Researchers find 3,600-mile ant supercolony!

AJC dot COM (Access Atlanta) ^ | [ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 4/15/02 ] | AP Staff

[vannrox]

OK. It's an April article, but new to me.

[anniegetyourgun]

I hate ants....and I hate bees. They're altogether too organized.....

[Dr. Frank fan]

A supercolony of ants has been discovered stretching thousands of miles from the Italian Riviera along the coastline to northwest Spain.

Yeah, it's called the EU. This is news?

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Al Gore invented the Super Ant Colony.

[RightOnline]

I agree, Annie. First, it's "supercolonies".

Can unions be far behind???? NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) weapons?? These little skanks are up to NO good, I tell you, and we'd best keep one sharp eye on 'em, by gum.

[Thinkin' Gal]

A supercolony of ants has been discovered stretching thousands of miles from the Italian Riviera along the coastline to northwest Spain.

[RightOnline]

P.S. I think one of 'em is teaching Advanced English III at my kids' high school.............but I can't prove it.....................yet.

[FryingPan101]

I just read this to my husband. We were both amused....alright....I was scared and will probably have nightmares forever. Thanks for the post...I guess.

[keithtoo]

HOW.......are they surviving without government aid? Do they have the proper permits?

Quick, put them on an endangered species list and we can shut down half of Europe.

[anniegetyourgun]

ROFL! Bugs are a massive conspiracy.....

[hole_n_one]

[Rebelbase]

"I hate ants....and I hate bees. They're altogether too organized....."

I bet that really bugs you!

[evolved_rage]

Have you seen:

 

Phase IV (1974)
The ants go marching one by one, until the desert is overrun, in this provocative science-fiction story about ecological disaster in Arizona and how the area's ants band together to attack people. Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy star. 86 min.
Director: Saul Bass Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy

Rated: PG       Color

Was $14.99      $7.49    VHS    #061178

[FryingPan101]

Well of course they're a massive conspiracy. Can you explain why the President of Italy was at the wedding of the daughter of Spain's President just last night. Huh? Anything to do with the new weapon being cultivated along the coasts of their respective countries?

[onedoug]

NORTON: Three letter word for "bug".

RALPH: Nat!

ALICE: Norton, Nat is spelled with a "G". The word you want is "Ant".

RALPH: Put down, Nat!

NORTON: I gotta admit, Alice, I work with Nat Birnbaum down in the sewar. He don't spell it with a "G".

[Russell Scott]

I guess Argentina finally figured out where all their ants went. They're vacationing on the Rivera.

[Pontiac]

However, in the long run the very cooperation that seems to make them successful could lead to the supercolony's self-destruction, he suggested.

That's because in such a giant colony many workers are unrelated to the queens they help to raise. "Thus, in the long term, selection should decrease the altruistic behavior of workers," he said, because their efforts are not helping transmit copies of their genes via related queens.

I disagree with this reasoning. The reason the colony is able to grow so large and and still be cooperative is the inbreeding of the colonies. There are no other Argentine ant colonies close enough to the super colony to interbreed with. Therefor no genetic diversity.

The two super colonies will grow larger until they come close enough for their flying queens and drones to inter breed. Or it is possible that their lack of genetic diversity will cause the colony to succumb to a disease or parasitic infection that will wipe out the entire gene line in one blow.

[Who dat?]

The Texas State something-or-other (department of agriculture?) used to give us five pound bags of fire ant bait. It seemed to work ok. So did soaking the ant bed with kerosene and lighting it up...

Lately I just use a quart sprayer bottle with a couple of "glugs" of Diazinone in it. That seems to disagree with them too...

[weikel]

Though I don't like bugs I must marvel at how creatures so far down on the evolutionary scale could build something so huge. I mean give the ratio of the average ant to the size of this in proportion its far bigger than any human city. Wow.

[RckyRaCoCo]

"THEM!"

"Shoot the anteniii!"