Caption: A silhouette of the ants’ bridge against the setting sun.

Ants are the most dominant of creatures in the terrestrial ecosystem constituting about 25% of the total animal weight of the tropics. These tiny creatures have been on earth much before the arrival of human race. Ants ori-ginated 145 million years ago and were witness to the extinction of dinosaurs.

Because of their great adaptability, these creatures with about 12,000 known species worldwide, have occupied every possible habitat found on land. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats and to solve complex problems, tap resources and defend themselves. Their complex and variable social structures have made the ants ideal model organisms.

Foraging ants travel distances up to 200 meters from their nest, and scent trails allow them to find their way back even in the dark. In hot and arid regions day-foraging ants face death by desiccation, so they explore the shortest route back to the nest to reduce that risk.

Weaver ants (Oecophylla species) make nests on trees by attaching leaves together. On my balcony, I found a nest on one of my potted bonsai trees. The ants from the nest were found moving up along an iron pillar touching that tree. I pushed the pot a little so as to leave a one-inch gap from the pillar. I just wanted to know how these creatures would solve the problem — whether they take a two-meter long route to reach the pillar, or they would use their inherent talent to bridge the gap. These tiny creatures are awesome indeed. Readers can see from these photos, how they solved the issue.

A few ants clutched onto each other to make a bridge between the plant and the pillar, while other workers used it for their smooth traffic. At times, the bridge was so simple made by only two ants, but more often many ants bundled together to make the bridge stronger. The ants took turns, but the bridge remained all through day and night. I could also make a silhouette of the ants-bridge as its position was in correct angle with the setting sun. I captured these shots in last January. The bridge and the nest remained intact for over two months till the ants themselves abandoned the nest probably because those leaves got dried and the nest was likely to fall. True, these creatures are a unique example of unbinding co-operation and a high degree of unselfishness.

—Dr. A. Mohamed Babu, Scientist, CSR&TI, Mysore [Mob: 9448938253]

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com /  Feature Articles / April 13th, 2012