21 January 2011

Army Ants Go Marching – Until…

Over at The Ark In Space, there is an interesting feature on Army Ants - the type of ants which go marching in search of food, eating everything in their path and making temporary nests before moving on. You know the type - you have seen Joan Collins running away from them screaming her head off in at least five movies (or at least that's how it feels).

However, something occasionally goes wrong and the ants form what is called an ant mill. This is where they march in circles. Again and again. And again. Until they die. Some interesting pictures and videos in the post. A very strange phenomenon.