#pavement ant

Pavement Ants - Tetramorium immigrans

Today's video post is one with a different perspective on things compared to the norm. Although this blog is no stranger to watching Pavement Ant colonies battling each other as they establish their territorial boundaries for the year, rarely to I stay to witness a prolonged battle or how the tides turn throughout. As Pavement Ant colonies find each other, each battle becomes unique in its own way, but today's footage first showcases the height of a battle, followed by the progression that occurred an hour later. While initially the workers erupted and grappled each other as would be expected from rivaling colonies, at around 1:43/0:47 on the video (tumblr count/video time respectively) the battle taking place on the sidewalk had entered a new phase. The majority of both colony's forces have widely dispersed: remaining soldiers sprint around the terrain and the majority of the disputes and charging are directed towards the entrance of the combating nests. This is the way of Ant warfare, and after a few hours more, it will be as if this daylong fight never took place. The new boundaries will be set, and the colonies are allowed to develop. Their proximity to each other is still alarmingly close, so soil depth will need to be utilized for both colonies to expand as the year turns.

What a change that an hour can make. And furthermore what a time that can occur from nearly 7 years running a blog. In that time and with today's post, this blog has uploaded its 900th post! Just a handful more insects and it will be 1,000 posts! It's been quite an endeavor, but I'm grateful for every moment, discover and blog visitor. While time keeps marching forward, there will be many more insects to share, see and read about, and I wish that you'll stay along for the journey. Whether a new post or a old one, whether picture or video, and whether here on Tumblr or on my slowly growing YouTube Channel (and future platforms), I humbly thank you for visiting my blog and I appreciate your time and feedback. As always: to you, dear reader, and to and all those who’ve helped me on this insect-sharing journey, I extend my sincerest, heartfelt thanks for everything!

@telnaga​ submitted: what are these ants doing? they're swarming around a nondescript spot on the sidewalk. i looked closer and there's no food there or anything. ohio

Eastern Yellowjacket - Vespula maculifrons 

Talk about a blast from the past with these images! In this blog's earlier days, video posts were uploaded to the blog that showcased these hungry Wasps who were dining on freshly caught insect meat. At the time, I was quite happy to feature these examples of insect behavior, but something was brought to my attention as a result of those video being uploaded to YouTube. A helpful watcher left a comment inquiring as to what exactly the Wasp was eating and that a better angle would help. They were absolutely correct! While I had no further videos to share from that day, I did have these images. And so, I hope these pictures can provide a better view of the Wasps' feast on the carcass of a freshly molted Dog-Day Cicada. The head was missing, leading me to believe that the Cicada was decapitated from above, near its exuvia, leading to the head and body landing in two different locations. Genuinely, it was the perfect time to strike since the freshly molted imago hadn't had time to sclerotize and solidify itself. Cicada landed on its back, causing the legs (the ones that haven't yet been harvested) to point up or to the side.

The primary feeding documented in these pictures is the carving up of thorax's innards and biting of the exposed abdomen as the Eastern Yellowjackets dive in for a bite! The Cicada's 4 wings - which weren't even given the change to unfold and inflate - appear in their wavy forms with a faded white-to-green color accentuated by the deep-green of the wing's primary vein. It sounds cruel, but this is the way of things, and Wasps need to nourish their nest's larvae so that they in turn are nourished. Although many Vespula Wasps are often feared due to their ability to painfully bite and sting, their persistence, their attraction to humans (and their food), and their warning stripes (of course), it's always worth remembering that these insects have an important part to play within their ecosystem beyond annoying humans out in the wilderness and stinging for seemingly no reason. The many Yellowjackets of North America are experts at managing pest insect populations to feed the larvae within their nest. Furthermore, they provide valuable assistance as generalist flower pollinators alongside other flying insects. The problems come in when their aggression or feeding instincts surge into overdrive as a result of a nest defense or the seasons changing. Even I'm afraid of Yellowjackets and their propensity to swarm, but that more I learn about them, the less there is to fear. Having that said, it can be absolutely maddening to accidentally stumble on a ground nest and face the wrath of the colony!

Pavement Ants - Tetramorium immigrans

Even a simple parking lot can turn into a battleground when multiple colonies find each other. The battle for the control of this sidewalk-esque territory continues year after year with many individuals giving their all for the nest (and its queen). At least for this finding, I've learned to set the camera still and allow observations from the Ants to be the star. As the battle rages, the Ants crawl and survey, madly flicking their antennae to ascertain the individual in front of them. Allies are allowed to pass, but Pavement Ants of another colony are attacked using mandibles. The worker Ants will fearlessly go head-to-head with each other and grapple as many rivals as they can until exhaustion hits. Strength in numbers alongside working in tandem with their fellow Ants within the colony will make all the difference in winning the battle here. It's quite a sight, and although large on an insect scale, it's but a footprint in the human environment. Nevertheless, after hours or a day of battle, the yielding colony will lose its territory and likely its spoils to the victor. This likely won't include eggs or developing larvae, but rather access to territory for colony expansion and foraging. Although somewhat helter-skelter, Pavement Ants look after their territory very seriously, and cannot afford to tolerate anything that would affect their safety or ability to forage. So after the dust settles, any Ant that ignores the territory dynamics must tread carefully.

ants ants ants

Fuzzy ant

Pavement Ants - Tetramorium immigrans

With the unbelievably warm spring days Toronto has had recently, the insects are returning, which is to say becoming visible to the general public. All the sun that Toronto’s gotten has also contributed to explosive plant growth and even flowering of some plants, and when the plants awaken, so too do the insects! Time to expand, and with that, the Pavement Ant turf wars begin again with colonies battling to establish territory for the year. At this point they need no introduction; there have been multiple videos featuring these colonies. It’s to the point where there is only have one picture-based post to document these Ants versus many video posts. While it’s a serious case of déjà vu (especially compared to last year’s patio fights), there’s just something so fascinating about the movement of hundreds of individuals in so small a location. There’s a lot of movement, coordination, attack, defense, scavenging and (most importantly) communication in these kinds of battles. This time (and going forward using this video as a reference), the camera itself was kept still in order to glimpse as much of the aforementioned actions as possible. As can be seen, these insects are extremely mobile and primed! With the skirmish in progress, and with any Pavement Ant colony battle, it’s definitely best not to attempt breaking up these fights with your fingers! However, if you wish to see just how fast they can swarm and nibble, gently place a small please of food on or near them.