Comments on: I, for one...

I, for one...

Navelgazer — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:04:54 -0800

Introducing Our New Ant Overlords. Argentine Ants (Linepithema humile) have spread to every continent aside from Antarctica, forming Supercolonies such as stretching 3,700 miles (6,000km) of the Mediterranean. Once thought to be independent of one another, scientists now have cause to believe that the disparate Supercolonies in fact make up one global Mega-Colony. They are highly invasive, attack native animals, thrive in fast-growing, high-density colonies, and have an increased capability for cooperation. "The enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society," the researchers claim...

By: Decimask

Decimask — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:06:35 -0800

Needs either the iforonewelcome or the iforonewelcomeournewoverlords tag. :D

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:12:06 -0800

They look like very friendly conquerors. More power to 'em!

By: pemberkins

pemberkins — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:14:27 -0800

These guys can disperse by rafts. Oh, how I love them.

By: rokusan

rokusan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:14:38 -0800

As long as they're not those teeny tiny lighting-fast ones that took over Houston last year. A friend of mine calls them "crack ants" because they move so fast and apparently randomly.

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:15:51 -0800

These are apparently beyond crack ants. More like meth ants.

By: Lord_Pall

Lord_Pall — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:15:59 -0800

I believe the correct term for the crack ants is Crazy Raspberry Ants.

By: wendell

wendell — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:16:45 -0800

"one vast colony of Argentine ants... in the US, known as the "Californian large", extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California." Well, they have good taste. I've extended along the cost of California myself, but not that far. Still, they seem to be vulnerable to Unscented Raid Spray (if it is they who invade my apartment) and since I personally am not a "native animal" (born in Cleveland, Ohio), I'm probably relatively safe. If they're capable of challenging the common cockroach for superiority, I'm rooting for them.

By: empath

empath — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:17:42 -0800

I'm curious about the evolutionary advantages of having either competitive or co-operative colonies. Let's say you have mostly identical eco-systems -- let's say two different islands off the coast of Brazil. Both of them have them have all the same species -- the only difference is that on one island, the ant-hills are filled with colonies that compete with each other and will attack if they come into contact with each other, and on the other island -- all the ant hills are filled with the same colony that cooperate. Will one island end up with a higher population of ants and why? Also, what happens when the super colony comes into contact with a variant of the same species that does attack them? Does one usually come out on top? I think this supercolony must have some kind of genetic variation that makes them out compete other varieties of this ant, aside from the cooperation aspect.

By: entropicamericana

entropicamericana — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:18:05 -0800

They've come here our freedom. Our horrible, horrible freedom!

By: pemberkins

pemberkins — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:23:16 -0800

Empath - one of the ideas on why invasive populations of Argentine ants are so successful is that they have reduced genetic variation as a metapopulation - so that even individuals from distant colonies recognize each other as "neighbors" or "friends", and don't attack. (As opposed to native, territorial colonies, which don't recognize each other as "friends", and do attack each other.)

By: Effigy2000

Effigy2000 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:24:13 -0800

What if the ant overlords join forces with the terrorists? Has anyone considered this terrifying scenario?

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:27:20 -0800

posted by Effigy2000 at 4:24 PM on July 6 [+] [!]: What if the ant overlords join forces with the terrorists? Has anyone considered this terrifying scenario? Ender has.

By: empath

empath — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:27:57 -0800

Also, unless these ants are genetic clones of each other, wouldn't that encourage freeloading? Altruism only works genetically with close relatives. If ants from two different colonies aren't closely related, then wouldn't genetics tend to produce ants that invade the other colony, steal food and not contribute. It would be all upside and no downside.

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:28:59 -0800

What if the ant overlords join forces with the terrorists? Has anyone considered this terrifying scenario? Yes, Glenn Beck has.

By: America

America — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:30:07 -0800

Those ants aren't getting into America! No way, no sir! *readies flamethrower boats*

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:37:12 -0800

IT CAME FROM RED ALERT

By: qvantamon

qvantamon — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:39:08 -0800

You know who else likes Argentine Ants? South Carolinan Ants. Except they like to call them "Appalachian Ants".

