As cunning as an ant who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at the - University of of Leeds and Copenhagen (Mar/15/2008 )
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/...80311103904.htm
ants are actually interesting. here is something i learnt today about ants:
There's a species that suicide bombs rival colonies by blowing up their abdomens, spraying acid down the holes of their nests.
Several queens sometimes co-exist in colonies as well, though eventually, one queen gains dominance and sends her minions to assassinate the others by biting off their heads.
and since i mentioned blackaddar:
We've been sitting her since Christmas 1914, during which time millions of men have died, and we've moved no further than an asthmatic ant with some heavy shopping.
anyway, the article is about how queens are more likely to be have a rare, specific, gene than their sisters.
V
ants are, indeed, a very interesting species (they even made a film out of it right? woody allen - star actor). ants have also developed a unique mutualism with acacias, they actually protect a plant that feeds them and gives them shelter. they can be pretty agressive. an article, if interested in ants is this one for free in highwire:
Postsecretory Hydrolysis of Nectar Sucrose and Specialization in Ant/Plant Mutualism
M. Heil, J. Rattke, and W. Boland
Science, Apr 2005; 308: 560 - 563.
martin heil is a pretty nice guy, met him in person once, i'm sure he wouldn't have any inconvenient having a deeper discussion about these fascinating insects. btw, did you know they don't touch their antennas when communicating?
tj
did you know that ants don't have lungs? colourless blood?
i thought they did use their antennas when communicating... interesting.
V
they do use their antennas but don't have phisical contact. should that be called animal telepathy? 
which reminds me of a very lame movie called starship troopers - huge insects (is that where you got the idea hobgoblin?) that kill humans but there's this genius scientist kid who has the ability to do telepathy, mixed with tons of explosives and of course a love story.
didn't know they don't have lungs. their smell is very characteristic, also the formic acid comes from ants.
which reminds me of a very lame movie called starship troopers - huge insects (is that where you got the idea hobgoblin?) that kill humans but there's this genius scientist kid who has the ability to do telepathy, mixed with tons of explosives and of course a love story.didn't know they don't have lungs. their smell is very characteristic, also the formic acid comes from ants.
Ants are 'work machines' full of various glands, for defence, for attack, for antibiotics, for agricultural uses, for chemical communication (and several other functions). The latter is done via pheromones and the antennae embody the main receptors. First what they do when meeting another ant is that they detect with the antennae (this is what we often see as antennae movement to the others), if the opposite one belongs to the same nest, i.e. if they have the same smell (a bouquet of several substances, unique for one nest like a fingerprint). If yes everything is okay (or it is a social parasite imitating the smell), if not then they often fight.
I think they are among most interesting insects, due to their dominance in the tropics, their diversity and their social behaviour, unfortunately difficult to distinguish.
The Star Ship trooper film was really lame, but nice special effects (I was never sure if it was a real parody or an unintended one).
starship troopers the movie was a parody... the book was ironic.
there was a movie from the 50s (i think it had humphry bogart in it)... and there were killer ants that destroyed entire forrests, and then turned onto the fields. nothing was safe, anything that got in their way was eaten.
the power of pheremones (yes, i know that's spelt wrong)... is there anything it can't do?
V
there was a movie from the 50s (i think it had humphry bogart in it)... and there were killer ants that destroyed entire forrests, and then turned onto the fields. nothing was safe, anything that got in their way was eaten.
the power of pheremones (yes, i know that's spelt wrong)... is there anything it can't do?
V
Never read the book, but Heinlein is more a Hippie and not an fascist or semi-fascist author. But a parody, there are some scenes with parody, but only a few and altogether and with the love story, I don't know. Perhaps a too perfect parody. Or is it Verhoeven, I don't like his films they are all crap.
Pheromones work everywhere even between humans
. i didn't even know there was a book about starship troopers, not in my list...i just remembered another really bad film where ants are the stars, it's called marabunta. if you're interested in watching ants by millions eating people that's a film for you 
i just remember one scene where the ants walk over a person and all that is left after they're done is the skeleton...cheesy 80's movies...