20151006

ANTS

As mentioned in the Bible, Solomon once said, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise." (proverbs 6:6) "How is it that ants, the most successfully social of insects, have come to rival humans as Earth's dominant land organism?" Patrick Kurp of 'The Canadian Sunday Gazette' wondered back in 1996.

Found on every continent except Antarctica, there were said to be as many as (conservatively speaking) 10,000 trillion ants (comprised of between 12,000 and 14,000 species living in caste-structured social communities) on the planet compared to 7.3 billion human beings. It had been pointed out, "Ants are truly wonderful insects. They build houses, train soldiers, enslave ants and other insects inferior to themselves; they are capable agriculturists, for they keep a species of milk kine, clear the ground, sow grain, reap and gather into barns. They are social insects, and in many respects are examples in miniature of man. They have their monarchs, pride themselves in their aristocracy, and also indulge to excess in intoxicating liquors."

Ant homes paralleled the evolution of man-made homes, according to Dr. Thomas E. Snyder of the Department of Agriculture in 1931. "The ants have constructed nests in trees, like early tree-dwelling man; have lived in holes hollowed out of the earth, like cave-dwelling man, and also have built low hut-like mounds and lofty 'skyscraper' structures in the modern manner." It was also informed, "The ant houses are most marvelous examples of construction. Part of the nest is above the ground and part below it. These houses are often 40 stories in height, and are built of stones, leaves, sticks and earth. The subterranean part is honeycombed into passages and cells and all the tunnels and galleries run into one common center – the public hall of the ant colony. The government is a republic, and various colonies have been known to mass together for the purpose of defenses."

Back in 1900, one Swiss scientist uncovered a regular empire of ants, "covering an area of 200 square yards, and containing 200 colonies or republics with a population of 40,000,000 ants." In ant society, it was understood, "the individual always defers to the colony and, ultimately, to the perpetuation of the species . . . Keeping the colony thriving is the sole object of the queen's life; a model of individual sacrifice for the greater good."

In the 1994 book, 'Journey To The Ants', Edward Wilson and Bert Holldobler stated, "In our view, the competitive edge that led to the rise of the ants as a world-dominant group is their highly developed, self-sacrificial colonial existence. It would appear that socialism really works under some circumstances. Karl Marx just had the wrong species." Like humans, ants had no "serious enemy on Earth except their own kind", hence ants had been known "to engage in human-like behaviors such as waging war on other ants to take slaves." Ants communicated chemically (smell, touch and taste) using various substances released from various parts of their bodies (known as pheromone).

Ants were said to belong to the insect order Hymenoptera. The ant family was Formicidae, from the Latin for ant, "formica". In 1978, Lorene Yarnell guest starred on the episode of 'Wonder Woman' called "Formicida". Lorene played a scientist using her powers "to communicate with, and take command of, ants." As Formicida, she also had the proportionate strength of an ant (about 10 times her body weight). Her mission was to stop the manufacture of a deadly pesticide known as EF-11.

Lynda Carter remembered, "The role (of 'Wonder Woman') itself was pretty vacuous. People have asked me how I was able to make such an impossible character work. I had a sense of humor about her, but never made fun. I played her strong. Unfortunately, the scripts never allowed her to be hurt, or fall in love, or feel much of anything at all. I fought for more emotional involvement, but as a young actress, I couldn't battle the studio and producers. They'd say, 'You can't make 'Wonder Woman' do that!'"

Douglas S. Cramer recognized, "There were those at ABC, who felt that Lynda could not have carried a show of her own, because she had not previously appeared in a series in any regular capacity. But the minute she stepped into that wild costume, I knew, and we all knew, that we had found our 'Wonder Woman.'" Bruce Lansbury added, "Intrinsic to our 'Wonder Woman' character is a love of country. The IADC (Inter-Agency Defense Command) operates in the interests of America's security, however you see it: morals, national institutions, or defense. It makes it a natural haven for Diana Prince. She is also a proponent of feminism. Her philosophy was . . . it's time for women to stand on their own and take care of business."

Ants were reportedly divided into 3 classes – males, females (or queens) and neuters (workers). Males and females were "winged", and their sole duty in life was to multiply their species. However "immediately after pairing, the male ants die, and the females, devote themselves to the duties of maternity. To the lot of the neuters falls all the work. The queen are waited on, feed and care for with the greatest attention. Each batch of eggs, as soon as they are laid are carried away and deposited in the hatching chambers open to the rays of the sun. The workers nurse the ant babies when they appear, putting them in the warm upper galleries by day and removing them at night into the snuggest lower chambers. After several months of careful nursing and feeding, the larva passes into the pupa stage, and spins itself into a cocoon, from which it emerges a full grown ant."

Back in 1922, Professor William Morton Wheeler of Harvard University made the comment, "The similarity between these insects and humans is striking. Three fundamentals guide their lives like ours; they are hunger, sex, and fear. In most insect orders the female is in control. The numerous grafters among the ants remind us of our own kind. Large number of ants – like humans – manage to get their living without working for it. If all individuals in the ant colonies were permitted to have families without restraint the population would soon outrun any possible food supply. The higher 'social' ants have overcome this difficulty by restricting reproduction, except when food is particularly abundant. The societies of man and insect are analogous, but the insect is the simpler. He is more mechanical in his way of doing things. He sticks to routine. But by watching a swarm of ants at work or play, any careful observer will note many of the characteristics prominent with humans prominent with ants also. He will see manifestations of co-operation between some, of jealousy, of anger, of laziness and of dishonest on the part of others."

It had long been known that some species of ants were in the habit of acting in exactly the same manner as man in keeping insect cows for the sake of the milk they supplied, it was made known. The ordinary green fly, or aphis, was to the ant what the cow was to man. The green fly was capable of exuding from yeo nipple-like projections a sort of liquid gum, of which ants were said to be extremely fond of.


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