So it's Spring time, and ants are all about. I've spotted a few crawling around on the floor, but I don't bother spraying them with Raid 'cause it's only the few. Besides, I've already blasted all sources of them in my room.
Anyhow, a week ago, I found one crawling around on my desk. Just one. I checked around to see if there were anymore on my desk, just to be sure. After checking, I just swiped it off my desk thinking it was the only one. The next day, I came home from school and found another one on my desk. Again, being indifferent towards it, I swiped it off. An hour or so later, it came back on. That's when I got curious, but not enough to do anything other than swiping it off the desk again. This continued up until Thursday, and that's when I got really curious. I figured that, since I don't see more than one on my desk at a time, it had to be the exact same ant crawling up here and just walking around for no reason.
So, I got a [url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/qqafg6v28qhslnn/20140503_150219.jpg]mechanical pencil eraser cap[/url] and trapped it. However the little smartass crawled up through the holes on the top. So I covered it up with a piece of tissue paper. At that time, I had to take a shower, and when I returned, the little smartass pushed it off and escaped.
On Friday, when the ant came back onto my desk, I wanted to truly see if it was the same ant by putting it back into the cap. If it had immediately escaped from the cap, I knew for certain that it was the same ant. However, unsatisfied with its reaction time, I repeatedly put it into the cap over and over again. On one occasion, I accidentally crushed its back left leg. Ever since then, whenever it started climbing up my desk, that leg would twitch as if it couldn't grip the surface. That was one way I could confirm it was the same one. I also accidentally crushed its top right antenna. Oops. More confirmation I guess.
Today, an ant started crawling up my desk. And guess what? Its leg was twitching, and it was rubbing its injured antenna. This fucking ant. Like on Friday, I had to be absolutely sure it was the same one. However, this time, when I brought the cap anywhere near it, it would jump the fuck away. Like, literally. It would jump. Like, actually jump. It only did this twice, though, unfortunately, not the times that I was recording it. However, when I would record it, instead of jumping, it would cower and duck its head down, staying perfectly still.
Here, have a video:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDQpeC1ffVo[/media]
For the record, it wouldn't cower like it did when I put my finger near it.
Also, I gave it a sesame seed for its bravery.
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/AgsCu15.jpg[/thumb]
It didn't take it.
Is anyone an ant expert and can explain why this one is the [i]only[/i] one that keeps coming on my desk? And if it actually remembers the pencil cap?
you can't psychologically condition an ant
[editline]3rd May 2014[/editline]
mainly cause broadly speaking there's nothing psychological to condition
It had quite the run-in with a Great Old One. Probably got driven mad to the point of becoming some sort of cultist.
Dunno if it'd be much use in a Magic: The Gathering game, probably only a 1/1 at best.
[QUOTE=LordCrypto;44716087]you can't psychologically condition an ant
[editline]3rd May 2014[/editline]
mainly cause broadly speaking there's nothing psychological to condition[/QUOTE]
That's what I was thinking. I was just curious as to why it reacted so readily to the cap.
It's probably smelling the pheromone trail it left behind itself as it climbed the desk.
Each day it's climbed again, leaving more pheromones so the trail is stronger, so he basically thinks 'Oh, the ants were headed this way, better go meet up with them' then you knock him off and he lands on the floor, gets another whiff and goes 'THERES EVEN MORE ANTS THIS TIME, I REALLY GOTTA GET TO THAT PARTY'
[QUOTE=Empty_Shadow;44716132]It's probably smelling the pheromone trail it left behind itself as it climbed the desk.
Each day it's climbed again, leaving more pheromones so the trail is stronger, so he basically thinks 'Oh, the ants were headed this way, better go meet up with them' then you knock him off and he lands on the floor, gets another whiff and goes 'THERES EVEN MORE ANTS THIS TIME, I REALLY GOTTA GET TO THAT PARTY'[/QUOTE]
But the other ants don't follow him; it's just this one that keeps coming up.
[QUOTE=Spherexd;44716151]But the other ants don't follow him; it's just this one that keeps coming up.[/QUOTE]
The other ants probably haven't reached the point where you keep knocking him onto the floor.
[QUOTE=Empty_Shadow;44716168]The other ants probably haven't reached the point where you keep knocking him onto the floor.[/QUOTE]
I should've explained that, sorry. They all hang around the same area, so when I do knock him down, he ends up back with the group.