By: disclaimer

disclaimer — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:40:11 -0800

Is there something crawling on me?

By: nonspecialist

nonspecialist — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:41:10 -0800

This is just the beginnings of public awareness of the next Bubble economy. Soon, it'll be ant-this, ant-that, and then, when the ecosystem collapses, we'll all go back to lumps of meat, ever-smaller MP3 players, and worrying about which celebrity will pop off next. For the moment, though, who wants to buy some ant futures?

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:43:38 -0800

The documentary on this ant takeover has already been made, apparently narrated by Joan Collins. Leiningen flogged his brain till it reeled. Was there nothing on earth could sweep this devil's spawn back into the hell from which it came?

By: bigmusic

bigmusic — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:52:15 -0800

This is crazy - a food post with no recipes - bah.

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:56:24 -0800

Oh, dear. "The Next Tenants" is looking less like science fiction.

By: jamstigator

jamstigator — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:02:57 -0800

Is it okay for a brother ant to do it with his sister ant, or would that be insectuous?

By: Postroad

Postroad — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:04:09 -0800

Did the governor of South Carolina bring them back with him? His wife noted that he seemed to have ants in his pants.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:05:39 -0800

Could this be the coming of the antychrist?

By: empath

empath — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:07:14 -0800

Could this be the coming of the antychrist? If it is, it seems somewhat ant-y climactic.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:11:00 -0800

I need a bugmenot password...

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:11:07 -0800

Ah, they'll all wind up marrying their cousins and getting feeble minded.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:11:52 -0800

Yet another MetaFilter insect-related thread I will not be bringing to my wife's attention.

By: Rumple

Rumple — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:14:54 -0800

Ah, they'll all wind up marrying their cousins and getting feeble minded. Their cousins are also their ants, and so are their uncles. Very inbred. Maybe they could be conquered with moonshine and free cable tv?

By: chambers

chambers — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:48:05 -0800

Saul Bass, of Hitchcock-Openening-Sequence fame directed Phase IV, an evidently prophetic look into the ant domination of Earth.

By: DU

DU — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:48:54 -0800

Yet another MetaFilter insect-related thread I will not be bringing to my wife's attention. The insect-related ones are the ONLY threads I bring to my wife's attention. Because I am a fifth grader in a man's body.

By: Severian

Severian — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:06:10 -0800

Nuke the site from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.

By: notreally

notreally — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:13:29 -0800

Reads post. Considers investing in anteater ranch.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:24:56 -0800

empath, IIRC, biologist and ant-fancier EO Wilson addresses a similar hypothetical situation in one of his books.

By: hal9k

hal9k — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:28:46 -0800

Their cousins are also their ants, and so are their uncles. Very inbred. So they are guilty of... as we are overrun by... insecst

By: sneebler

sneebler — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:29:20 -0800

Hmmm. Turns out this Clifford Simak novel from the sixties was prophetic. Buy the paperback version and save your money to buy Mirex.

By: Greg_Ace

Greg_Ace — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:30:11 -0800

"Six Legs Good, Two Legs Bad!" -- Antimal Farm

By: codswallop

codswallop — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:46:21 -0800

Nuke the site(s) from orbit....it's the only way to be sure.

By: ambient2

ambient2 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:46:58 -0800

Notreally has figured it out. Must procure breeding pair of anteaters. Must get stimulus money for this project from President Ponies for All. Ambient2's All-natural Ant Control, coming soon to... everywhere. Purt near the whole world is my market. I've seen anteaters at a zoo; they're really cool, interesting creatures.

By: metastability

metastability — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:21:02 -0800

These guys aren't really that annoying. Yes, they fly, but they don't buzz in your ear like mosquitos or gnats. They mainly just land on a piece of paper you happen to be working on, or the table. They fall from the ceiling. They're super easy to kill too. They are so slow you can swat them with your hand. Overall, not that annoying, as far as insects inside your house go.

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:22:28 -0800

President Ponies for All. Do you know how I know you could be outreasoned by a colony of ants?

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:52:13 -0800

Overall, not that annoying, as far as insects inside your house go They're like Google text ants.

By: cjorgensen

cjorgensen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:59:27 -0800

Meet your Overlord.

