Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba B4 Winnipeg free press monday july 31, 2006 City ant bullies ? Alex wild photography violence pillaging and slavery Are All part of life in the Southern Manitoba dirt aggressive ants raid nests above and enslave other ant species. By Sean Moore s Lavery has not been abolished in Southern Manitoba. Lurking under Black Mounds of dirt in Parks and Fields Are red ants who pillage other colonies kill the ants inside and steal their Young bringing them Home to keep As slaves. Manitoba is Home to a number of species of slave making ants but the most notable Are poly Ergus Bre Viceps. They Are pugnacious red ants distinguished by their sickle shaped tooth less mandibles protrusions from the head. These jaws cannot dig or handle delicate larvae or pupae. But they Are perfect for piercing the Armour of other ants. Bre Viceps found As far North As Riding Moun Tain National Park Are wholly dependent on their slaves for survival. They cannot care for their own Young make their own nests or feed them selves although if a liquid drop of food happens to pass by their Tongue they May be Able to Lap it up. When after raiding nearby nests dry they find theirs to be located an inconvenient distance from new sources of labour it is the slaves who determine where they will relocate and they carry their masters there. In the origin of species Charles Darwin was confused As to How such an odious instinct emerged but reckoned poly Ergus ants would become extinct in one year if it weren to for the slaves. William Wheeler an ant expert was in Awe of the poly Ergus lifestyle. The ants display two contrasting sets of instincts. While in the Home nest they sit about in stolid idleness or pass Long hours begging the slaves for food or cleaning themselves and burnishing their Ruddy Armour he wrote. But when outside the nest on one of their predatory expeditions they display a dazzling courage and capacity for concerted action. ? a raid begins when scouts return to their nest after finding a suitable Colony to attack Only a few species of ants make Good slaves. Other ants join the scouts at their nests Entrance. They All then move out in a compact column with feverish haste Wheeler noted. If they were Marathon runners they would be run Ning a three-minute-45-second mile upon reaching the nest they pour into it seize their Booty and return Home at a leisurely Pace. If they meet hostility they easily kill the other ants. Some stolen pupae die in the process some Are eaten and the rest Hatch and do what they would naturally do Only for another Colony rather than their own. Another of Manitoba a 60 known ant species is the Formica Baserva. Its called a facultative slave maker ? it takes slaves for extra help around the nest but can survive just Fine without them. These ants take much fewer slaves since they build their own nests and feed themselves. When migrating they carry their slaves to the new nest. Baserva ants raid Only a few times a year in july and August preferring to pillage in the Cool Early hours of the Day. Wheeler called their raids Clumsy As though conducted by an untrained militia compared to the disciplined charge of the Bre Viceps. They leave their nest in a straggling open Phalanx sometimes a few metres Broad and broken into a few detachments. There is no Leader. The front line is just a churning mass of ants. When they first arrive at the target nest they wait at the Entrance for their nest mates to arrive. In the meantime the ants inside usually smell them and decide to make a break for it grabbing pupae in their jaws and heading out of the nest for higher ground. Some Are intercepted by the Baserva who at this Point Start going into the nest to take what pupae they can. They kill Only those adults who give them hostile resistance. When the attack is Over the surviving victims return to their nest and tend to what Young remain. Slave making ants Are found in Europe Africa and the americas. They Are just one tale from the 9,500-Odd species of ants scientists know of and its believed another 9,000 have yet to be Dis covered. Insects appeared about 400 million years ago. Social wasps ants and bees arrived Only 100 Mil lion years ago. For ants it All began when some wasps rid themselves of wings and took to ground instead of air. Since then ants have ruled terrestrial life. Even taking slaves when they see fit. Charles Darwin reckoned poly Ergus ants would become extinct in one year if it weren to for the slaves ;