Then he's just a fan of chumbawumba:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDkVQvhZx04&feature=kp[/media]
-snip-
edit: wait is it still bannable to mention this, i forgot
edit 2: i think it is, nevermind, nothing to see here
[QUOTE=onebit;44716394]Ants are cool, we should have more of them.[/QUOTE]
get stung by a fire ant then come back and tell me that
[QUOTE=Toy_Soldier;44716560]get stung by a fire ant then come back and tell me that[/QUOTE]
When I was a kid me and my friends used to eat fire ants for breakfast, literally. The acid tastes pretty funky and if you get bitten enough times you become immune to the pain.
[QUOTE=onebit;44716394]Ants are cool, we should have more of them.[/QUOTE]
Ants are fun to watch when they aren't all over you or your house.
I should get an ant farm.
I wonder what happened to Garrys giant ant farm he was building
this one time when i was a kid, i was at the local adventure centre (read: playground that's monitored) and one of the supervisors there was all crouched around a loose bit of concrete.
and then he turns it over and there's this massive fucking ant farm underneath with eggs and ants and shit everywhere and oh my god it was horrifying.
and then the kicker was that he said that ant eggs taste great in sandwiches.
[I]i[/I] was scarred for life there.
[QUOTE=Justin Case;44719304]I wonder what happened to Garrys giant ant farm he was building[/QUOTE]
It was too buggy, so he gave up on it.
Speaking of ants, using the fire from this small blowtorch/lighter thing is so much better than raid
[t]http://i.imgur.com/KOe6ebx.jpg[/t]
Haven't managed to burn down my house yet
wtf
[QUOTE=LordCrypto;44716087]you can't psychologically condition an ant
[editline]3rd May 2014[/editline]
mainly cause broadly speaking there's nothing psychological to condition[/QUOTE]
Bee's have the ability to recognize the human face (to a degree) from what I know and do basic math (But this is all extremely primitive and I've no idea how true it is)
but that's not psychology at all, but it should show insect intelligence to a point
I'm sure ants may have a similar ability but I really have like no idea :v:
[QUOTE=IMoo;44720450]Speaking of ants, using the fire from this small blowtorch/lighter thing is so much better than raid
[t]http://i.imgur.com/KOe6ebx.jpg[/t]
Haven't managed to burn down my house yet[/QUOTE]
Vacuums are way way better
[t]http://www.jeffsreviews.com/Images/household%20apr2010-/flex%20sml/flex%20with%20tools%20sml.gif[/t]
Train him to be a communist like the guy did with the mouse.
[QUOTE=LordCrypto;44716087]you can't psychologically condition an ant
[editline]3rd May 2014[/editline]
mainly cause broadly speaking there's nothing psychological to condition[/QUOTE]
Apparently you can, as shown above
[QUOTE=LordCrypto;44716087]you can't psychologically condition an ant
[editline]3rd May 2014[/editline]
mainly cause broadly speaking there's nothing psychological to condition[/QUOTE]
They are adapting.
Maybe it's just lonely and wants to hang out!
i remember one time i came into the kitchen and me and my ex girlfriend found loads of black ants crawling around the place so i followed the small trail and it led though the kitchen to the dining room and ended at a small hole near the front door
[QUOTE=matt000024;44721106]Train him to be a communist like the guy did with the mouse.[/QUOTE]
Can you provide a link?
convert it to capitalism
ITT: Ant stories. Okay.
I remember at my old Georgia home, we had a really steep hill for a backyard. One day I was trying to play on this impossible incline and unknowingly stepped in an ant hill. I scratch my leg and look down, and see dozens of ants on and crawling up my right leg and shoe. I ran inside so quickly most of them fell off my leg.
Either that, or I was having a mild acid trip and there were never any ants.
Isn't there a parasite that makes ants climb up to the highest point in hopes of being eaten?
[QUOTE='[Seed Eater];44729977']Isn't there a parasite that makes ants climb up to the highest point in hopes of being eaten?[/QUOTE]
it's a fungus, called cordyceps. a fake human-adapted mutation of it is what the zombies in "last of us" were caused by, though it's speculated the real fungus is terrifyingly close to being mammal compatible and it's not too far-fetched
Ant torture is pretty fun, but my favorite atrocity to commit is ant genocide. Every Summer we find pretty huge colonies on our lawn somewhere and we always fucking murder them!
[QUOTE=Justin Case;44719304]I wonder what happened to Garrys giant ant farm he was building[/QUOTE]
He did actually get around to finishing it and even documenting some interesting shit the ants did.
[url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1137031]The thread still exists in maker mates.[/url]
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