Team-work

Ants are the creatures that are pretty annoying when they march on and rummage into our personal space. Never had a creature irritated me as the ants did.  No matter how hard we try, they always find a way and a place to be in everything we have.

They follow scent or pheromone trails created by other ants from the colony to gather food efficiently. Hence they form a never ending queue in moving forth and back. Some would have their heads collided with the other, bringing them to a momentary halt.

They would have conquered the noodle packets that we have stored in the refrigerator before I could relish a bit of it. They won’t fail to occupy a cozy place in the folds of my blanket. Neither would they leave a bit of my flesh unattended as they stroll over it, giving me a midnight surprise.

At times, these creatures really do check our patience and resistance. They would attempt their tricky play with us at odd times and places where we can’t set our action as directed by our reflexes. They would let us fling a swift shift to the bathrooms but for an effortless search.

Despite the notorious action, a careful examination and observation has let me to a realization. They dwell in a complex yet a cooperative society. Gregarious creatures having the cutest world of their own are they. Never could one spot them strolling singly except for a few unfortunate ones who have lost their path somehow.

They are such a determined set of insects working in utmost harmony. Neither do they find time to quarrel nor to sleep. They would set a target, proceed with the fastest velocity until they reach their destiny.

“Hey buddy! Come along this way. Grasp his leg firmly and the rest of you climb over his body. Be careful that none of you slip away over his wings. Together we can do it and soon we will have the greatest feast ever. So hurry guys”, comes the quick instructions from the one of them. But the others’ action would have already preceded his instruction.

No sooner would they tread their way back home with the heaviest loads ever. Believe me, ants can carry loads 50 times their body weight and it is not surprising to see some of them carrying the legs, some antenna, some head and the various body parts of the giant mantis.

One of them would happily remark, “See guys, it doesn't matter how gigantic an organism is, for their gigantism is in par with foolishness. Had it not been for the coordinated and harmonious hard toil of every individual of us, and the summation of witty ideas of all of us, we would have been clamped to pieces by these very stout legs resting on our shoulders right now. Don’t you think so?”

“I bet. It’s excessively heavy though. I’m pretty sure that you guys have well noticed the beads of perspiration tickling down my forehead”, comes the response.

All would nod in due submission and contentment.

The complex and cooperative societies that the ants dwell in enables them to survive and thrive in conditions that would challenge the individual. It’s so to say that they can outwit, outlast, and outplay humans.