By: John Smallberries

John Smallberries — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:03:56 -0800

If they can out-compete and displace the @*$(%(# fire-ants here in Texas, then I for one DO say "Bienvenido, hormiga maestros".

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:19:26 -0800

Once thought to be independent of one another, scientists now have cause to believe that the disparate Supercolonies in fact make up one global Mega-Colony. guh guh guh guh bugs everywhere no no aaaaagh

By: Infinite Jest

Infinite Jest — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:07:40 -0800

I think Philip K Dick got this one....*looks around for nearest spider*

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:11:33 -0800

Thanks, ants.

By: twoleftfeet

twoleftfeet — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:27:24 -0800

At this point the ants may be the only thing that can stop the global hominid infestation.

By: Mocata

Mocata — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 02:39:58 -0800

These ants also starred in Italo Calvino's best short story, 'The Argentine Ant', available in English translation in this book.

By: clockzero

clockzero — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:07:19 -0800

The only thing worse than the myrmecoid hegemony is the unstoppable spread of horrible ant-related puns.

By: amro

amro — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:31:57 -0800

Ant mega-colony takes over world Well, that's a tad overdramatic. As long as I can still step on them, I'm not worried.

By: workerant

workerant — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:36:41 -0800

Thanks, ants. posted by boo_radley You're welcome.

By: The Great Big Mulp

The Great Big Mulp — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:45:49 -0800

Thanks, ants. Thants.

By: MessageInABottle

MessageInABottle — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:12:13 -0800

Wasn't there a post on the blue about how The Onion is eerily prescient a while ago? Because....this is less than a month old and makes me wonder....

By: morganw

morganw — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:20:47 -0800

They then matched up the ants in a series of one-on-one tests to see how aggressive individuals from different colonies would be to one another. ....whenever ants from the main European and Californian super-colonies and those from the largest colony in Japan came into contact, they acted as if they were old friends.

Argentine ant thunderdome: two ants enter, two ants leave. These ants are a pest because once a colony finds food in your house, no amount of sealing will keep them out. They are the most determined explorers and will find the smallest opening no matter how circuitous the route from that opening to the food. Waking up with a pantry full of ants walking off with your breakfast cereal (after caullking along the baseboards, filling teensy holes in the window openings with plumber's expoxy) isn't a threat to actual living, but it sure it a threat to quality of life, esp. if a member of the family is a bit phobic.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:04:55 -0800

Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another. Well, humans do, in fact, fight each other. Pussies.

By: sour cream

sour cream — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:47:03 -0800

Argentine Ants (Linepithema humile) have spread to every continent aside from Antarctica... Every continent except Antarctica? Go figure.

By: justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow

justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:05:54 -0800

Rafts? They make rafts? Has anyone else read John Wyndham's novel Web. A species of spiders becomes massively cooperative, traveling (and hunting) in packs. With the packs competing for food, they branch out into more and more ecological niches, filling the trees with enough webbing to take down birds, netting fish, etc. They find us tasty, and can easily find a way around whatever flimsy defenses we throw up. I don't like to hear that supercooperative ants are getting creative -- not at all.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:09:45 -0800

These ants also starred in Italo Calvino's best short story, 'The Argentine Ant', available in English translation in this book. I'm pretty certain that Carl Stephenson did it first. With the packs competing for food, they branch out into more and more ecological niches, filling the trees with enough webbing to take down birds, netting fish, etc. They find us tasty, and can easily find a way around whatever flimsy defenses we throw up. Y HALLO THAR NITEMARE FUEL FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

By: flabdablet

flabdablet — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:23:08 -0800

These ants are a pest because once a colony finds food in your house, no amount of sealing will keep them out That strength is the nest's weakness. Dissolve 30g sugar and 5g borax in 100ml boiling water, let it cool, bottle it, and put a bottle cap full next to their little trail. Within quarter of an hour, there will be a solid ring of ants around the edge of the bottle cap. Within an hour, the trail will stop there. Within two days, your local nest will be dead. It generally takes a month or so for another nest to find a way into your house, and you've still got 95% of your borax syrup left to deal with them.