Barney and Malcolm have gone, apparently. I'm sad about it but I know they have their own path, very literally. Still, I did find out more about ants and it's pretty wonderful.
It seems that B & M may have been part of a small colony that lives in natural cavities. I guess a little crack in the caulk of a bathtub can be considered natural. They evolved from waspy creatures a long long time ago (120-130 million years ago) and now there are like 22,000 species. I'll never really know which ones chose to live with me for awhile but I feel blessed.
Socially, we could learn a lot from them. Check this quote out from wikipedia, "Ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass.[6] Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships".
And if you click on those links it's even more fun.
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