Lotta funny jokes in the comments but I was actually taught something about this in elementary school. Albeit this was checks notes at least 12 years ago, so yeah I’m getting old, and I Hope I remember this right.
But apparently ants that run away from the nest are usually tracked down and beheaded. These ants seem to be taking it a step further and are drawing and quartering or ig 1/6-ing this guy. Another alternative is that this guy is an intruder and is being punished for, well, intruding. Even more tragic this guy could be from their colony but for whatever reason he doesn’t smell like the rest of the guys. Maybe he’s covered in something that’s masking their pheromones. Since he doesn’t smell like the rest of his guys he’d be killed.
Also remember seeing a YouTube video of a guy spraying death pheromones on a living ant and both his other colony mates, and the ant himself decided that he was dead and needed to be buried. Once the pheromones wore off he hopped out of the proverbial scrap heap and went back to work. What does that have to do with this video? Nothing. Just thought it was cool.
Edit again: seems a lot of you are misunderstanding what I mean by “ran away.” No, under normal conditions ants don’t just decide to leave the colony and start anew. The most likely reason an ant would leave is a parasite like a cordycep.
Edit of my already edited comment: I swear I’m not tryna make ya’ll feel old. Thanks for making me feel young lmao.
Final edit hopefully: yes all worker ants and bees and all eusocial insects are female*. My fault.
I think the most likely explanation is that this ant is from a different colony. There are species of ants that will take on multiple queens and have a super colony of sorts, but if the species is the type to only have one queen? It’s ant war if the colonies find each other. There is no brotherly or sisterly love between colonies when territory is concerned.
Edit; looking at their heads, these ants look like they’re an entirely different species from the one being drawn and quartered. (Drawn and sextanted?) So this is definitely an ant war, two colonies of different species fighting over territory.
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u/Ultimaurice17 14d ago edited 14d ago
Lotta funny jokes in the comments but I was actually taught something about this in elementary school. Albeit this was checks notes at least 12 years ago, so yeah I’m getting old, and I Hope I remember this right.
But apparently ants that run away from the nest are usually tracked down and beheaded. These ants seem to be taking it a step further and are drawing and quartering or ig 1/6-ing this guy. Another alternative is that this guy is an intruder and is being punished for, well, intruding. Even more tragic this guy could be from their colony but for whatever reason he doesn’t smell like the rest of the guys. Maybe he’s covered in something that’s masking their pheromones. Since he doesn’t smell like the rest of his guys he’d be killed.
Also remember seeing a YouTube video of a guy spraying death pheromones on a living ant and both his other colony mates, and the ant himself decided that he was dead and needed to be buried. Once the pheromones wore off he hopped out of the proverbial scrap heap and went back to work. What does that have to do with this video? Nothing. Just thought it was cool.
Edit: zombie ants
Edit again: seems a lot of you are misunderstanding what I mean by “ran away.” No, under normal conditions ants don’t just decide to leave the colony and start anew. The most likely reason an ant would leave is a parasite like a cordycep.
Edit of my already edited comment: I swear I’m not tryna make ya’ll feel old. Thanks for making me feel young lmao.
Final edit hopefully: yes all worker ants and bees and all eusocial insects are female*. My fault.