According to Ray North in his excellent, entertaining book Ants (Whittet Books 1996) "Red garden ants are the Tarzans of the ant world, and can drag four times their own weight". That suggests that this one, dragging a dead spider through a tangle of grasses, was probably at the limits of its capacity. I watched it for ten minutes, hauling its prey over and under grasse stems, then left it to its exertions. There was no way that it was ever going to reliquish its capture. Inspirational.
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Tarzans indeed, Phil! They're truly fascinating creatures.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! The red ants here are great builders too.
ReplyDeleteJust don't tell that ant that it is at the limit!
ReplyDeleteThis is great, best i could find at the weekend was an AA box...........kind of puts life in perspective!
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley, they most certainly are .... amazingly well organised
ReplyDeleteHi lotusleaf, the most impressive ants gere are wood ants, that build very large domed nests
ReplyDeleteHi Wilma, I wonder what it would take to make it give up?
ReplyDeleteBut it was a very fine AA box Adrian - don't see those very often these days - I think I've seen one somewhere in Norfolk too..
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