These Leafcutter Ants are GETTIN’ DOWN TO BIDNESS. From Megan B.: “For St. Patrick’s Day, I thought these Leafcutter Ants carrying TINEH SHAMROCKS were quite appropriate! They live at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, MO.”
These Things Are Freakin’ Heavy!!!
March 17, 2013 By
I like the one ant that seems puzzled by the other ant carrying the shamrock.
Am I making any sense? It was a late night celebrating the St-Patrick, a lot of family and eating and a bit of drinking too.
Yes, you are. That was my favorite part too. The little girl was, like, “Hey… what’s that you got there? You sure cut it in a funny pattern.”
So… how can you tell it’s a girl ant?
(tempted to pull out a joke, about asking if — the ant whose gender is in question —
is married to your brother …)
Too cute! The zoo’s website has a video of the ants carrying little hearts on Valentine’s Day!
Are they candy/sugar shamrocks?
According to the description yes. They often leave fruits, veggies and / or nectar for the ants as enrichment.
Ah… that’s lovely. Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona! Go raibh maith agat as an físeán iontach! ( Translation : Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Thank you for the video!
That shamrock looks magically delicious to me!
So cute! Hate to imagine the sugar high those ants will be on after those shamrock candies.
I saw leaf cutter ants in Panama when I was on a hike through the rainforest. They were so cool in their natural setting. Little rows of leaves marching along the forest floor. It looked like little sailboats floating along and was really neat. Evidently they take the leaves to their nest, the leaves break down into a fungus and that is what they eat. There were some other ants in the colony whose job was to take out the trash–they would remove debris and trash from their nest and pile it up outside. Little mounds. It was amazing to see how organized the colonies are and how everyone had very specific jobs…
Wow, I’d love to see that! Thanks for sharing!
I can hear them now; “Geez! FIRST it was storing food for the grasshoppers, NOW it’s the bloomin’ leprechauns! I mean, these do taste magically delicous but man, are we the only one’s who WORK around here?!”
The link at the end: Monsanto…Insectarium. Savor the irony.
YAY!!! St Louis Zoo!!!!!!
I get enrichment toys for polar bears and elephants but I suspect these are more for enriching the keepers and visitors.
What on earth was that white thing the other ant was carrying?