ego or the “I,” they aren’t selfish; but instead, they work in masses, a few million to be more accurate, in order to get the job done to sustain their colony. They are nomadic, only having temporary nests for the queen to give birth to her million babies a month, literally. The worker ants (who are all female) lead the paths, build the bridges and avenues, collect the food, ready the nests, tote the larvae and guard the queen every day of their lives. The queen is the two inch long jewel of the colony, the largest ant in the world. Once she is secured inside the nest by the woven and interlocking basket of worker ants that surrounds her, she secretes a tantalizing scent for all the winged boys to come to her yard and give her a lil sumpn’ sumpn’, and they can’t resist. They catch a drift and flock to her, impregnate her, and die. Once the area of forest is depleted of food, she zips up her pants, and they move forward.

On their journey, army ants devour every prey they come across, except for those smart enough to stand completely still. Army ants are completely blind and rely on the movements of their food to detect it, and they communicate with each other through scent. They sweep through the forest floor, and sometimes trees, devouring all food in sight, but never staying in one place too long. Their existence is an integral part of the forest ecosystem, a sort of population control. Once they are gone, the area is able to flourish anew. A balance reinstated. 

 (Not to be compared to human armies, except for what’s in the name, of course. Peace not War, obviously)

If this video is too long, try this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVkdw5s3joI