Jul 1 2009 Like I Don't Have Enough To Worry About: Mega Ant Colony Is Taking Over The World
Ant colonies, like rabbits, are cuddly prolific. So prolific, in fact, scientists have just discovered a single interrelated colony of Argentine ants that has populated much of the globe. ATTAAACK!
The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.
While ants are usually highly territorial, those living within each super-colony are tolerant of one another, even if they live tens or hundreds of kilometres apart. Each super-colony, however, was thought to be quite distinct.But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony.
So they're all relatives. But way more so than say, you and I are. So....it's cool if I touch your butt, right? I mean it's not like we're ants or anything.
Ant mega-colony takes over world [bbcnews]
Thanks to Alistair and 2MechanicalArms, who may or may not have fire ants in their pants. They do, I put them there.
May 13 2009 SICK!: Fly Turns Ants Into Zombie Nurseries
The phorid fly turns fire ants into zombies by laying eggs inside them. When the larvae hatch, they eat their way to the ant's brain, which they also eat, leaving the fiery bastards to wander around like zombies before dying. Sick.
"At some point, the ant gets up and starts wandering," said Rob Plowes, a research associate at UT.
The maggot eventually migrates into the ant's head, but Plowes said he "wouldn't use the word 'control' to describe what is happening. There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly. This wandering stage goes on for about two weeks."About a month after the egg is laid, the ant's head falls off and the fly emerges ready to attack any foraging ants away from the mound and lay eggs.
ZOMG -- it's head falls off. That reminds me of the time I was getting it on with a velociraptor when my parents came home early so I tried stuffing him in the closet but accidentally slammed the door closed on his neck and his head fell off. I buried it in the backyard, but I kept the body. What? It's okay if it's a dinosaur!
Hit the jump for a video of the flies in action (first video) as well as another of what jewel wasps do to cockroaches (same concept of zombification, but with a completely different method (read: injecting venom straight into the brain)).
Continue Reading " SICK!: Fly Turns Ants Into Zombie Nurseries "
Apr 8 2009 Scorpion/Ant Robot As Scary As It Sounds
The A-Pod is a scary-ass robot built by some A-Hole because his parents didn't play with him enough as a child, and now he's hellbent on robotic world domination. Of course, I suppose it could have been a woman that built it, in which case, witchcraft. Now, where'd I put my pitchfork? Ha, I've been sitting on it this whole time!
A-Pod is an ant inspired hexapod robot with a 2 DOF abdomen (tail), a 3 DOF head with large mandibles. 6 legs with 3 DOF each. Total 25 servos. This video demonstrates body movement and mandible control. I still have to do some mechanical improvements to the legs (therefore little walking)
The majority of the video consists of the robot dry-humping the floor, but there was a little footage demonstrating how easily the bot's mandibles can hold a Coke can or snip off your change purse. Which, be honest, is probably just full of useless Canadian coins anyways. BOOM -- consider yourself metaphored, son!
Thanks to Jon and Kevin, who tried stomping the bastard but only lost toes.
Jan 14 2009 Cool!: Massive Underground Ant Colony
You ever wonder what an underground ant colony looks like but were always too afraid the rascally bastards would escape if you bought an ant farm? Well fear not, little girl, that's what nature shows were made for. In this episode, a bunch of assholes pour 10 tons of cement down an ant hole and then dig in the ground around it to show off its underlying shape and size. It's amazing! If you only have a couple free seconds to watch, skip to about 1:15 to start the good stuff. But if you have a couple free minutes to watch....screw the video, meet me in the supply closet.
Thanks to Dan, who has termites in his pants but thankfully doesn't have a peg-penis. Still -- morning wood, Dan, be careful.
Sep 2 2008 Ants Build Nest In Couple's Home Scanner
Some guy's wife called him to tell him she was having problems with their home printer/scanner. And, even after walking her through how to push the power button, it still didn't work. Finally, the guy comes home and opens the scanner bed. Hello ant colony! You know, I think we can all learn an important lesson from this couple's loss. And that lesson is this: No matter how delicious they may look, you just shouldn't scan sandwiches.
Thanks to Mr Tom, who has ants in his pants and loves the way it feels.
Feb 13 2008 Animal Sense Devices Are Awesome
Masters students at the Royal College of Art in London recently displayed their current projects in a show entitled Work In Progress. These Animal Sense Devices come from students Christ Woebken and Kenichi Okada.
Curiosity and exploration is one of the major desires of children. We believe reality is tune-able and we developed a series of sensory enhancements as experiential prototypes. Can you retrain lost senses and instincts? Can you create an experience of feeling like an animal, even as tiny as an ant? How would kids feel if they can transform through to adults on the same eye level?
The Ant was designed to make kids feel 50x smaller, the Bird to retrain the sense for magnetic fields, and the giraffe to allow children to see on the same eye-level as adults. The giraffe is pretty self explanatory, and the ant one has a little microscopic camera in the right mitt (the little black dot) so you see closeups of the grass and feel small as you crawl around. The bird one though, I don't know about that. I think it lets you know which way the north pole is or something. That or it makes you think you can fly. Which, as my cousin who I tossed off the roof can attest to, kids can't.
A closer picture of ant-girl after the jump.
