An 'ANT'-ique Life

Dear One,

As a child, I used to watch in awe, the day to day life of the lowly ants. With their secret hiding places in every imaginable nook and corner they are the wonder workers of the insect kingdom. Silent, yet highly communicative with each other, the lives of ants are nothing short of a mystery. Over the years, as they watched me grow from a child to a man, I too have managed to learn many invaluable lessons from these small wonders of creation.

Over 10,000 species of ants have been documented all over the world. With an average life span of not more than 45 to 60 days, they live their lives to the fullest and work hard to contribute to their own kind. The combined weight of ants on earth is more than the combined weight of humans put together. Imagine, if one day, nature decides to play a nasty trick on us humans, and give the ants, the power of superior intelligence - what would be our plight then? We shall be overthrown like a rag doll by our countless miniscule neighbors.

All things apart, what I admire most, is the sense of undying loyalty to their queen. Ants are master soldiers, who don't hesitate to give their lives to save the queen. Their secret life has been re-discovered and documented by a group of researchers and by doing so, have given the world, a glimpse into their world of discipline and order, prompting us to learn a well deserved lesson or two from them.

Nearly about 700,000 members can be found in a single ant colony, ruled by one or more queens. It is one of the most advanced and organized colonies to be ever conceived in the animal kingdom. Every ant is self-driven and has a specific role to play in the upkeep of the colony. They fulfill their allotted duties with great  alacrity and with an undying sense of responsibility. Imagine a small virtual world in each colony, inhabited by millions of ant dwellers cohabiting in perfect harmony and peace, under the leadership of a lazy queen.

A peep inside their magnificent world, what you find, is an intricate system of unified team work. One for all and all for one, seems to be their silent motto. How much I wish,  humans learn this unique trait from the ants. Then there will be less of strife and more of bonding amongst each other. Nature has it's unique way of imparting life's lessons to the less observant humans. Did you know, that an ant's abdomen contains two stomachs. One stomach holds food for itself while the other one contains food to be shared with other ants. What a practical way of proving 'Sharing is Caring' ideology.

The ant colony is bound by a set of instinctive rules that every ant seem to follows to the 'T'. It has been documented, that there are rarely any ant-fights in the colony. All work for a common cause and they know their roles perfectly. Managers of our breed are seldom able to manage and set expectations to a handful of team mates, whereas, the ants steal away the show by handling millions with perfect ease.

Sometimes, when an unexpected catastrophe occurs, the ants respond by quickly adapting their duties to overcome the problem. We know it as contingency management and both ants and humans share the following endeavors, but they take away the cake right under our nose by their sheer ingenuity.

LIVESTOCK FARMING herd aphids and "milk" them for nectar-like food

CULTIVATION growing underground gardens for food

CHILDCARE feeding young and providing intensive nursery care

EDUCATION teaching younger ants the tricks of the trade

CLIMATE CONTROL maintaining a strict 77o F. for developing ants

CAREER SPECIALIZATION changing & learning new careers

CIVIC DUTIES responding with massive group projects

ARMED FORCES raising an army of specialized soldier ants

SECURITY warding off other ants, insects and animals

EARTH MOVERS move at least as much soil as earthworms

SOCIAL PLANNING maintain ratio of workers, soldiers and reproductives

ENGINEERING tunnel from two directions and meet exactly midway

COMMUNICATIONS complex tactile and chemical communication system

FLOOD CONTROL incorporate water traps to keep out rain

SANITATION some ants process waste material so that it safely decomposes

LIMITED FREE WILL inter-relationships more symbiotic than coercive

So, what do you have to say? Are we humans still the smartest of species? 

Well, it's time to rethink and revaluate.

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.