Ants

[Samuel]

I'm at US Davis and on campus I've spotted two clusters of ants that have been swarming for no reason I can see. In both cases it was next to the sidewalk and there were so many they were on top of each other. Also, it was very heavily concentrated- the number of ants dropped to about zero after a couple inches.

Anyone have a clue what they are doing?

[Superman]

I'd say they're asking you to get a magnifying glass and give them a lesson on carbonization.

[Alyrium Denryle]

I'm at US Davis and on campus I've spotted two clusters of ants that have been swarming for no reason I can see. In both cases it was next to the sidewalk and there were so many they were on top of each other. Also, it was very heavily concentrated- the number of ants dropped to about zero after a couple inches.

Anyone have a clue what they are doing?

Probably two colonies fighting, evacuating the nest for some reason, or preparing for nuptual flights.

[Superman]

Is it ant breeding season?

[LadyTevar]

I've been finding winged ants downtown the last couple weeks. I'd say that is a "Yes, it's Breeding Season".

[open_sketchbook]

I always wondered; are worker ants "life"? One of the requirements for something to be alive is that they are able to reproduce (barring of course injury, mutation or whatever that prevents it in a particular individual), but worker ants can't; they don't even have the required gear. I always figured that they were like little biological robots rather than "true life" as a result. Is that totally unfounded?

[Admiral Valdemar]

I always wondered; are worker ants "life"? One of the requirements for something to be alive is that they are able to reproduce (barring of course injury, mutation or whatever that prevents it in a particular individual), but worker ants can't; they don't even have the required gear. I always figured that they were like little biological robots rather than "true life" as a result. Is that totally unfounded?

Well, by that logic, any guy who was a "jaffa" would also be a robot. It's not as cut and dry as meeting all the MR GREEN criteria.

My workplace is writing new SOPs for dealing with ant infestations in the summer months, especially near the Ecotox labs where the risk of contaminating control entomology studies is high.

[Vendetta]

I always wondered; are worker ants "life"? One of the requirements for something to be alive is that they are able to reproduce (barring of course injury, mutation or whatever that prevents it in a particular individual), but worker ants can't; they don't even have the required gear. I always figured that they were like little biological robots rather than "true life" as a result. Is that totally unfounded?

When you're discussing whether something is or isn't "life", it's always sensible to remember the Bad Science motto: "I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that".

The "required" features to classify something as life are only quick and dirty guidelines based on human classification, there are plenty of things which don't meet all of them, like viruses, which still behave as if they are alive.