Their scientific name is Monomorium minimum. You know them as the Little Black Ant. Like pigeons, they're ignored by most city-dwellers. The only time we pay attention to them is when we open the food pantry and find them swarming over a bag of sugar. Yuck, right?
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But they have long been admired for their industry, adaptability, and persistent devotion to the life of their colony. Individualism is an unknown concept among them. They are the ultimate “we”. So unlike us are the ants, they may as well be an alien life form.
Creatures of Legend
Ever hear the word myrmidon (MUR-muh-don)? It refers to followers who obey any order from their leader without question or guilt. In Greek mythology, Aeacus, king of Aegina, lost his people to a plague. Seeing a column of ants on an oak tree, he prayed to Zeus for a new race of people for his kingdom, a race as energetic and dedicated as those humble insects. He fell asleep and in a dream saw the ants dropping from the tree and changing into men. Upon waking, he discovered that his request had been granted. His new subjects were diligent, loyal, and hard working. The king called them Myrmidons, from myrmex, the Greek word for ant. They would later accompany Achilles to the Trojan War, where they would prove to be savage and ferocious fighters, killing and dying with no hesitation.
Quite a legend for such a lowly creature. But if you take a little time to observe them, you can see the point.
In Your Own Backyard
In my large, open backyard, Little Black Ants are the dynamos of the insect world. Their commitment to survival is impressive to behold. Opportunism and tenacity are what they live by.
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For example, I have two clotheslines that reach from the patio to the back fence. The grass over which the lines are stretched is sometimes thick and wet, presenting a formidable barrier. I have no doubt that if they had to, the ants could forge their way through this jungle to the trash can beyond, but it's easier for them to simply climb the patio posts and use the clotheslines as a highway in the sky. It's enthralling to see them scurry along the lines, the altitude not seeming to bother them at all. However, if I have laundry to hang, my little neighbors become a nuisance. When the clothes are dry, I don't need to literally find ants in my pants.
Won't Toil in the Oil
The solution is a little motor oil applied to the ends of the clotheslines. The ants climb the posts and approach the lines, but the oil stops them cold. They can't get around it and they can't bear to walk through it. But what of their comrades already on the lines? They're trapped in between with no way off. So I casually flick the lines with my finger, sending them flying out into space and falling to the grass below. What happens to them down there?
Cut off from home, they probably just wander around until they die. Does the rest of the colony care? Of course not. But neither do the ants I flick off the lines. For ants, the colony is everything. The loss of a few members counts for nothing.
Absolute selflessness, perfect and complete. What a concept. Combine that quality with a higher level of intelligence and guess who'd be ruling the world?
Tales of Trails
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In the summer, when the grass is mostly gone, the ants can wear visible trails into the ground. Obviously, it takes a lot of them to do this, but I've seen it in the backyard more than once. Endless legions from a gigantic colony will travel over the same scent trail in both directions for several days and nights. The warm, arid summer here in southern California renders the soil dry and sandy. Eventually, you can clearly discern the trail twisting along the ground through the withered grass. A little rain or a little wind and these trails are gone, but while they last they're a sight to see.
Of Words and Movies
Did you know there are other words for ant in English? Here are two: emmet and pismire. Try telling your friends you have emmets in your kitchen or pismires in your garage.
See how that goes over.
What's the word for a nest of ants? A formicary or formicarium, from the Latin formica, meaning ant. And where do we get the English word ant? From an old German word meaning to cut. (There is a species called the leafcutting ant, Atta texana.)
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Have you seen the 1954 movie "Them"? It's a story of giant ants running loose in Los Angeles. The special effects are not up to today's standards, but some of it is still quite scary. It's hard to watch without reaching for the Raid.
End of My Ant Rant
So there are some thoughts about our friends known as the Formicidae (for-MIS-ih-dee), an alien-sounding name for a truly alien race. And one that lives not in another galaxy, but at your very feet, waiting only for you to notice.
