Hold it Tight
Tiago Miranda
Walking back home, I notice this fallen bee that probably depleted its energy before flying back to the hive. If only bees could survive a bit longer than a few weeks, it could have avoided the brutal concrete finale. It may be a finish for the bee, but the beginning of a new food source for the ant. Observing their crawling over different surfaces, pavement ants (Tetramorium caespitum) ought to be the best colonisers. They inhabit the oddest places you could find, and there are still humans try to kill them by poisoning – what a useless task!
These ants are skilled in rubbish collecting, earthmoving and fauna disposal. Without them, small animal bodies would pile up on artificial surfaces absent of volunteers to take them away. With highly complex underground nests, pavement ants are tiny, but team players capable of lifting more than ten times their body weight. Thanks to them, another carcass is well used.
Author Bio: Tiago is an independent researcher and arborist born in Brazil, who spent his adulthood in New Zealand and now lives in Australia.