Bite Me, Not

Ants are really smart insects. Even though that I have always believed that insects are generally smart and probably smarter than humans in some ways. They are such great hunters and there are just so much things that we can learn by studying them. They've been here since forever, even older than the human species, so what can we learn by studying them?

Which is why I want to study about ants rather than human beings for once. Human beings change. We are complicated mammals with emotions. And some problems surrounding human beings are too difficult for someone with a brain like mine to solve. So moving on, more on ants.

According to Wikipedia, ants are a diverse group of more than 12,000 species, with a higher diversity in the tropics. They are known for their highly organized colonies and nests, which sometimes consist of millions of individuals. Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth. When all their individual contributions are added up, they may constitute up to 15 to 25% of the total terrestrial animal biomass.

"Ants have often been used in fables and children's stories to represent industriousness and cooperative effort, as well as aggressiveness and vindictiveness. They are also mentioned in religious texts. In the Bible, ants are held up as a good example for humans for their hard work and cooperation. Aesop did the same in his fable "The Grasshopper and the Ants". In parts of Africa, ants are considered to be the messengers of the gods. Ant bites are often said to have curative properties. The sting of some species is claimed to give fever relief."

Wow. I mean, look at them, these annoying pests can actually cure the infections that has troubling human beings (esp ME) since forever. And the thing so special about them is that you hardly see them fight, they work together as a colony and they live simply just to live. I didn't look far enough to see how long ants can live but I bet it can be longer than human beings. They search for food, they build their own homes, they communicate, they are so focused and determined when they are on their duty that it impresses me how small my life can be compared to an ant.

I've read an article back when I was 12 that ants are very strong-willed creatures. The author said that he was bored and he poured water on his table just to see how the ant works its way out of the pool of deadly liqiuid fifty times its size. But for some reasons, the ant manages to get to the edge and struggles to crawl back out to the dry grounds, even though ants don't swim.

Lesson learned, thanks ants. Even though I've squashed more than 20 of you in the past 30 minutes because you keep biting me and stealing my Halls Mint. I guess what I need to learn from you is the sense of self-being. You do what you can do and you live your life just to serve your purpose as an ant because that is what you are and that is what you do best. You get out of messes even though some people just keep making it difficult for you. You work together with your family and friends to work things out and build a stronger future together everyday. And that's something very, very impressive to me.

Sometimes I like to get a little weird and study bugs and leaves around me. Maybe that's because I used to be a full time nerd who was overweight, unattractive and... nerdy. I used to catch insects and put them into a bottle so I can watch them, even though I'd get upset that they would always end up dead eventually. Oh gosh, these ants are really something. They keep crawling over your body until they find this tender spot on your skin just to sink their.. fangs into you.

Would anyone understand the love between ants? Do they have love at all? Is it because of their incapability to love that they become so hardworking? But isn't hardworking lifeless for you just go on with life everyday doing the same thing? Maybe we won't ever find out, because I don't think we care enough for the species. We certainly care about human beings more, countless books have been published about psychology and the learning of human. But do we understand ourselves any more than we understand the ants?


Because I KIll Everything That Does,
Kevin C.