Leaf cutter ants build equivalent to the Great Wall of China
A single leaf cutter ant colony represents as much work and marvel as the construction of any of our man-made structures and monuments.
Wed, Mar 10 2010 at 1:55 PM EST
Photo: Fictional Future/Flickr This is an oldie but goodie.
Researchers poured tons of concrete into a giant abandoned ant colony, let it sit for a month, and then carefully excavated around it. What they found was breathtaking.
Check it out:
If you're antsy (sorry, couldn't help it) to get to where they start pouring the cement, skip ahead to the 3:00 mark.
Ants are truly amazing. Just incredible.
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Comments
Thomas R
07/13/2010 09:23 AM
This ant colony was built over some time, and it was their home while it was being constructed. It is one thing to make a plan and build a great construction, but quite another to live in the house while you build it... Makes it even more amazing.
This feat also shows some of the programming and information storage one can achieve with the use of DNA.
...or maybe there is a collective consciousness in hives and colonies? ;-)
Donna Brown
04/08/2010 03:21 AM
Nice Video! Ants having great capability of doing a task. They can take a weight multiple of 10 with her weight. They do hard labor to make her home and take year long food for her kids. http://www.travelasia360.net
