This is a link post.

Each month millions of Argentine ants die along battlefronts that extend for miles around San Diego, where clashes occur with three other colonies in wars that may have been going on since the species arrived in the state a century ago.

Some notes on ant warfare

Many are aware that a world war between Argentine ant supercolonies is currently underway, across multiple continents, and against multiple ant 'nations'.

Ant conflict differs from species to species and from scenario to scenario. Some use sheer numbers in tight phalanx-like organisations to swamp the enemy, which may include ants many times their individual size.

The species of the aggressor matters - when researchers placed a single dead slave-making ant into a slave-host colony for 5 mins, the response was extreme aggression against almost all neighbours for three days, most especially against slave-taking ants.

Treating known neighbours or [...]

The original text contained 12 images which were described by AI.

---

First published:
November 9th, 2024

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sacDi3xuqv9F3fERa/stone-age-herbalist-s-notes-on-ant-warfare-and-slavery

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

“Stone Age Herbalist’s notes on ant warfare and slavery” by trevor

LessWrong (30+ Karma)