Early yesterday afternoon, after cutting down a few small field trees and lopping off a few strategic yard tree branches, I sat on the front steps to cool off in the shade. The temperature was in the low 90s. By late afternoon, the thermometer hit 97 and set a new record high for the date. While I sipped my water, I noticed this shiny green bug in the river rock that borders around part of the house. About a half inch long and iridescent green, the bug was actually being chased around by much smaller ants.
The longer I watched the scene, the more it became clear as to what was happening. I often cool off in the shade and watch the ants in from the steps. Typically they are very business-like and work in straight lines hauling crumbs to and fro like a symphony. This time they were frantically scurrying about the river rock like bebop jazz. Occasionally, an ant would attack the green bug and the bug would scoot away. Less frequently, the green bug would attack and kill an ant. Believe me, the ant did go down without a fight.
As the ants drove the green bug farther away from me, the frantic scurrying of the ants closest to me slowed down and eventually the ants disappear into the river rock. However, when the green bug came back, the frantic scurrying started up again. And so went the struggle.
What was that green bug? With a little googlling, I found the bug was a six spotted tiger beetle. I learned this on an interesting web site called What's That Bug? There were all kinds of other bugs identified on this site. I also found a site that gave even more detail on the lives of the six spotted tiger beetle or Cicindela sexguttata, as the bug is known scientifically. The ants I was seeing in this life and death territorial struggle are officially knows as little black ants and scientifically knows as Monomorium minimum.
I wonder if the concept of "leisure time" exists in the world's of anything on the planet other than humans? Maybe that's just the calm between the next storm...Whatever the answer, from little black ants to six spotted tiger beetles to the big guy sitting on the front steps cooling off, life seems to be about survival, sheltering, protection and defending, belonging, dignity, and making the world a better place. Of maybe, humans are the only ones able to reach the upper levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: 1. Physiological; 2. Safety; 3. Love/Belonging; 4. Esteem; 5. Actualization.
After finishing up my outside chores, I went in the house, showered and watched the last 25 laps of the Indy 500. While the cars were hitting average lap speeds of 214 mph, I wondered how fast do ants travel...
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