Praise for the Common Ant #2

Last year the ant apartment was vacant again but I didn't rake or smooth out the area that winter. I left the hole alone. However, because of wind and rain, the opening pretty much filled in and disappeared.

This is year 5 and, once again, I have ants. I wonder about the 2 year cycle - ants one year then not the next - but I haven't been able to find any information related to it.

These ants are very small, different from both of the other colonies. I first noticed them when they, like the first group, were marching north across the yard, up and over my 5 foot cement block wall. They, however, didn't go to the north wall and into my front yard; rather, they scrambled over the side wall. Again, I went around, curious to see where they were headed. Once over the wall, they traveled east into my neighbors' yard. I don't know where they ended up because, first, I couldn't just enter Terry's back yard without permission and, second, the ants only made the trip a few times. The traveling stopped before I had a chance to ask Terry if I could follow these guys.

They never resumed climbing the wall but,  for all I know,  the new colony might have been settled  The remaining tenants, while not lazy, are certainly less passionate about their jobs than other ants. I rarely see them although I know they are there because the hill is visible. It's not the greatest looking ant hill since they don't work on it much, but it must suit their needs.

When I do see them trying to clean up their area, I've noticed that they aren't particularly skilled. If an ant is carrying a grain of sand up and out of the entrance, he often doesn't make it to the top. He usually picks the steepest route and falls back down. And I don't see him trying again and again to best that wall. Once he falls, he usually disappears into the hole. These guys aren't as ambitious as my other ants but they seem to be surviving just fine.

Then last week, I discovered another hill in the alley behind my wall. These are red ants. Lots of red ants. And their ant hill isn't really a hill; it's more of a cave. There appears to be an overhang, perhaps protecting the nest from the strong sun in our hot summer months.

Most of the ants coming back to the cave carry something in their mandibles. These guys scurry around in the morning but have enough sense to get out of the heat during the hottest part of the day.

What fun these fellows have been to watch. I've developed a great respect for the ants, creatures I used to consider just a nuisance, something to get rid of. Now I feel protective of these insects. 

Who knows, maybe cockroaches will be next.

Nah.