KOCHI: It was a heavy, heady extended Diwali weekend. Swapna Suresh (18+), Kerala governor, ISRO launch, Chinese politburo, Modi in Kargil and, of course, Rishi Sunak. But what really stood out and struck me was an ant.
A close-up shot of an ant “magnified five times under a microscope” went viral as Nikon’s ‘Small World Photomicrography Competition’ results were announced a couple of days ago.
The poor little thing received really nasty descriptions on social media “alien monster”, “demonic”, “terrifying”, etc. One tweeter complained of “nightmares”.
As someone who has been striving to befriend and train an ant colony on my balcony, I found the click absolutely fascinating.
Hats off to Lithuanian photographer Eugenijus Kavaliauskas, who experimented with umpteen lighting and shadow settings to get that awe-inspiring effect.
Eugenijus’s ant was among 57 “Images of Distinction’’ declared by the Nikon contest. He believes it is a reminder about Nature’s “divine designs” and how under-explored the ecosystem is.
Try fathoming this: there are over 12,000 ant species. And according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, there are at least 20 quadrillion ants on the planet 20 followed by 15 zeros. That is about 25 lakh ants per human. Ants are, indeed, one of the most successful organisms known to mankind.
I got hooked on ants after the childhood curiosity about their colonies was rekindled while reading British naturalist Gerald Durrell’s wonderful book ‘Encounters with Animals’. In a chapter titled ‘Animal Warfare’, he writes in detail about a war between armies of red and black ants.
The scene is of a ‘shock-and-awe’ attack by the red “slave-makers” on a black ant “city”.
Peppered with military lingo, Gerald writes: “The encircling columns of slave-makers, so orderly and neat, now suddenly burst their ranks and spread over the whole area, like a scuttling red tide. Everywhere there were knots of struggling ants.
“Black ones, clasping eggs in their jaws, were pursued by slave-makers, cornered and then forced to give up the eggs. If they showed fight, they were immediately killed; the more cowardly, however, saved their lives by dropping the eggs they were carrying as soon as a slave-maker hove in sight.
“The whole area on and wound the nest was littered with dead and dying ants of both species, while between the corpses the black ants ran futilely hither and thither, and the slave-makers gathered the eggs and started on the journey back to their fortress on the hill.”
“Early next morning I arrived at the scene again, to find the war was over. The black ants’ city was deserted, except for the dead and injured ants littered all over it. Neither the black nor the red army were anywhere to be seen. I hurried up to the red ants’ nest and was just in time to see the last of the army arrive there, carrying the spoils of the war, the eggs, carefully in their jaws.
“At the entrance to the nest their black slaves greeted them excitedly, touching the eggs with their antennae and scuttling eagerly around their masters, obviously full of enthusiasm for the successful raid on their own relations that the slave-makers had achieved. There was something unpleasantly human about the whole thing.”
*****
There is, in fact, a lot in common between humans and ants. One, both are “eusocial”, according to famous Harvard biologist E O Wilson, the “Lord of the ants”, who passed away last year.
‘Eusocial’, he noted, was about kinship, and living “in multigenerational communities, practice division of labor and behave altruistically, ready to sacrifice”. That’s what helped humans and ants emerge as “superorganisms”, added the naturalist who popularised terms such as ‘sociobiology’, ‘biodiversity’ and ‘biophilia’.
EO, as he was called, attributed the evolutionary success of humans and ants to the capability to build “complex societies” and, sometimes “act altruistically”.
For those interested in the subject, the two-time Pulitzer winner’s works such as Anthill, On Human Nature, The Ants, and The Social Conquest of Earth are highly recommended.
And, for those who are having trouble with ants, another ‘Lord of the ants’ is recommended ‘Urumbachan’ (Father Ant) in Kannur. Pray at the Urumbachan Kottam temple, and forget about ant or pest trouble at home, they say.
November to December is the festival season, and coconut water is the main offering. Sweet.
Okay, time for me to go offer a coconut treat to the red ant buddies on my balcony. Meanwhile, as promised last week, will leave you with some new words foraged from Merriam-Webster’s September update. Have a eusocial week ahead...
Yeet: (interjection, slang): used to express surprise, approval, or excited enthusiasm; verb: to throw especially with force and without regard for the thing being thrown
Janky: “Of very poor quality; not functioning properly”
Sus: “Suspicious, suspect”
Lewk: “a fashion look that is distinctive to the wearer and that is noticeable and memorable to others”
Pwn: “to dominate and defeat (someone or something)”
Adorkable: “socially awkward or quirky in a way that is endearing”
Baller (informal): “excellent, exciting, or extraordinary especially in a way that is suggestive of a lavish lifestyle”
Cringe: “so embarrassing, awkward, etc. as to cause one to cringe”
FWIW: “for what it’s worth”
ICYMI: “in case you missed it”
Shrinkflation: “the practice of reducing a product’s amount or volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price”
Side hustle: “work performed for income supplementary to one’s primary job”
Galentine’s Day: “a holiday observed on February 13th as a time to celebrate friendships especially among women”
Sessionable (of alcoholic beverages): “having a light body and a lower-than-average percentage of alcohol”
Dawn chorus: “the singing of wild birds that closely precedes and follows sunrise especially in spring and summer” (I love this one!)
Space force: “the military organisation of a nation for space warfare”
Terraform: “to transform (a planet, moon, etc.) so that it is suitable for supporting human life”
Sponcon: “content posted usually by an influencer on social media that looks like a typical post but for which the poster has been paid to advertise a product or service”
Virtue signalling: “the act or practice of conspicuously displaying one’s awareness of and attentiveness to political issues, matters of social and racial justice, etc., especially instead of taking effective action”
Greenwash: “to make (something, such as a product, policy, or practice) appear to be more environmentally friendly or less environmentally damaging than it really is”
Dumbphone: “a cell phone that does not include advanced software features (such as email or an internet browser) typically found on smartphones”