Posted on 11/04/2019 3:09:19 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
Stranded and left for dead years after falling into a forsaken bunker meant to house nuclear weapons, a colony of ants has apparently resorted to necrotic cannibalism not only to survive, but to thrive.
Checking in recently on a colony of Formica polyctena ants that fell into the nether depths of a decrepit, abandoned nuclear weapons storage bunker in rural Poland, a team of researchers led by Prof. Wojciech Czechowski of the Polish Academy of Science found that their numbers hadn’t shrunk at all. In fact, they’d proliferated — even though their entrapment had cut the colony off from any known source of nourishment.
Worse still — at least for anyone who shrinks at the thought of mixing insects and radiation — is that the ants, commonly called European red wood ants, apparently have now found a way out of their dark post-atomic prison. What was thought to be a tomb for a small ant colony of workers cut off from its mother nest has, instead, become the launch pad for a surface invasion of thriving cannibal critters.
Cannibals, you say? Well, scientists believe there’s nothing down in that hole that could pass for ant-food except the desiccated dead bodies of other ants. And dead ants appear to be exactly what the living fed on in order to increase their numbers and, years after being written off as yesterday’s entomological news, to finally find a way out.
As if we needed to add any more creepiness on top of cannibalism and leftover radiation, there’s even more to the story: As far as scientists know, none of these ants should have been able to reproduce in the first place. According to a recently-published study in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research, all of the insects in the colony were worker ants, with nary a queen in sight.
“Neither before, nor in the time considered here were queens or offspring seen in the bunker, not even empty cocoons — only workers were present,” the study states, adding that cannibalism isn’t uncommon among wood ants when conditions — like being left alone for years in radioactive subterranean darkness — call for it.
“Our previous [2016] study also left open, how the bunker colony could survive and grow without access to foraging grounds. One evident means could be cannibalism,” the study observes. “It is known that wood [carpenter] ants consume dead bodies of their conspecifics left in masses on the ground during spectacular ‘ant wars’ early in the season. The function of such wars is to settle the borders of neighboring conspecific colonies, but the corpses also add substantially to the scarce food resources available when the colony lives commence after winter.”
As for how the ants finally made it out of there, blame an abandoned wooden structure built to navigate the bunker’s interior — carelessly left behind, no doubt, by someone who clearly lacked the foresight to divine that these ruthless insects might one day use it as a bridge to the surface world. “Using an experimentally installed boardwalk, the imprisoned ants managed to get through the ventilation pipe to their maternal nest on the top of the bunker,” the study states.
Just what the world needs: super-ants that’ve been battle-tested by the perfect cocktail of nuclear storage, pitch blackness, and the delectable dead bodies of their fallen kin. For what it’s worth, wood ants aren’t supposed to be dangerous to humans, and their bites are considered rare annoyances rather than life-threatening events (or the starting points for insect-infused superhero powers). But just to be on the safe side, we won’t be booking any walking tours in the Polish countryside anytime soon — unless we hire a cooperative anteater who’s willing to lead the way.
Cannibal ants implies they eat each other. Ok I’m good with that. Move them to Washington DC while Trump is at Mir Lago playing golf with Rush. Nuke them from space during Nasty’s impeachment hearing. It’s the only way Jim.
I call bullshit.
Ants don’t get trapped.
Worker ants would need a queen.
There is always food.
Etc.
THEY are a comin’ fer yeh.
THEM
I saw that movie late late one night.
Some of the free movie channels are good for watching classic sci-fi b movies.
Kent Brockman says: ‘I for one welcome our new insect overlords and I’d like to remind them as a trusted TV personality I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in the underground sugar caves.’
“Up and at em”
They’ll pinch his head off. Hey these ants may be Muslims I got to stay with nukem in Dc.
Zanti Misfits I believe.
31 post and no one knows that Rats eat their own.
Are we sure these ants aren’t Democrats fighting climate change?
THEM
CREEEEEPY! LOL
Has to be other sources of nourishment - unless there is an over 100% gain of energy by eating each other....
True, they had to find food somewhere or the colony dies out.
Just like university researchers. They have to find money somewhere or the colony dies out.
It is not James Arness or Edmund Gwynn I remember from THEM but James Whitmore. Still recall the scene where those naughty ants got him.
Hope they keep eating them.
The Zanti Misfits episode still gives me the occasional nightmare. It was a lot worse right after I saw it as a youngster ...
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